TEAMWORK IS

IN

BCRSP

BCRSP Newsletter- Volume 2 October , 2017

Meeting Agenda Gathering: * Pay for lunch, sign in, pick up materials and door prize ticket * Put on name tag, socialize, find table * Donate to TRTF, Children’s Book Project and/or Scholarship Fund Luncheon: ⇒Welcome, Invocation, Pledges, and Introduction of Special Guests Carolyn Taylor, Effie Perry and Shirley Burkhalter Serving begins at 11:30 Meeting Format: # Financial Report/Minutes Diana DeFrancesco /Vera Wallem Old Business: v Community Volunteer Report - Frances

Maloney/Elaine Stephens v Children’s Book Project- Mary Ann

Gaylord/Carolyn Parsons v Membership Update - Patsy Bolch New Business: Ø Foundation Month-November-

Danny Stribling/Dale Schafer Ø Legislative Update - James Warner Ø District VI Fall Convention Report -

Carolyn Taylor Membership Appreciation: *In the Spotlight and Birthdays - Susan Junek *Recognition of new members - Patsy Bolch *Door Prizes - Cathy Berry *Most Valuable Players - Carolyn Taylor *Chuckle for the Day - Linda Coats                            

         PROGRAM   ”TRICK-­‐OR-­‐TREAT                                                                                                          

       for  TRTF”                                              

Speakers:  Ronnie  Jung,  TRS  Retirement  Consultant  Frank  Middleton,  District  VI  President    Nicole  Faske,  TRTF  Beginning  Teacher  Scholarship  Recipient    

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *   VOTE ON NOVEMBER 7th!

Early voting dates and times:

(Photo ID required) 10/23-27 8 til 5

10/30-11/1 8 til 5 11/2-3 8 til 8

Locations: College Station – CS Utilities & Mtg

Facility on Graham Rd. MSC on TAMU Campus

Bryan – Arena Hall on Tabor Rd. Galilee Baptist Church

Brazos County Adm. Bldg. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

NOVEMBER  MEETING  Wednesday,  Nov.  15*  

 Speaker:    John  Hince  State  Commander  

Texas  American  Legion    

*Note  –  Meeting  is  on  3rd    Wednesday  

 

Brazos County Retired School Personnel October 18, 2017

Newsletter

IN THE SPOTLIGHT Welcome to BCRSP Pat Barrow! Pat was born on January 31st in Abilene, Texas. She retired from Rockdale ISD in 1998, where she was a Computer Literacy teacher and then taught Computer Literacy for Temple College. She also taught 5th grade Science in Floydada ISD and 6th grade Math and Science and 3rd grade Science in Tahoka ISD. Pat graduated from Abilene High School in 1960, attended Texas Tech, West Texas A&M and graduated with a B.S. in Elementary Education from Wayland Baptist College. Pat has been married to Frank Barrow for 48 years. They have 2 sons, Boone and wife Cathy of College Station and Tim and wife Daniela of Houston. They have 8 grandchildren, including quadruplet granddaughters (age 14) and their 15-year-old sister who says she is the boss, as well as another granddaughter and 2 grandsons. Pat is active in the Somerville History Foundation, having served as Board President for 6 years and United Methodist Church. She also enjoys Genealogy. Pat looks forward to becoming active in BCRSP to stay informed of current changes taking place in TRS Retirement Insurance in particular.  

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: We’re off to a 1-0 start in BCRSP! Our September meeting was a win and we’re preparing for another victory on October 18th when we will be Trick or Treating for TRTF! Thanks to all of you who have joined for 2017-2018 and are already enjoying the benefits of membership. If you haven’t renewed your membership – “It’s Time!” November is Texas Retired Teachers Foundation Month and this is one of the charitable projects our organization supports. Look for more information about TRTF in The Voice and in this newsletter. We will be asking for donations at our October 18th meeting, so come prepared to give to this very worthy cause. Ronnie Jung, TRS Retirement Consultant will be speaking on the benefits of TRTF. Nicole Faske, local teacher and TRTF Beginning Teacher Scholarship Recipient will also share how she will use the scholarship. Officers and Committee Chairs will be “Trick or Treating for TRTF!” Be a “team player” in BCRSP by giving generously to TRTF!

A warm welcome to our special guests, Ronnie Jung, TRS Retirement Consultant and his wife, Diann, District VI President, Frank Middleton and TRTF Beginning Teacher Scholarship recipient, Nicole Faske. Welcome to BCRSP!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS: Danny Stribling for being responsible for setting up our sound system for each meeting, making contact cards to pass out to prospective new members and promoting TRTF.

