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Sept. – Oct. 2016
MONTGOMERY COUNTY RETIRED SCHOOL PERSONNEL
A Few Thoughts from your President Beth Ricciardi:
MCRSP anticipates various challenges and opportunities during this school year. Your
officers and chairs have had a busy, yet fun, summer planning this exciting year! And as
we progress through this year, surprises will add to the challenges and opportunities…
Our first meeting highlights CISD Celebration of Schools with Dr. Don Stockton. Join us
on Thursday, September 15th in the Conroe ISD Board Room at 3205 West Davis Street,
Conroe, Texas 77304. Opportunities to meet and enjoy each other are important. “Meet
and Greet” your friends at 9:00 am with the meeting following at 9:30 am. Following each
regular meeting, everyone is invited to lunch! After our September meeting, we will dine
at Luby’s. We realize that complications happen, but please plan to join us.
Yearbooks and Membership Rosters have been emailed to you. Copies of both these
documents will be available at the meetings. If you did not receive these documents, do
not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or 713-825-9871.
I personally challenge you to participate in the many opportunities offered. Help us
face challenges with strength. I look forward to seeing you at the first meeting. 2016
– 2017 is going to be a fantastic MCRSP year!
MCRSP OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS
President – Beth Ricciardi Immediate Past President – Carol Cryar 1st Vice-President – Gale Drummond 2nd Vice-President – Jeff Jordan Secretary – Riki Dewey Treasurer – Suzanne Holmes Historian – Marcia Reagan Parliamentarian/Bylaws – Nola Boughton Newsletter Editor – Paula Schoppe Executive Committee– Beth Ricciardi Membership – Gale Drummond Program/Public Relations – Jeff Jordan Health Care – Carolyn Brown Community/Volunteer Services – Tedi Armet Nominations – Carol Cryar Informative/Protective Services – Carol Cryar Legislative – Beth Ricciardi Member Benefits - Becky Page Audit – Janice Durochez Retirement Education – Gale Drummond Social – Barbara Blanton Scholarship/Foundation – Sherry Sunderman
Children’s Book Project – Karen Baughman and Annette Ferrell
2016-17 Membership Welcome back, everyone! Don't know about you, but the beginning of the school year is always exciting - even when we are retired! Hope you got your postcard reminding you of our 2016-2017 meeting dates! Please invite your friends who are not already members. For those members whom you have not seen in awhile, let them know we've missed them and hope they will join us in September. There will be new MCRSP brochures and membership forms at the September 15 meeting. Hopefully you will each take one and give it to someone as an invitation to belong to this awesome organization. Please email Gale Drummond at [email protected] if you have any changes in your contact information. We want to make sure we can be in communication with everyone, so we need correct mailing addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Hopefully you received your electronic copy of the 2016-2017 Yearbook. If you prefer to have a hard copy, let Gale Drummond know. The cost for the hard copy is $3.00. We will have hard copies at the September 15 meeting, so you can bring your money at that time, or mail a check to Gale Drummond, 38 Wood Hollow Dr., Conroe, Texas 77304.
The TRTA Diamond Plus Program provides TRTA members with:
•A permanent membership card •Personalized attention •Frequent email updates about TRTA legislative issues •Eligibility for quarterly prize drawings •Additional discounts for products and services •Hassle-free membership renewals (no more paper renewals!) •Free subscription to the Before the Bell online Texas education blog (email required) •Membership dues are paid monthly ($2.92) via bank draft or through TRS payroll deduction instead of annually. This is a great program for members who never want to miss a beat! As TRTA continues to grow, our members are looking for convenient access to information about their retirement benefits and the legislation that impacts them. The Diamond Plus Program is ideal for the member that wants to stay up to date and enjoys frequent email updates and online features. To become a Diamond Plus program participant, please contact the TRTA Membership Department by calling 1.800.880.1650, or by emailing www.trtadiamondplus.org
Retirement Education Retirement education is not just for retirees, but also for active school personnel. Check out the link
to the Before the Bell newsletter www.beforethebell.org. You have access to current school
information, retirement news and updates, as well as fun articles and recipes. Tell your friends who
are currently working in education. They can sign up to receive these weekly newsletters, too.
Gale Drummond 2016-2017 Programs
I hope everyone had a great summer. MCRSP will be making a donation to the
scholarship fund in honor of Dr. Don Stockton for his appearance at our meeting. In
October, Will Metcalf, our state representative, will be speaking to our concerns for
about 30 minutes. Please send me questions for him in advance that I will forward to
his office. You might consider our pensions, legislative trends, etc. Thank you.
