Your partner in

pension protection

Mountain Echoes

May-June 2018

This month’s luncheon meeting will be on

Tuesday, June 5th

Please call Molly Morton at 951-925-7001 by Wednesday, May 30, to make

OR CANCEL a reservation.

The cost is $17 per person. Vegetarian meals are available if requested in advance.

Please make a reservation so we can order an accurate number of meals. We have to pay for every meal ordered.

Cancel early if you can’t make it.

Remember

a reservation made is a reservation paid.

Contact List

Area IX Director Ron Breyer

President Gayle Mattson

Vice-President Bob Parish

Newsletter Editor

Marty Langley

div33.calrta.org

CalRTA Sacramento

www.calrta.org

916-923-2200

CalSTRS

www.calstrs.com

800-228-5453

June 5th Agenda

Nominations, election and installation

of officers for 2018-2019

Luncheon Menu:

Chicken Marsala with rice, green salad,

rolls, and dessert

Presentation of Scholars

Please bring bagged or boxed non-perishable items for donation to

the Community Pantry.

2018 Scholarship Winners

Each of these graduates will receive a $1,000

scholarship

from CalRTA Division 33

Tahquitz HS—Sadie Chaffee

Hemet HS—Mariah Harper

West Valley HS—Raelee Taylor

Hamilton HS—Samantha Binger

Wester Center Academy—Kaitlyn Chadwick

Alessandro HS—Mariah Celis

Mountain View HS—Cassidy Seibert

San Jacinto HS—Misty Niesl

To new member

Jeannine Harrell

of Murrieta

2

Mission Inn Tour

CalRTA friends enjoyed their tour of the Mission Inn, May

15th.

Inside the St. Francis chapel is a two-story, gold-covered altar

and seven Tiffany stained glass windows. Fran Franke sang

here at a wedding, and Marty Langley's wedding reception

was in the lovely Spanish Art Gallery. If you haven't taken a

tour, you should! Our docent was great and the Mission Inn's

history is fascinating!

Afterward our tour, a few friends lunched in the Patio Din-

ing Square, while 10 of us lunched at the Old Spaghetti Facto-

ry in its 1800s bordello decor! It was a beautiful spring day,

flowers bloomed everywhere, and we had a great time to-

gether during our second annual field trip!

Introduction to Sue Breyer

In 1962, when my father accepted a job

as a professor of English at UC Riverside,

he moved our family from Detroit, Michi-

gan to Grand Terrace, CA, where I lived for 16 years. I graduat-

ed from Colton High School in 1973, attended UCR for two years

but received my BA in English from UCLA in 1977. After earning

my secondary English credential from UCR in 1978, I was re-

cruited by Hemet High School to teach composition and coach

girls swimming and both the cheer and dance squads. It was at

Hemet High that I met my husband, Ron Breyer, and we were

married in January 1982. I continued to teach English and coach

cheer and swimming until fall of 1982 when our first child, Jo-

seph, was born, followed by son Greg (1984) and daughters

Heather (1986) and Amanda (1988). Wanting to spend more

time with my young children, I left HUSD and worked part time

at Baptist Christian School teaching 9th, 11th and 12th grade Eng-

lish until 1992. I took two years off and coached the Hemet

Valley Dolphins community swim club before returning to

HUSD, bouncing between West Valley HS and Hemet High be-

fore returning permanently to Hemet High School in 1997.

Between 1997 and 2011, I taught virtually all levels of English,

from remedial to Honors to Advanced Placement and coached

swimming from 2002-2006. I left the classroom in fall of 2011

and accepted a position in Professional Development as a dis-

trict TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) Instructional Coach

where I spent six years mentoring English teachers in the dis-

trict, conducting trainings and workshops and working closely

with our BTSA/CTI probationary teachers, prior to retiring in

June 2017.

I have been a member of CTA (and HTA for all my years of em-

ployment with Hemet Unified) since 1978 and remember vividly

the power of political action in the teacher strike of 1979 (yes, I

walked out as a 2nd year probationary teacher). I spent a few

years on the HTA rep council and participated in rallies and pick-

eting during some tug-of-war negotiations over my nearly 40

years as an educator. My husband Ron, who was Division 33

president and now Area IX Director, spoke often of the “good

folks” in CalRTA and the “good things” the organization does for

current and retired educators and brought me into the fold as

soon as I retired. I am honored to serve as an officer for CalRTA

Division 33 and look forward to advocating on behalf of all edu-

cators, both local and statewide.

