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HO`OLAHAP U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E R E T I R E D P E O P L E
The Ho`olaha is published six times a year by the Hawaii Government Employees Association, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 152, AFL-CIO.
P.O. Box 2930Honolulu, HI 96802-2930(808) 543-0054www.hgea.org
I n t h i s i s s u eA Message From Retirees Administrator: Mahie Trask
Big Island | Maui | Oahu | Kauai Island Chapter News
Got Holoholo On Your Mind?
HGEA Executive Director Answers FAQs
Hawaii Island Chapter - New Years Luncheon Registration Form
$799 Las Vegas Tour on Vacations Hawaii
Recipe -- Fuji Apple Jello
Word Find Puzzle: New Year Resolutions
11 | 12.16v o l u m e X X X V I V N o V I
Hawaii Government Employees AssociationAFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIOP.O. Box 2930Honolulu, HI 96802-2930
NON PROFITORGANIZATIONU.S. POSTAGE
PAIDHONOLULU, HIPERMIT NO. 180
F L W W U B O G T P Z J H J W S U M U B L R X A X L R Y O U A J T W K O R I C M K X E T D A S C R B B J N E M G R U U J S J K X C N L V Q P W X L E A R N S O M E T H I N G N E W O A U C R O T N T A X W F D N W R L E E M B I G O I J F Q D T E S Y P T E U E W E I T Q D L I L T S T R E N G T H E N R E L A T I O N S H I P S O Z Z M A I T H F F T N T A M M E P E U N R M K B K P R J W U G N V H P M F G M O H L S O O B W I A E G R H U I E K O V A U Q R E Z I Y K Y L H T T Y G L S A E C B T J Q O Z X U X N I T C W H T O O B L A E W I E S F I P E Z L A N J R N I U V P T Q Z W V E K K G C N R S Z U G C N C Z L B H P I I E J D S O I B S C D P E Y Y W N E C Y T L Z P N P A L O O N U I B H I V R L R A E F A R E U Q N O C C L B D S Y C C B U P L N D C K O B F L P J N A A S A E N A R L L E T B O Q P B G I A J G T D C T X D R V V I N H P V Y L I M A F T I S I V O Y G Q A K H F D Z L D E L X D V Z Q F V X B L G E A Q E S P P Q V D P D G H T X M E V I D Y K S J O O R K C D X N Q H L B T B G P G F E U C V V D P L T E A O J V A D H J Q T H X S S B D K L F W A G
newyearresolutionshave you made yours yet?Ask ForApologizeAvoid Negative PeopleBunjee JumpBuy LocalCharity WorkConquer A FearCookDeclutterEat HealthyEmpathizeExerciseFix ItGet A Job
Be KinderLearn Something NewLose WeightPatienceQuit SmokingRead A BookScuba DiveSky DiveStrengthen RelationshipsVocalize CommitmentVolunteerVisit FamilyWash Windows
WORDFINDKauai chapter excursion on the Grove Farm Train ride.
A group of 63 HGEA retiree members traveled to Oahu for a day of exercising the mind, the body and the heart. Through the Ho’olaha and input from members attending general membership meetings, an excursion to Oahu was planned. With the arrival of the neighbor island members, a guided tour of ‘Iolani Palace began the day, followed by a walk past the Hawaii State Library, Honolulu Hale and Kawaihao Church, before another guided tour of the Hawaiian Mission Houses ended the morning. A generous plate lunch of lemon grass chicken and shrimp, along with a couple of summer rolls, filled our bellies as we relaxed with a cool drink and visited with our neighbor island friends. Delicious desserts made by retiree secretaries Tammy and Tsuneko were a welcome treat to the lunch. A visit by Executive Director Randy Perreira was a nice surprise before the distribution of the manapua
Inter-island travel has just gotten easier with a new discount partner, Island Air! Check out the Keiki & Kupuna fare of $62 each way, plus as an HGEA member you will qualify for their promotional offer -- 15% off the advertised rate until the end of the year! It’s FREE to sign up for their Island Air miles program and you can start earning miles towards free travel! Plus, book a room at any Aqua hotels throughout the islands and receive a special HGEA member discount of 15% off the best available rate! Simply go to the HGEA website to get the promotion code to activate the savings!