Mildred Davis for organizing our buffet line, taking photos and coming early to help decorate. Sharon Ogden for maintaining our website, putting the yearbook and newsletter online, preparing the Adopt-A-Retiree board for the September meeting and coming early to help decorate. Dale and Judy Schafer for giving the bags and cards once again this year for those who contribute to TRTF.

DISTRICT VI FALL CONFERENCE: BCRSP was represented by Carolyn Taylor, Mildred Davis, Sharon Ogden, Vera Wallem, Sheila Fields, James Warner, Linda Warner, Frances Maloney and Dale Schafer. District VI President, Frank Middleton presided over the conference. As always, it was a good opportunity to network with other local units in the district and share ideas. The speakers representing TRS, TRTA, AMBA and the Texas Legislature were outstanding. The main issues covered were TRS-Care, TRS Defined Benefit Pension Plan and WEP. We were urged to be communicating with our legislators about these issues. We were also encouraged to use AMBA benefits when recruiting new members. District VI Officers and Committee Chairs gave their reports. Carolyn Taylor reported positive results with local units in the district in her role as District Local Unit Support Chair. She also reported that $200 has been budgeted for each local unit this year. After a Schlotzky’s boxed lunch, we elected officers for 2018-2020, approved the budget for 2018-2020, had the memorial ceremony honoring deceased members of District VI and the door prize drawing. BCRSP provided a door prize which was a $50 framed gift certificate from Aggieland Outfitters. Then we adjourned. It was a great day! MEMBERSHIP UPDATE: Patsy Bolch, 1st Vice-President for membership has been recovering from a knee replacement, but has faithfully fulfilled her duties in spite of it! We now have a total of 238 members (196 state and local, 42 state only and 15 new).

We are getting closer and closer to our goal of 300 members! You can help us reach that goal by inviting people you know to join. That remains our best recruiting tool! Thanks, Patsy for the excellent job you are doing for BCRSP! A warm welcome to all our new members!

ELECTION 2017: November 7th is Election Day. Early voting information is on the agenda page of the newsletter. Let’s all exercise this right, research the candidates and issues and get out and vote. National, state and local elections give us the opportunity to make a difference in our country, state and city. Others have fought and given their lives for us to have this freedom so let’s honor their memory by voting on November 7th!

CHILDREN’S BOOK PROJECT: Mary Ann Gaylord, Children’s Book Project Committee Chair, and her assistant Carolyn Parsons, want to remind you to either bring books or give money to buy books in support of this project, which runs from January to December each year. December is our month for special emphasis on this project, but you are encouraged to give any time during the year. See Mary Ann or Carolyn. They’ll take your books or money! COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER SERVICE PROJECT: Frances Maloney, Community Volunteer Service Chair, and her assistant Elaine Stephens remind you to be keeping track of your volunteer hours. This service project also runs from January to December each year. They will be asking for a total of your volunteer hours for 2017 at the end of December, so be ready!

JOHN HINCE IS COMING! We are so fortunate to have John Hince, State Commander of the Texas American Legion as our guest speaker in November! You don’t want to miss this! We will be honoring our veterans as well. Please plan to be present on November 15th and bring a friend. Don’t forget to make reservations. SCHEDULE CHANGES IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER: Remember that we will be meeting on the 3rd Wednesday in November and December to avoid conflicts with the holidays. HEALTH CARE NATIONAL OBSERVANCE: October is Bone and Joint Health National Awareness Month. You can order free materials from: U.S. Bone and Joint Initiative (847) 430-5054 www.usbji.org Put your heart in your bone and joint health! TEXAS RETIRED TEACHERS FOUNDATION: TRTF is the charitable wing of TRTA, supporting these special initiatives: *Classroom Assistance Grants (grants to classroom teachers) *Beginning Teacher Scholarships (scholarships to beginning teachers) *Lehr-Pritchard Endowment (endowment to provide permanent funding for the Helping Hands initiative) *Legacy Campaign (funds used for special projects to promote education in Texas and TRS) We will be “Trick or Treating for TRTF” at our October meeting. You may give in honor or memory of someone or just give! You may designate which initiative you would like your donation to support. If you would like your donation to be given to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, you may designate that as well. Please make checks payable to BCRSP with a note in the memo line if you want to donate to a certain initiative or person.