Election of the 2018-2019 Board

by Gayle Mattson, President

As of publication, there was one nomination: Sue Breyer for

Vice President. A final call for nominations from the floor will

be made at the luncheon. If none, the following Board Officers

will be approved by acclamation:

President: Gayle Mattson

Vice President: Sue Breyer

Secretary: Elizabeth Midyett

Treasurer: Jeannette Goar

Member at-large: Bob Parish

Other members are Board appointed and have agreed to serve

again: Marty Langley/Newsletter Editor and Webmaster,

Sandy Kasper/Scholarships and Grants Chair, Molly Morton/

Luncheons and Reservations Rep., Hilda Guilin/Ways and

Means Rep.

We could really use a Membership Chair or Co-Chairs!

I am thankful to work with this great group of dedicated

CalRTA Division 33 members!

3

Division 33 President

Gayle Mattson

Hello CalRTA Friends!

May is a beautiful, but busy month! Flowers and trees bloom everywhere, along with the weeds on my hillside. At Division 33 we’re presenting teacher grants to five middle school AVID Coordinators and $1000 scholarships to eight high school seniors. Plus, we distributed treats and CalRTA packets at eight elementary schools during Teacher Week. Many thanks to Sandy Kasper (Scholarships/Grants Chair), Elizabeth Midyett, Molly Morton, Frank Siebke, Ron and Sue Breyer.

Division 33 accomplished a lot this year! (I still think in school years, September to June, although now they’re August to May.) Last semester, CalRTA members joined DKG members and other teachers for the annual NAMI Walk at Domenigoni Lake. Some walked energetically, while others of us sat enthusiastically at the CalRTA booth!

This semester, we added community donations to our luncheons: diapers for My City Youth, stuffed animals for Boo Bears (first responders), and next month, boxed/bagged non-perishables for the Community Pantry. It’s an easy, effective way to support valuable community services, and we plan to continue at our luncheons next year.

Last month was our fun Birthday Bash to honor members 80+ years old and next month we’ll honor our scholarship recipients. What nice bookends for our educational association!

Two members attended Advocacy Day in the state capitol, and four members attended the annual CALRTA Convention in Sacramento. We lost our Legislative Rep who is moving to Texas, but we gained a candidate for Vice President. Thank you to Bob Parish, who despite an injury and Idyllwild commute, will remain on the Board as a Member At-Large. We could really use a Membership Chair/Co-Chairs! (And if you’re nominated from the floor at the June luncheon, you will very probably win!)

One last note: you’ll read in this issue about building our CalRTA Political Action Committee (PAC). Although no initiative against pensions is the November ballot, there will be another one eventually! CalRTA does not use dues for political action, so the PAC is financed by donations. I’ll explain how we can each donate $5 quarter-ly, without losing money! Imagine – 40,000 members x $20 annually --$800,000 per year! Pension protection is our first goal, so we need to be prepared!

‘See you at our Scholarship Luncheon June 5th with

bagged/boxed non-perishables!

Gayle

From Sue Breyer

New to CalRTA and not quite sure what I was getting myself

into, I agreed to attend the CalRTA State Convention at the in

Sacramento from April 27 – 29 and serve as a delegate for Divi-

sion 33. I didn’t know what, exactly, that meant, but I felt

lucky to be asked to join Gayle Mattson, Jeannette Goar and

my husband, Ron, for four days of workshops, dinners,

meetings and, of course, the election of new CalRTA officers.

On my first full day I was drawn to a workshop titled “Engaging

Younger Members,” which discussed location and tone of divi-

sion meetings and successful outreach opportunities in

attracting new members, especially recent retirees (like me).

Workshop attendees shared their strategies for recruiting new

younger members via social media, such as Facebook, Twitter,

and Instagram, and emphasized that division meetings should

be considered “activities” with member involvement and not

“presentations” with passive attendance. I scribbled notes as

fast as I could and the “wheels started turning” as these

shared strategies triggered new and exciting ideas in my mind.

Over the following two days I attended a presentation on

GOOGLE Apps – Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Forms and

Google Slides – and various strategies in using all things

Google to make connecting with veteran and new members

easier and faster.

But beyond the workshops and strategies for growing and

maintaining division membership was the information pre-

sented by finance consultant, David Walrath, who spoke at

length about retirement security, pension protection, afforda-

ble healthcare, Medicare and Medi-Cal funding, the repeal of

WEP-GPO, and consistent, persistent, focused ADVOCACY. He

reminded us of the importance of “Take Charge Thursdays”

and “Fairness Fridays,” of connecting with our Assembly Dis-

trict staff, and the importance of growing membership. He

reminded us that Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a

beginning, staying together is progress, and working together

is success.” Great words.