NEWEST TRAVEL DISCOUNT PARTNERS -- Island Air + Aqua Hotels
Retirees tour Iolani Palace on Oahu.
omiyage arrived and it was time to board the bus back to the airport. Oahu Chapter President Ethel Fleming was the group’s gracious host, readying the hall with beautiful hibiscus and lauae ferns. Also assisting was Treasurer Muriel Masumura, board director Ethel Shintaku and chapter director Awa Kridler. Kauai Division staff Joni Taba was the travel companion at the airport and bus so that everyone was accounted for.
“If it can bring a smile and a learning opportunity to our retiree, count me in,” stated Mahie Trask, Retirees Administrator, who coordinated the second statewide day-trip excursion. From the evaluations received, many want to continue touring on Oahu, but Hawaii Island (both Hilo and Kona) and Molokai are recommendations for future tours. Let us know what you think!
got holoholo on your mind?
HO`OLAHA
Mahie TraskRetirees Unit Administrator
Tammy GannSecretary
Lariel SatoCommunications Specialist
B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S
Paul Matsuo, OahuPresidentRuth Walker, HawaiiVice-PresidentMuriel Masumura, OahuTreasurerSam Jacobs, OahuSecretary
D I R E C T O R S
Steve Criss, Maui Ricordo Medina, Maui Thomas Kiyojima, Hawaii Aileen Obina, Hawaii Timothy Albao, Kauai Betty Matsumura, Kauai Ethel Fleming, Oahu Susan Goya, Oahu Arlene Shimokawa, Oahu Ethel Shintaku, Oahu
11 | 12.16v o l u m e X X X V I V N o V I
H A W A I I D I V I S I O N
495 Manono StreetHilo, HI 96720(808) [email protected]
M A U I D I V I S I O N
2145 Kaohu Street, Ste. 206Wailuku, HI 96793(808) [email protected]
O A H U D I V I S I O N
888 Mililani Street, Ste. 401Honolulu, HI 96813(808) [email protected]
K A U A I D I V I S I O N
3213 Akahi StreetLIhue, HI 96766(808) [email protected]
American Football Coaches Association, has joined the National Child
Identification Program to provide a free inkless fingerprint card in their fall
issue of the AFSCME Works magazine. Statistics have shown that 800,000
children, or one child every 40 seconds, goes missing each year. In case of
emergency, the information can be provided to law enforcement agencies
to help reunite missing family members. The package contains an inkless
finger printing card and a saliva swab kit along with instructions for their use.
AFSCME has also negotiated purchase of additional kits at a discounted rate
of $4.95, half the usual cost. I hope you take advantage of this benefit and
order multiple kits for each one of your family members.
Having completed my bachelor’s degree late in my career, I understand the
difficulty of putting off your college education. Thus, it gives me great joy
to share a new college benefit to HGEA/AFSCME members. AFSCME and
Eastern Gateway Community College are offering the chance to earn an
online associate degree from an accredited school with no out-of-pocket
expense for you, your children, stepchildren, grandchildren and step-
grandchildren, spouse, and domestic partner. As you know, a college degree
can be the pathway to new opportunities and more earning power, so I hope
you will take advantage of the free college opportunity. The three programs
of study include Associate of Business Management, Associate of Criminal
Justice and Associate of Arts. To learn more, visit freecollege.afscme.org or
call 1-888-305-5534. My hope is that each one of you will take advantage of
this program to learn something new and to inspire your family members to
join you on the pathway of learning.
From our Executive Director Randy Perreira, all the staff at HGEA and
especially Tammy and myself, we wish you and your families a joyful holiday
and a very prosperous New Year. See you in 2017!
Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau’oli Makahiki Hou!
BIG ISLANDJanuary 21, 2017 (Saturday) - New Year’s luncheon at Nani Mau Gardens from 9:00am.
March 22, 2017 (Wednesday) - General membership meeting at the HGEA office at 9:30am. Elections will be held for chapter board and officers.
OAHU
A Message From Retirees administrator
MAHIE TRASK CHAPTERNEWS
KAUAIDecember 8, 2016 (Thursday) - Holiday party at Courtyard by Marriott from 9:00am.
February 27, 2017 (Monday) - Movie Day (TBD) at the HGEA office at 9:00am.
March 20, 2017 (Monday) - General membership meeting at the HGEA office at 9:30am. Elections will be held for chapter board and officers.
