MCREA April, 2013

 

Tommy Thompson waits for members to see him and renew their memberships in MCREA. 

 

 Our excellent speakers from AAA Travel, Marge Koser  and Maureen Ray told us about many travel opportunities coming up this summer.  How about a surprise trip?  AAA only tells the travelers the temperatures to expect, so that they can pack accordingly, and the length of the trip.  Then when the date is announced to sign on, the phones ring like mad at the Lakewood Ranch  AAA office as people clamber to get in on the action.  If you think you might be one of those brave souls, call Marge Koser at the LWK AAA to find out more.

 

At the May meeting, the new officers of MCREA will be installed.  Also coming up at that meeting is a vote on changing the Bylaws to include a statement about the procedures that must be taken should MCREA ever be dissolved.  This is a directive from the FREA to handle the financial situation should that occur.  Of course, we do not see that happening with our active group.

 

I spent a couple of afternoons grading the donated books to be included in the last distribution of backpacks of food for FELT when school ends for summer break.  They were wonderfully illustrated and engaging, and I know most of them came from MCREA members.  Thank you for those donations.  Of course, we are still collecting food item and books.  Also, the Manatee County Food Bank appreciates our donations of food and money.  We are also collecting items for distribution at nursing homes around the county. 

 

Our Treasurer, Ron Schneider, has been chosen Volunteer of the Year for District 7, FREA.  Not only is Ron a tremendous worker for MCREA, he also volunteers for the Rotary Club and many other organizations around the county.  We are very proud of him and grateful for his work keeping the books straight for us. 

 

The Scholarship Committee met and awarded a $500 scholarships to Melea Willett of Southeast High School who will attend the University of Florida.  Melea is also a recipient of the FREA Scholarship which awards her $500 for her freshman year and then incremental awards for the last three years.  Another scholarship for $500 was awarded to Erin Tribble of Manatee High School who will attend the State College of Florida.  Both of these students will also be considered for another MCREA grant in their junior years should they continue their goal of becoming educators and should they maintain good grades.  Thank you to all members who contributed funds for  those scholarships.  We hope to have both young ladies as guests at our May meeting along with their parent or parents.

 

And that brings us to the most important information in the note.  Please come to the May 16th lunch at Renaissance on 9th.  Try to arrive at 11 to 11:15 to visit with friends and discuss your summer plans.  The program is rather open and informal, officially billed as a picnic.  I suppose that means wear comfy summer clothes and expect potato salad, or maybe hotdogs?  Anyway, it will be fun for all with lots of games and prizes. 

 

If you do not hear from your caller before Friday, May 10, please call Mary Ann Jensen at 756-7603.

 

Ellen





April 2013

 

Hello Everyone,

 

 

 I am finally getting back into the groove since my daughter's chemotherapy treatments at Moffitt have ended and she is getting stronger every day.  So far, so good. 

 

 The pictures I have posted are from the February meeting and were sent to me by Minnie Jones.  The first is of an attentive group listening to the "Dramatures" from the Manatee Players.  I hear they were very entertaining.  The second is picture is of Terrence and Joan McDonald, hard working members of the Scholarship Committee.

The third is of President Deborah Thomas and telephone committee member and general "jane-of-all-trades",Connie Myers.

 

  The last picture of is our dear member, Veronica Orbaker, whom we lost this winter.  She is with her daughter, Nancy Porter.  I took the photo at an AAUW meeting luncheon in 2010.





 

 

 

 

Nominations for New Officers



  

 Deborah Thomas and her MCREA Board are finishing up their two year term in May, so the nominating committee chair, Mary Ann Jensen, submitted the names of  members who will carry on the duties of the organization.  New officers include:  Judy Shostrom, President; Susan Roe, 1st Vice President; Tommy Thompson, 2nd Vice President; Nancy Erwin, Secretary; and Ron Schneider, Treasurer.  The slate of new officers will be presented at the March meeting for your vote.  Installation of officers will be at the May meeting.