On Saturday, convention attendees and delegates gathered to

cast their vote to approve the new state budget before ventur-

ing off to their Area caucus meetings where delegates cast

their vote for Area Director and Area Chair of Nominations and

Elections. The best part of being a “first timer” at the conven-

tion was meeting so many incredible educators from all over

the state, including members of the CalRTA state board, area

directors, division officers and delegates. These people are

passionate, dedicated, and true advocates for education and it

was my honor to be a first time delegate for Division 33 .

4

The Core Purpose

of the California Retired Teachers Association

is to enhance and protect the benefits

of retired educators.

The Major Goal of CalRTA is to be the

dominant, authoritative voice for

all retired educators.

Next Year’s Calendar

Luncheon meetings at the Presbyterian Church will

be at noon on second Tuesdays, except for the June

meeting, which will be on the first

Tuesday. Doors open at 11:30.

October 9

December 11

February 12

April 9

June 4

Board meetings are on second Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m.

at the HTA Office. All CalRTA members are welcome to

attend. The Board meetings for 2018-19 will be on Sep-

tember 11, November 13, January 8, March 12, and

May 14.

FAIRNESS FRIDAYS

Are you fighting the unfair WEP-GPO? Are you op-

posing cuts to Medicare? Are you battling federal tax

increases for the middle class? Together, we can make

a real difference! When CalRTA sends emails on Fair-

ness Fridays (or immediate Action Alerts), they ex-

plain whom to contact, what to say, and how to do it.

Usually, it’s for Congress, sometimes it’s for state poli-

ticians. But it takes only five, fast minutes! When you

see a CalRTA email or a notice in the CalRTA Connec-

tion, please take action! Together we are over 40,000

voices – and that’s a very strong message for our rep-

resentatives!

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.

Mailing Address for CalRTA

1750 Howe Avenue, Suite 630

Sacramento, CA 95825

. If you are a California

voter, please remember

to cast your ballot in the

California primary elec-

tion by Tuesday, June 5. (Yes, the same

day as our meeting.) If you are unable to

get to the poll, you can ask your county

registrar to be added to the permanent

vote-by-mail list. Your vote is important!

Don’t leave your family wondering or arguing ...

Are your "five affairs" documented? Do you know what

they are? Will, POA, HCD, beneficiaries, HIPPA (A written

will, power of attorney form, health care directive, list of

who gets your stuff, health insurance portability and ac-

countability authorization.) If not, the Human Rights Cam-

paign Office in Washington D.C. offers free, basic explana-

tions online. You can read or download them at

hrc.org/planning

Remembering CalRTA

friends who have passed

on

Jack Stuckeman

5

Board Notes

from

Elizabeth Midyett,

Secretary

Board meetings are held on 2nd Tuesdays of alternate months at 11:30

a.m. at the HTA office, located at 2920 East Florida in Hemet.

All members are welcome to attend.

Attending: Gayle Mattson, Hilda Guilin, Sandy Kasper, Molly

Morton, and Elizabeth Midyett

Treasurer’s Report March 12, 2018

General Fund: $15,416.75

Foundation Fund: $55,658.88

Ron and Sue Breyer, Gayle Mattson and Jeannette Goar

attended the CalRTA convention.

CalRTA requires that divisions must have four Board posi-

tions: President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. The

Board may appoint other positions as needed.

Because of a miscommunication, this year’s middle school

AVID grants were for $275 rather than $250. The Board ap-

proved the change for this year only. Next year’s grants will

be awarded in the Fall.

In recognition of Teacher Appreciation Week, canisters of Red

Vines, CalRTA Info packets, and Division 33 pens will be dis-

tributed to eight elementary schools.

The cost of the Mission Inn tour was $13 rather than $11 be-

cause of lack of signups. Moved, seconded and approved that

the Division will pay the additional $2.

Sue Breyer has agreed to serve as Vice President if elected,

and Bob Parish will be a Board Member at Large. Other nom-

inations can be made at the June meeting.

Gayle will order cups for the scholarship

winners and badges for new officers. Mol-

ly has arrange the menu for the luncheon

and Hilda will take care of décor. Gayle will

be in charge of the election and installation

and Sandy will handle the presentation of

scholarships.