MAUIFebruary 15, 2017 (Wednesday) - Movie Day (“East Side Sushi”) at the HGEA office at 9:30am. The movie shows the journey of self-discovery, determined to not let anyone stop single mom Juana from achieving her dream of becoming a sushi chef.
March 21, 2017 (Tuesday) - General membership meeting at the UPW Hall at 9:00am. Elections will be held for chapter board and officers.
As we say Aloha to 2016, I want to give a huge shout
out to AFSCME’s Never Quit attitude with two very
outstanding benefits. AFSCME, in partnership with the
December 14, 2016 (Wednesday) - Holiday party at Japanese Cultural Center from 10:30am.
February 1, 2017 (Wednesday) - Movie Day (TBD) at the HGEA office at 9:00am.
March 23, 2017 (Thursday) - General membership meeting at the HGEA office at 9:00am. Elections will be held for chapter board and officers.
Name: _________________________________________________________________
Member: Y or N Phone #: ________________________________________
Name: _________________________________________________________________
Member: Y or N Phone #: ________________________________________
Mailing address: ________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Number of Members: _______ x $20 each = $ ______________
Number of Guests: _______ x $25 each = $ ______________
Total = $ ______________
Please make checks payable to “HGEA” and mail completed reservation form with payment by Friday, January 6, 2017 to HGEA, 495 Manono Street, Hilo, HI 96720. No refunds after January 6, 2017. Call Olga Hayashi at 961-3575 with questions.
R e g i s t r a t i o n F o r mh a w a i i i s l a n d c h a p t e r
New Year’sL u n c h e o n
Saturday, January 21, 2017Nani Mau Gardens
9:00am - 1:00pm
Please bring a canned good donation for the salvation army.
Q. What’s going on with the privatization of the State’s Maui Region Hospital System?Randy: The privatization is moving forward, however more slowly than anticipated. Approximately 900 HGEA members will be terminated from government service but will be offered positions with Kaiser Permanente. This will cut short their service time for their State pensions and medical benefits. Because of that, HGEA supported legislation to try to help members reach retirement milestones by providing early retirement options for certain employees or severance for other employees. HGEA did not file a lawsuit but instead believed that relief for the members could be attained through legislation.
Q. Why did HGEA push for passage of a law that the State claims could jeopardize our retirement system’s tax exempt status?Randy: The legislation that passed, Senate Bill 2077 which is now Act 1, was vetted by all parties during the legislative session including the governor’s team and the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) team. During the session, the ERS failed to raise any issues about a potential effect to the ERS’ tax exempt status. It was only after the legislation passed that the ERS stated concerns. At this time, there is a lawsuit filed by the ERS that seeks guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on whether in fact Act 1 violates any IRS rules. If the IRS has issues with Act 1 it can be amended legislatively if needed.
Q. Is the governor implementing policies and proposing legislation that affect retiree pensions?Randy: So far the governor has implemented policies that are supposed to accelerate payments towards unfunded liabilities within the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund and the Employees’ Retirement System. He is also proposing legislation for the upcoming session that would put even more State funds toward paying down these liabilities. While it is prudent to reduce unfunded liabilities, as I have stated publicly, there needs to be a balance as the State has a responsibility to also take care of the many needs of today. As of this writing, Gov. Ige has not proposed changes that would affect current retirees. But please be prepared, we may need your help during the upcoming legislative session to testify and/or write letters.
HGEA Executive Director Answers FAQsFUJI APPLE JELLO -- by Susan Goya
1 box 8 oz. Lemon Jello1 envelope Knox Gelatin½ cup Sugar1½ cup Boiling Water1 cup Ice Water 1 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened1 pt. Whipping Cream2-3 Medium-sized Fuji Apple1 can 8 oz. Crushed Pineapple
Combine Jello, gelatin & sugar. Add boiling water to dissolve, then add ice water. Set aside to cool.
Peel & dice apples, then add crushed pineapple with syrup. Mix softened cream cheese & whipping cream. Gradually add jello mixture to cream cheese mixture. Add fruits and pour into 9x13 sprayed pan with Pam. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy!
Get out your lucky frogs and grab a partner! Oahu travel coordinator Arlene has planned a group departure from Honolulu on Wednesday February 22, 2017 at 11:00am. Return to Honolulu on Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 3:20pm. Call Arlene at 597-9096 for details and to sign up!
$799 Las Vegas tour on Vacations Hawaii
BAKER’S Corner