ADOPT-A-SCHOOL: One of our goals this year is to develop a closer relationship with active teachers to make them more aware of TRTA/BCRSP and what we do. Your coaches are asking you to “adopt-a-school” this year to help us achieve this goal. You may choose the school from which you retired, a school near where you live, or just any school! Suggestions of things you might do are:

• Put treats in the faculty lounge on a special occasion • Provide treats at a faculty meeting • Put small treats in teacher’s mailboxes • Put up posters about TRTA in faculty lounge (available from TRTA) • Put BCRSP brochures in faculty lounge • Speak at a faculty meeting about BCRSP • Put up a photo board of BCRSP activities in the faculty lounge • Prepare an article about BCRSP to include in faculty newsletter • Make teachers aware of Before the Bell e-newsletter • Pray for teachers, administrators and all personnel at the school • Volunteer in the school you adopt

You may have other better ideas. There is no minimum number of contacts you must make. There are no funds budgeted for this project, so anything you do is a donation. If you are interested in adopting a school, please let me know. You may choose to work together in groups. You should also clear any activities with the principal of the school you adopt. I am adopting Fannin Elementary!

October Birthdays! 01 - Sharyn Glavin 07 – Clair Lillie 10 – Peggy White, Laverne Young- Hawkings 11 – Meredith Wilson 18 – James Warner 20 – Carolyn Taylor 22 – Judy LeUnes 25 – Beverly Walker 27 – Ali McDonald, Cindy Still  

 

 

   

Nominating Committee Report The BCRSP Nominating Committee (Beverly Walker, Meredith Wilson, Rick Hill, James Warner – Chair) will propose the following slate of officers for election at the November meeting: President – Mildred David 1st Vice-President – Frances Maloney 2nd Vice-President – Sheila Fields Secretary – Mary Ann Gaylord Treasurer – Vera Wallem Nominations will also be accepted from the floor at that time. Term of office begins July 1, 2018 and runs through June 30, 2020.

LEGISLATIVE REPORT OCTOBER 2017

At the beginning of the 85th Texas Legislative session, our TRS-Care health insurance fund faced a deficit of $1+ billion. Actions taken by the House and the Senate during the regular and special sessions produced $696 million in new revenue toward reduction of that deficit. While the insurance disaster many retirees feared did not materialize, premiums, deductibles, and out of pocket increases were still necessary. See The Inside Line of September 1, 2017 for full details. It should be noted that had TRTA members not been persistent in contacting state legislators, our TRS-Care program would probably have ended. Many legislators with constituents in TRTA District 6 helped to produce legislation favorable to retirees. These officials should be contacted, thanked, and supported. Will TRS-Care face a deficit when the 86th Legislature convenes in January 2019? Absolutely! Will our annuity program (Defined Benefit) face new challenges? Almost Certainly! Will TRTA need to add new members this year and have all members ready to work in coordination with elected officials who support our programs? More than ever! It is imperative that TRTA Members:

1) Thank Representatives and Senators for their support. Invite them to your local unit meetings;

2) Subscribe to The Inside Line, follow your legislator’s Facebook page, respond to TRTA Action Alerts;

3) Share your healthcare concerns with your local newspaper and on Facebook;

4) Be aware that all Representatives and half the Senators are up for re-election in 2018. Ask the candidates in your district where they stand on TRS-Care health insurance and on our TRS Defined Benefit program. VOTE! Vote in the March primaries. That is when political races are decided in Texas. Do not wait until the November General Election to vote.

5) Work for those candidates who support us and let them know that you do so.

6) Specifically, ask candidates to support a realistic long-term funding plan for TRS-Care.

Finally, if you decide to shop for health insurance outside TRS-Care, exercise caution. Cost is not the only consideration. Coverage, plan sustainability, and pre-existing conditions are just a few of the other considerations to be taken into account. Also, consider that leaving TRS-Care could be permanent. You have until January 1, 2018 to make a decision about entering a different insurance program. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Submitted by: Dr. James Warner TRTA District VI Legislative Chair

   

Brazos County Retired School Personnel General Meeting and Luncheon

September 27, 2017

President Carolyn Taylor called the members to order at 11:30 a.m. in the Oakwood Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel. Effie Perry offered the invocation. Shirley Burkhalter led members in the pledges to the American flag and to the Texas flag. Members were served a buffet luncheon. President Taylor welcomed the special guests and announced the theme for the year as “Teamwork is the key in BCRSP.” Five senior cheerleaders from Bryan High School, accompanied by their leader Latisha Moody, conducted a pep rally for TRTA and BCRSP. Following the pep rally, Coach Taylor introduced her coaching staff (the Executive Committee) and challenged the members to become involved and support the charitable projects, legislative involvement, communication and participation in Adopt a School. The bylaws, agendas, and newsletters are online this year. The goal for this year is “Have a Winning Year.” Sheila Fields introduced Pat Macias, TRTA State 1st Vice-President who spoke about the goals for the year. These include attaining a membership of 100,000 and fighting for everyone’s health care. She thanked State Rep. Raney for his help in getting health care legislation passed this special legislative session. Treasure Diane DeFrancesco was acknowledged for her help in transitioning under the TRTA umbrella. V-P Macias noted that November 1st is the deadline for members to submit amendments at the State Convention.