 

MCREA Scholarship Committee

 

Applications for the MCREA Scholarships must be mailed by April 8, and the Scholarship Committee will meet the following week to award them.  Donations are still being gratefully accepted for our scholarship fund.  Last year, we awarded two $1000 scholarships to some very grateful and outstanding students.  This year, we plan to award $500 to each recipient and then to follow up later, when they have completed their first two years and have chosen their fields of study, with another $500 if the funds are available.

 

FREA Scholarships

 

FREA contacted me recently to inform us that Tayler Liles, a recipient of the FREA Scholarship last year, will receive her second FREA Scholarship of $750.  I hope you saw Tayler when she visited us last year.  She received $500 from FREA then and $1000 from MCREA.  We are very proud of her for doing so well in her first year in college. She is a graduate of Palmetto High School and attends the University of Florida. Remember that donations in the form of door prize tickets will be offered at our meetings raise money for the FREA Scholarship Fund. 

 

April Meeting

 

MCREA will meet on Thursday, April 18, at 11:00, at Renaissance on 9th.  There will be a memorial for the members we have lost in the months since last April.  A speaker from AAA (that's three A's, not two) will inform us about planning some trips for summertime fun.  As usual, if you do not hear from your caller in the week preceding the meeting, please call Mary Ann Jensen to make a reservation. 

 

FELT and Manatee County Food Bank

 

For those of us who realize more and more how lucky we are to have comfortable lives, there are always opportunities to share with others who are not so comfortable.  We are still collecting food and books for Feeding Empty Little Tummies and for the Manatee County Food Bank.  Even though the economy is getting a little better, there are still people who need our help.

 

I hope to see you at the meeting this month.

 

Ellen

 

 



 

 

 

February 2013

Hello MCREA friends,

    Since I have not been able to get to a meeting for several months, I haven't taken any pictures.  This one is courtesy of Deborah Thomas from the December meeting.  I think everyone looks very festive and we can remember that lovely season.

    Sadly, I will not be with you again this month.  My daughter has finished the fifth session of her chemotherapy at Moffitt and has one more coming the last week of February.  I dare not join any large gatherings because of the threat of catching a cold which I would then probably give to her since I am taking care of her.  I haven't been to a movie in months!  Maybe by April I can return to MCREA.

    In the meantime, Julia Forkgen has been carrying on as the sole chair of the scholarship committee.  The members met and chose an application to send to FREF.  If you remember, our applicant won a scholarship last year.  It is a generous amount of money to help throughout the student's years in college.  I hope you are all contributing to the FREF through your purchase of door prize tickets at the meetings. 

The MCREA Scholarship applications have been mailed to the high schools.  Those applications will not be reviewed until April by our committee.  Again, we are hoping for some excellent applicants.  These scholarships are supported by donations from you, so I hope you have remembered to send one to our Treasurer or to bring one to a meeting.

MCREA meets on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 11:00, at Renaissance on 9th.  The program will be exciting since it is from the Dramatures of the Manatee Players.  There will also be an opportunity for you to participate in a "Sweet Memories of the Classroom" sharing time.  You might think about that to perhaps pull at our heart strings with your lovely story.  It is Valentine's month after all.

We are still supporting the Manatee County Food Bank, FELT, and a local nursing home.  Donations of money, food, children's books, small toiletries, socks, sweaters, etc. are always in order.  Johncyna MacRae is asking for help reading books to children at Williams Elementary.  As you know, the school is named for Deborah Thomas's and Johncyna's mother, a greatly respected educator in Manatee County.
We do not have all the details yet, but Johncyna will let you know when the event is set.

As usual, if you do not hear from your caller, let Mary Ann Jensen know by Sunday, the week of the meeting.  I hope you have a warm and loving Valentine's Day even if you have to go out and buy those flowers and candy yourself.  You deserve them.

Ellen

January, 2013

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year,

    It is wonderful to have a week to catch up with MCREA news and events.  My daughter, Louise, is half way through her chemotherapy treatments, and her oncologist has given her  until Monday, Jan. 14 to recuperate and have a breather.  Then it begins again, Monday through Thursday, with two weeks off before the next Monday through Thursday, etc.  Altogether, it will be three weeks of chemo and six of recovery from it.  Last time she had to be hospitalized for a week after the second session.  We hope that does not recur.  Her courage is great and her mood is upbeat in spite of the setbacks.  Her recent MRI showed that the tumors had shrunk a lot.  I've been able to keep up by telling myself that I drove up to the campus where Moffitt Cancer Center is located once or twice each week when I was in graduate school at USF.  Of course, I was much younger then, but I think, no tougher nor as motivated.

