Blair County Chapter Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees

Transcription

1 Blair County Chapter Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees Newsletter - Spring, 2015 Message from the President The Winter doldrums are finally over and the promise of Spring is on the way. That Punxy Rodent has not been kind to our fair state this winter, however, he will soon be nothing more than a memory! The Blair County Chapter of PASR continues to remain active despite the weather and has many plans for our Spring and Summer seasons. We continue to meet on the first Tuesday of each month at Marzoni s Brick Oven Restaurant in Duncansville at 11:30am. Recently we have hosted some very interesting and informative speakers such as; Jerry Rice from The Beacon, a program for teenagers, Dr. Thomas Otto, Superintendent of the Altoona Area School District and Lisa Hann, Executive Director of Blair County Family Services. Our group has participated in ringing the bell at the Logan Valley Mall for the Salvation Army as well as wrapping packages at the Logan Valley Mall to benefit the Mt. Lion Backpack program. We continue to collect coupons for the troops and toiletries for the county abuse shelters. The third Thursday of each month, you will find us at the former Butterick building at 5pm helping to pack food in bags for the Mt. Lion Backpack program. The 2015 Membership Campaign is now underway and we are looking for new members as well as former members who has allowed their membership to lapse. We would hope that you would join both the local chapter as well as the state organization. If you know of a recent retiree who is looking to make his/ her retirement more enjoyable and wants to help others, please invite them to join PASR and come to one of our monthly meetings. Once again this newsletter contains information about our upcoming activities which include our Spring luncheon at The Calvin House in May, our May Month of Caring activity at Homewood Retirement Village and our We don t have to go back to School picnic in August. Please join us for one or all of these upcoming events. We look forward to meeting and greeting you this Spring. Bill Neugebauer Check Address Label of your Newsletter Dues are payable now for If your name is highlighted this newsletter, it means that you need to pay for your 2015 dues. Please send a check for $10.00 now payable to BCCPASR. Please send your check to: Linda Neugebauer 129 East 24th Avenue Altoona, PA This covers dues for July 1, 2014 to June 30, Dues for 2016 will be due in the next newsletter. Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you have a change of address, please notify either Linda Neugebauer, Joan Camberg, or Renetta Deremer of your change so you will continue to receive your biannual newsletter without interruption. Linda Neugebauer, Treasurer

2 BCC PASR State Members: Needed! All Aboard is the new 2015 campaign to increase state membership! Our chapter numbers are dwindling as our older members are passing on. We are being asked to send out 900 letters to all retirees requesting they become state members. Forty-eight new people will balance our state enrollment. Membership money and numbers at the state level provide the power to be heard! Whom can you contact to join with us? Member Benefits and Services Local restaurants and stores often have Senior Discounts for certain days of the week. Are you taking advantage of them? You may have to ask for them-you may not be recognized as a Senior! Did you know that Dunkin Donuts gives free coffee to people over 55? We will have a comprehensive list at the Spring Luncheon. Mary Lou Appleman/Renetta Deremer, Membership Committee Chairpersons Finance Committee A New Budget and an Invitation! The membership adopted a $6, budget for the fiscal year at the spring luncheon meeting at the Calvin House. As part of this budget we have the following community projects, grants, scholarship, and SSMHF Day of Caring: Mailing Coupons to Veterans $80 Volunteer of the Year $5 Ed Support Grants-2 $250 Scholarship $1,000 SSMHF May Month of Caring $850 My Name Total Donation All of the above budget items have been funded in the past by the donations of only those attending the fall luncheon meeting, spring luncheon meeting and monthly meetings. We would like to give ALL of our members a chance to be part of these wonderful projects. Please enter your donation amounts above, cut out the form, make your check payable to BCCPASR, and mail both the form and your check to: BCCPASR Finance Chair: Pat Waring, 209 Brandt Lane, Altoona, PA Thank you for supporting BCCPASR projects! 2

3 Volunteer of the Year Award We were very pleased to announce that Lisa Merschiltz was announced as our Blair County Chapter Volunteer of the Year at our fall dinner at the Calvin House. Lisa is currently serving our Chapter as Vice-President this year. She also has served as President of the WISE Women of Blair County as well as scholarship chairperson, Board member of the Brian Morden Foundation, President of the Blair Garden Club and an active member of the steering committee of the Discovery Garden. Congratulations to you Lisa! Many Thanks......to everyone for helping us with our Salvation Army bell ringing day at the Logan Valley Mall in December. Your participation was appreciated and I know the Salvation Army was grateful for the donations they received. Come help us ring next year!! Monthly Projects...for all our volunteers who came out to assist with our gift wrapping project at the Logan Valley Mall. This year the donations went to the Mt. Lion Backpack project. We were delighted to share our wrapping talents to create beautiful gifts under the Christmas trees. We particularly enjoyed seeing the many happy and grateful smiles on the faces of husbands and boyfriends who enlisted our help! Linda Derman, Ginny Latchford and Ruth Mitchell are still collecting coupons for our troops and personal care items for Family Services. Please support these special projects by bringing your items to our monthly meetings. Gloria J. Gates, Chairperson