Jeffrey Jordan
MCRSP Meeting Dates 2016 - 2017 September 15 Dr. Don Stockton, CISD October 20 State Representative Will Metcalf November 17 Joel Wright from Stillwell Retirement Home in Waco December 15 Christmas luncheon and silent auction January 19 Mark Hayter, local humorist and writer February 16 Mimi Burke, owner of Mimi's on Main, and The Mercantile March 16 Tour the Montgomery County Heritage Museum in Conroe March 27-29 TRTA Convention in Austin March 29 Red Shirt Day for all TRTA members at the Capitol April 20 Fashion Show by Assistance League of Montgomery County May 18 Annual scholarship end-of-year banquet
Buddy Backpack Program MCARSP will again be participating in the BUDDY BACKPACK PROGRAM, which is sponsored by the Montgomery County Food Bank. This program collects kid-friendly foods for children to take home in their backpacks for the weekend. Please bring your donations to each meeting so that they can be contributed to the Food Bank for distribution to needy children. Food needed exclusively for the backpack program: small jelly, small peanut butter, pork and beans, vienna sausage, cans of soup, cans of stew, instant oatmeal, dry milk, fruit cups, Ramen noodles, assorted whole wheat snacks, pudding, breakfast bars, individual cereals, juice boxes, pull top cans, single packs of Mac and Cheese, crackers, canned meats (tuna, chicken, ham, spam), cans or cups of pasta (ravioli, spaghetti, etc.) Non-perishable foods and small cans only
Community Volunteer Service Committee
Motto: “If it is to be, it is up to me.” Purpose: •To lead TRTA members in providing needed services to their communities. •To provide opportunities for retired school personnel to continue their involvement in the community. •To encourage services of TRTA members on community boards, councils, and other local groups that make policies and furnish services for all people in the community.
Every member should be recording volunteer hours for the calendar year January 2016 through December 2016. These hours will be turned in to the District Community Volunteer Service Chairperson to be compared with all other units in our district. The hours are then converted to a monetary equivalent to show how much retired school personnel contribute to the community and state. This year we will turn in our accumulated hours monthly, so please be documenting them. January through August hours will be turned in at the September meeting. Hours will also be collected at the October, November, December and January meetings.
Volunteer hours may be counted for any service that is provided without pay to an individual or group, up to 12 hours per day.
Record hours from the time you leave home until you return. Copies of the community volunteer service form will be provided to you at each meeting. Some suggestions for volunteer opportunities are in: schools and libraries, hospitals and nursing homes, small businesses and business offices, helping friends and neighbors, senior citizen centers, raising money for worthy causes, and church.
So look for me at the meeting. I’ll be the one with the hat!!! And I’ll have your papers waiting to fill out!!!
Remember: If volunteers aren’t there, who will be???
Tedi Armet -- Community/Volunteer Services Chairman
Informative/Protective Services
We know all of this, but it is so easy to get distracted and forget! Here are some back-to-school safety tips
from the National Safety Council (www.nsc.org) to use when sharing the road with young pedestrians:
Be alert; children often are unpredictable, and they tend to ignore hazards and take risks
Don't block the crosswalk when stopped at a red light or waiting to make a turn, forcing pedestrians to go
around you; this could put them in the path of moving traffic
In a school zone when flashers are blinking, stop and yield to pedestrians crossing the crosswalk or
intersection
Always stop for a school patrol officer or crossing guard holding up a stop sign
Take extra care to look out for children in school zones, near playgrounds and parks, and in all
residential areas
Don't honk or rev your engine to scare a pedestrian, even if you have the right of way
Never pass a vehicle stopped for pedestrians
Always use extreme caution to avoid striking pedestrians wherever they may be, no matter who has the
right of way
Carol Cryar – Informative & Protective Committee Chair
Legislative Issues
A specific intent for MCRSP focuses on Legislative Awareness. The challenges we face as
retired school personnel concentrate on protecting our pension system and guaranteeing
continuing access to quality healthcare.
The Texas Legislature convenes in January 2017. Over the past summer, TRTA reported
TRS-Care retiree health insurances faces changes. Retirees in TRS-Care plans and TRS-Care
Medicare Advantage plan will not experience an increase in their premiums. The changes
involve increased medical deductibles, maximum out-of-pocket limits applying to TRS-Care
standard plans and higher pharmacy co-pay costs.
Most changes approved by TRS went into effect on September 1, 2016. The change to
Humana for TRS-Care Medicare Advantage plan will go into effect on January 1, 2017.
TRTA Executive Director Tim Lee expertly guides us with these changes and future
challenges through The Inside Line. I recommend you subscribe to this weekly e-mail
newsletter through access at TRTA.org.
Texas Legislator Will Metcalf will join us for the October 20th meeting. Part of the
presentation will encourage questions. If you have a specific question, send it to me at
[email protected] or give me a copy at the September meeting. To allow Representative
Metcalf an opportunity to be prepared, a list of questions will be provided to him early. We
have to give him a chance!