Bryan ISD Superintendent, Dr. Christine Whitbeck and Brandon Webb from the Office of Communications discussed the upcoming Tax Ratification Election on October 10 and how it would affect the schools. Rep. John Raney and Rep. Kyle Kacal were honored for their service during the legislative session. Dr. James Warner has visited all the state Representatives and Senators from District VI and noted his appreciation for Representatives Raney’s and Kacal’s help during the legislative session. Rep. Raney spoke about the importance of educating our citizens. Dr. Warner encouraged all members to attend one of the sessions at the Brazos County Expo Center on October 18th to become informed about upcoming changes in TRS-Care. About $700 million was allocated by the legislature, which leaves a shortfall of $300 million, which will be made up with increases in premiums and deductions. Since a deficit is assured, the legislature needs to fix the issue, not provide a band-aid. During the business meeting, the Budget for 2017-2018 was adopted. Membership totals 222 of whom 15 are new members. Three of the new members were in attendance and recognized. A signup sheet was available for those planning to attend the District VI Conference in Huntsville on October 12th. The Book Drive continues until December 1st with Mary Ann Gaylord and Carolyn Parsons heading the committee. A flyer was circulated for members to list the places they volunteer and another one to record their hours of Community Service. Dan Stribling discussed the business cards he had printed for members to hand to prospective members informing them of BCRSP and whom to contact regarding information and membership. A poster board listed the names of recent retirees, and members were encouraged to take a name from the board and contact that person, encouraging them to join BCRSP. Yearbooks were distributed. In October a collection will be made for the TRTF “Texas Takes Care of Texans” initiative for aid to Hurricane Harvey victims. Dr. James Warner presented the slate of officers for 2018-2020. President Mildred Davis, 1st Vice-President Frances Maloney, 2nd Vice-President Sheila Fields, Secretary Mary Ann Gaylord, Treasurer Vera Wallem, and Past President Carolyn Taylor. An election will be conducted at the November meeting. Susan Junek recognized those with September birthdays. Meredith and Dodie Wilson were recognized for producing our refrigerator magnets. Claire Lillie has paid $200 for a BCRSP ad to be placed in the BVSO programs. Gerald Johnson created the wooden key centerpieces and Lavonda Popp the welcome sign. Cathy Berry provided the door prizes in her personally crafted gift bags. The BCRSP newsletter is available online one week prior to the luncheon. All items to be included are to be forwarded to Sharon Ogden, Technology Chairman. Linda Coats closed the meeting with her Chuckle of the Day. Adjournment: 1:35 p.m. Submitted by: Vera Wallem, BCRSP Secretary      

     

 

Informative and Protective Services Committee

Technology Tips

Q. What are the signs that it is time to replace your computer?

Unusual behavior from hardware and software can provide clues. For example, grinding or clunking noises coming from the computer’s internal drive have traditionally been signs that your system was about to go south (or at least needed investigation) and that new equipment might be on the horizon. However, as hardware has gotten more reliable, the software that runs on it can become outdated before the machine’s physical parts give out.

If you are running an operating system released within the past five years or so — but the computer seems slow — try performing the standard maintenance routines for your platform. These tasks include running the built-in Disk Defragmenter and the Disk Cleanup utilities for Windows or making sure your Mac has enough available free space on its drive to work efficiently. Check the support site for your platform for more information.

Keeping your operating system up-to-date is important not only for the newest features, but to get the latest security patches. If your computer’s processor or other components are too old to receive these updates or the manufacturer has ceased official support, you may want to start thinking about getting a new computer. You can usually get along for a few years with third-party security software, but the newest versions of your preferred programs and games may not work — or run at a snail’s pace on your outdated system. You may also find that adding new hardware peripherals to your computer becomes difficult if your machine lacks the proper connection ports or the manufacturer does not release driver software compatible with your older system. Getting a new computer is often a considerable investment, not only in money, but also in the time it takes to move your files, install any new updated software and adjust to the new operating system. Migration applications for both Windows and Mac computers are available to help ease the transition for upgrading to a newer version of the same system; the support sites for Microsoft and Apple have guides to making a cross-platform move. When it does come time to leave your old computer, you can recycle it responsibly. Apple, ASUS, Dell and many other manufacturers have electronics take-back programs to recycle old equipment. Check your hardware company’s site for information. By J. D. Biersdorfer Oct. 11, 2017- N.Y. Times

Health and Wellness Committee

BCRSP September Meeting 2017

New Meeting Place

Team Building Information Sharing