4 Lauretta Woodson Award Letters to school district principals and administration will be going out on March 1, 2015, to announce the Lauretta Woodson Award that is bestowed on a Blair County educator each year. Ms. Woodson, a former teacher from eastern Pennsylvania, bequeathed monies to be used for this award by each chapter in the state. Recipients are recognized usually at a school board meeting and receive a plaque, a medallion, and a pin. Recipients will be named in April. Elizabeth Happeny, Award Chairman Spring Luncheon at Homewood BCC PASR has set Wednesday, May 27 for the Spring Luncheon at Homewood. This event recognizes and honors former school employees who reside there. Any of our group are welcome to attend. Meet and Greet will be 11:00-11:30, lunch at 11:30 with a very short program following. Elizabeth Happeny Social Service Memorial Honor Fund The Social Service Memorial Honor Fund provides financial help for any PASR member who is in need. A simple application process is required and the need can be anything from paying for an occasional lunch out to providing money for utilities or home repairs. The committee is also responsible for sending birthday cards, get well cards, thinking of you cards, and sympathy cards to chapter members. Please contact Betsy Happeny at if you would like more information about financial help or if you know of anyone who needs a little lift from a card. Elizabeth Happeny, SSMHF Chair Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees Memorial-Honor Fund I or we wish to contribute $ to the Memorial-Honor Fund. The contribution is to be in o Honor or o Memory of: - Please check- Name Please inform the following of this loving tribute: Name Address Donor: o Chapter or o Individual - Please check- Sender s Name Address 4

5 Educational Support Grants The Blair County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees recently awarded two $ Education Support grants to Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School teachers Mrs. Lynette Luke and Mrs. Alysia Watt. The grant is awarded each year to any school employee who wishes to offer an innovative program to students that is not already supported by school district funds. Both teachers introduced their plans for the grant money to chapter members at a recent luncheon which was also attended by HASHS Principal, Dr. Maureen Letcher. The Blair County Chapter of PASR meets the first Tuesday of each month at 11:30 am at Marzoni s in Duncansville. Any retired school district employee is welcome. This year the organization decided to offer two grants with monies coming solely from the membership. Mrs. Luke plans to use her grant money to purchase a game called Atommate, card games developed to help students at all levels learn chemical principles. Mrs. Watt will use the money awarded her to employ a local professional water colorist who will provide art students with valuable guidance in their study and application of water color techniques. Elizabeth Happeny, Educational Support Chair for the Blair County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees, Dr. Maureen Letcher, Principal of Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School, Mrs. Luke and Mrs. Watt, award recipients, and William Neugebauer, President of the Blair County Chapter of the PASR. L/PEC Information from John Ferrier, L/PEC State Chair 1. PSERS and SERS, have a 47 billion dollar unfunded liability. 2. The PSERS unfunded liability was cause by the state and the 500 school districts not paying their mandated contributions for over 12 years. 3. The unfunded liability grows by half a billion dollars every year. 4. If the state legislature changes the pension system to a 401k pension plan for newly hired public school employees, they would make contributions to PSERS. 5. With the current unfunded liability, PSERS could over time become financially stressed causing a potential reduction in the benefits for those retired. 6. The state legislature could eliminate COLAs that have already been awarded. 7. The $100 monthly health stipend could be eliminated. 8. If the unfunded liability is not addressed with a permanent funding source (dedicated tax or assessment) and PSERS becomes insolvent, then pension benefits could be reduced. 9. There are over 500,000 active and retired public school employees and their survivor beneficiaries who will be directly impacted on the decisions that will be enacted this Spring. In less than 90 days (June 30th) the legislature will adopt pension reform legislation that could change PSERS from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan. It is critical that our members contact their representatives. renew and recruit new members for PASR and make an immediate contribution to L/Pec so we can form a contingency action fund. If our members could contribute $5 to L/Pec it will help. 5

6 Blair County Chapter PASR Summer Picnic August 20, 2015 DelGrosso Amusement Park, Pavilion 16 Route 220 Tipton, PA Arrive 11:30am Lunch Noon Menu Half chicken, baked beans, potato salad, roll, butter pickle, ice cream Price $9.00 Adults Children under 12 $8.00 Guests Welcome Limited handicapped parking is available, but you may discharge passengers at the park entrance and then park your car in the lot. Reservation Form BCC PASR Summer Picnic Name Address Number attending Phone Make Check payable to: BCC PASR Send reservation to: Patty Kisic 1040 Fifth Avenue Duncansville, PA Reservations due: August 13, 2015 Adults $9.00 each $ Children $8.00 each $ Amount Enclosed $ 6

7 Spring Luncheon Thursday - May 21, 2015 The Calvin House 2135 Old Rte. 220 North, Duncansville Register 11:00am Lunch 11:45am Program School Musical Group Luncheon Entrees: Cod Filet Almondine or Grilled Chicken Salad with Red Pepper Dressing Soup, Salad, Roll, Beverage Price $20.00 per person - includes dessert, tax and gratuity Reservation Form BCC PASR Spring Luncheon Name Address Number attending Phone Choose one entree for each reservation: Cod Filet Almondine Grilled Chicken Salad Make check payable to: BCC PASR Send reservation to: Patty Kisic 1040 Fifth Avenue Duncansville, PA Reservations due: May 14, 2015 Luncheon $20 Each $ Donation for Scholarship Fund $ Donation for Education Support Grant $ Amount Enclosed $ 7

8 Spring 2015 Newsletter Blair County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees Editors Production - Edna Neely, 155 South Montgomery Street, Hollidaysburg, PA Circulation - Joan Camberg, rd Street, Altoona, PA Blair County Chapter of the PASR rd Street Altoona, PA Return Service Requested NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID ALTOONA, PA PERMIT NO. 156