Awareness must dominate our energies during this year. Our role is crucial to achieve success
in these endeavors. The opportunities to make a difference include local area activism and
Rally Day at the Capitol. Join the challenge!
Beth Ricciardi
Notes from Member Benefits Why join TRTA and your local chapter, MCARSP? You can save money! Member Benefits through TRTA provides members with multiple opportunities to save money not only on supplemental insurance (i.e., long-term care; cancer, heart, and accident; final expense whole life insurance; dental and vision), but also discounts on travel, flowers, identity protection, and computers. Come to our October meeting to meet our AMBA (Association Member Benefits Advisors) representatives! Also, come to every meeting to hear more about the awesome benefits available to you!
Becky Page – Member Benefits Chairman
Thanks to all our members who contributed to our Scholarship program
and the Children’s Book Project.
At our May luncheon, we honored the recipients of our Children’s Book Project and Scholarship
Funds. Nola Boughton and Laurie Devereaux chaired the Children’s Book Project.
Jeff Jordan was the Scholarship Chairman.
Book Project recipients from Armstrong Elementary
Principal Tricia Thacker and Librarian Delores Lopez
2016 Scholarship recipients Britney Jarvis and
Sarah Mendoza with Jeff Jordan
THANKS A LOT! Many Thanks to all the generous folks that signed up to be a greeter or bring refreshments and/or door prizes. It is this kind of generosity that makes our organization special!! Volunteers are listed in the yearbook. Look in the yearbook to see if you volunteered.
Three Cheers for the 2016-2017 MCRSP Children's Book Project!!!
Let us celebrate the growth of our amazing school district, but also remember that all those happy faces, more students and new teachers, mean greater needs.
We need to get an early and enthusiastic start on donations to our book project in order to keep pace and maybe even exceed those needs.
Thank you, thank you to ALL members for making it possible to present a check for $2,000 to Armstrong Elementary in May 2016. When visiting with Tricia
Thacker (principal) and Dolores Lopez (librarian), it was evident how appreciative they were. The BOOK CLOCK is such a clever idea and students will look forward to new books displayed throughout the year.
Austin Elementary will be our new project for 2016-2017, with a theme of "We've
Got Your Back”. Donations in memory of missed friends and in honor of someone special, plus our auction at the Christmas luncheon will be the source of the book fund. Also, our little collection baskets will always be on the tables by the
doors at each meeting. All donations of any amount are significant and are celebrated. Everyone is urged
to continue to collect special and unique items for our silent auction in December.
2016-2017 will be a great year for MCRSP and its members. Our book committee consists of: Carolyn Garrett, Martha Haines, Marcia Reagan, and Annetta Rose.
How LUCKY are we?
Grateful Co-chairs, Karen Baughman Annette Ferrell
Clock at Armstrong purchased Treats for Austin Elementary staff
with Children’s Book Project funds August 2016 “We’ve Got Your Back”
Sign up at Sept. meeting to attend District 6 fall conference on October 12 in Huntsville.
Austin Elementary –Ties That Bind
We’ve Got Your Back! We are excited to start a new project with Austin Elementary to help students and teachers.
Many opportunities to volunteer will be available beginning in September. Plan to participate in
this community service project. It is going to be fun!
Laurie Devereaux
More News from Beth I hope you are planning to volunteer with our “Ties that Bind” project at Austin
Elementary or attend Rally Day at the Capitol during this MCRSP 2016 – 2017 year. My
first Rally Day at the Capitol impressed me with the sea of red, especially the many local
units with their identifiable shirts.
This year, three different RED shirts with our logo will be offered to our members. Our
“new team” allows us to fundraise (a little) as well as advertise MCRSP.
1) A Tee made of a moisture management/antimicrobial performance fabric available in
Ladies sizes XS – 2XL and Mens sizes XS – 5XL. ($15)
2) A Polo made of the moisture management/antimicrobial performance fabric available in
Ladies sizes XS – 2XL and Mens sizes XS – 4XL. ($30)
3) A pullover made of water & wind resistant fabric in sizes XS – 4XL. ($30)
September is Go4Life Month Go4Life® —the exercise and physical activity campaign from the National Institute on Aging at NIH —is celebrating its second annual Go4Life Month! This year’s focus is #Fit4Function: be physically active so you can continue doing the everyday activities you enjoy. See what you or your organization can do this September! Check out their website: https://go4life.nia.hin.gov/
Carolyn A Brown Health Care Chair Like us on Facebook or visit our updated website at http://localunits.org/Montgomery
Samples of the shirts and sizes will be
available at the September meeting. Orders
will be due by September 23. Forms will be
available at the meeting or contact Beth at
[email protected] or 713-825-9871.