Legislative Updates from the CalRTA Convention

by Gayle Mattson

One Convention session I never miss is David Walwrath’s,

our Legislative Analyst. This year, CalRTA and affiliates

blocked bills in the California Legislature that would nega-

tively affect our pensions. And at this time, there are no

initiatives for pension reform on the November ballot. But

they will return! So we must increase donations to our PAC

(Political Action Committee). CalRTA does not spend dues

money on political actions and does not endorse candidates.

CalRTA supports AB 2808 which calls for raising school fund-

ing to the national average. In fact, the state constitution

actually calls for per pupil expenditures to be the average of

the ten states with the highest per pupil spending! The gov-

ernor’s budget also calls for increases.

The word “pension” can have negative connotations, espe-

cially when lumped with CalPERS or other pension pro-

grams. So Walwrath suggests that CalRTA stress

“retirement security” which includes our pensions, fair so-

cial security, access to affordable/quality health care, and

the preservation of Medicare.

Suzie Dixon, the CalRTA Government Relations Chair, recent-

ly met with 10 members of the House Ways and Means So-

cial Security Subcommittee in Washington D.C. They’ve re-

ceived thousands of calls and emails regarding the unfair

WEP/GPO – so keep up the good work on Fairness Fridays!

Our local Congressman, Dr. Raul Ruiz, does not serve on this

committee, but opposes the WEP-GPO and advocates for

seniors, veterans, and their benefits! Dr. Ruiz staffs an office

at Hemet City Hall and you can review his website at

ruiz.house.gov .

6

Photos from our April meeting. We celebrated our

80-years+ members with a cake that was meant to have “friends” after CalRTA. And we collected

stuffed animals for donation to kids in need of sup-

port in emergency situations. And we had a good

time chatting with friends old and new.

7

Please Report your

Volunteer Hours

You can include free child care, taking a

neighbor to a doctor, shopping for an in-

valid, serving on a board or committee or

any organization, telephone trees, addressing envelopes

for collection of donations, or any other non-paid ser-

vices that you do for your community, including CalRTA.

No need to be specific — just tell us how many hours

that you have volunteered and which month(s) you are

reporting. Send a note to

Melinda West-Melrose

18160 Cottonwood Road, PMB 496

Sunriver Oregon 97707

Or send email to (deleted)

Keeping in Touch

Do you know someone who should

receive a card of good wishes, con-

gratulations, sympathy or ??? from

our members? Please contact Sherri

Domenigoni at 951-925-4007 with the

information or send it by email to

(deleted).

The San Jacinto Mountain Scholarship Foundation

Division 33 is proud of its Scholarship Foundation which provides $1,000 scholarships to Hemet and

San Jacinto seniors annually. As the number of high schools has grown, so has the number of schol-

arships! We currently honor students at five comprehensive and two alternative high schools.

Please help us continue this great tradition. Donations in all amounts are welcome and we have four easy ways to contrib-

ute. Your checks are tax-deductible.

1) Place cash or check donations in our blue scholarship cups at each luncheon meeting.

2) Mail personal checks to our treasurer, payable to San Jacinto Mountain Scholarship Foundation Address:

Jeannette Goar 3239 Pachappa Hill Riverside CA 92506

3) Honor the memory of a fellow member or educator with a check. Please let Jeannette know where/to whom to send an

honor card.

4) Bequeath funds from your estate. Our foundation is a 503(c) non-profit, EIN #64-096-2759. It was established using a

member’s generous bequest. Your future contribution will help to ensure that Division 33 continues to fund our valley’s

scholarships.

Please share this information with your financial planner and email Gayle Mattson, Division 33 President at (deleted). She

will consult with our Morgan Stanley advisor to make your bequest process as easy as possible. Thank you for your ongoing

contributions! Division 33 members continue to impact the future!

Ride Sharing

Please don’t miss a meeting because

you need a ride. Just contact one of the following people on

Monday, who will be glad to have you ride along with them.

For the West Hemet area, call

Gayle Mattson at 951-929-5592

For the Central Hemet area, call

Sandy Kasper at 951-927-1427

For the Valle Vista/East Hemet area, call

Molly Morton at 951-925-7001

8

California Retired Teachers Association

San Jacinto Mountain Division No. 33

Mountain Echoes

2920 East Florida Avenue, Suite 101

Hemet CA 92544

NON-PROFIT ORG

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

HEMET CA

PERMIT NO. 549

Please be with us on Tuesday,

June 5th

Come at 11:30 so you’ll have time

to visit with friends old and new

before the meeting begins at noon.

First Presbyterian Church

515 Kimball Street

between Buena Vista and Franklin

n Hemet

It’s okay to use the parking lot across

Kimball Street.

Our 2018-19 Calendar

Can be found on page 4.