    Members have been having a great time according to Deborah Thomas's pictures and her descriptions of the events.  November's meeting celebrating MCREA's 50th, mostly put together by Carolyn and David Brown, was instructive and entertaining.  The pictures show Ed Ethridge and Deborah cutting the anniversary cake and some of the exhibits of the "good old days" in the schools of Manatee. 

    The Christmas meeting was also very festive featuring the Manatee County Chorus under the direction of  Tommy Jomesco and accompanied by our own Carolyn Reynolds. Sandy Stevenson got everyone in a competitive mood with games and prizes.  Carolyn Brown reported that the Volunteer Services Committee put together about 50 goodie bags to distribute to the nursing home, and youth volunteers from Florida Hometown USA accompanied the committee in delivering the bags and visiting the residents.
    The FREF Fundraiser for Scholarships is in full swing.  Ticket/donations are $10 each and may be purchased from Julia Forkgen at meetings.  Door prizes include:
Grand Prize - IPad III
First Prize - Kindle Fire
Second Prize - Kindle Fire
Third Prize - $200
Fourth Prize - $100
You do not have to be present at the conference to win, nor do you have to be a member of FREA, so sell some to your friends and relatives.  You can win.  We all remember that member Trish Bissell won an HDTV in 2011.
    Of course, we are still hoping that you will donate to our own MCREA Scholarship.  I will ask Deborah and Ron Schneider to report the amount of money we have accumulated to award this spring -- so far.  College is so expensive now that our Manatee County students who plan to be educators need our help.
    The new MCREA Directories were handed out at the December meeting.  Please check yours for any changes in email, phone, or street addresses that did not get included.  If there are changes, call or see David Brown for corrections.
    At last, County Historian Kathy Slusser will speak at our meeting on Jan. 17.  In error, I announced that she would appear in November.  I guess I was as anxious as I should have been.  Kathy is a fountain of interesting information about Manatee's early days.  The meeting will be held at Reniassance on 9th at 11:30.  Try to be there by 11:15 to facilitate getting everyone seated on time.  If your caller has not gotten in touch by the Sunday preceding that date, call Mary Ann Jensen to make your reservation.  We are still hoping you will invite some of your former colleagues who have not yet joined us. 
    Don't forget to throw a donation of food for the Manatee Food Bank or for FELT into your car for that day.  Books for FELT are also appreciated as are checks made out the Food Bank and designated for FELT.  They get much more bang for their bucks when they purchase food from the Food Bank's sponsors.

I hope to see you at least by the March meeting.  In the meantime, keep on supporting MCREA and its work.  I miss you all.

Ellen

November, 2012

We were a motley crew at our Halloween meeting.  Thank you to all who "got yourselves up" into some interesting costumes.  I think we had a contest for the best costume, but I forgot who won it.  Probably because it was not I.  Our newest members, Sue Kinnan and Johncyna McRae, are pictured as are some of our other members.

A highlight of the meeting was when members recounted their most terriflying moment in the classroom.  Some of the tales were really frightening.  You had to be there, folks.  So be there this month which promises to be just as entertaining.

Our meeting this month will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of MCREA.  We will have an exhibit of memorabilia of the past in education, so bring your relics of those bygone days to add to the collection.  Interim Superintendent, Dr. Gayler, will join us for lunch.  We have asked the school board members to attend also, but as of this printing, we do not have definite commitmentsfrom them.  Kathy Slusser, Manatee County Historian, will tell us about the history of education in Manatee County.  We will also honor those members who had taught for 50 years and share a 50th Anniversary Cake.

Again, the date is Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 11:15, at Renaissance on 9th.  Lunch is $15.  If your caller hasn't reached you before Sunday, please call Mary Ann Jensen at 756-7603 to make a reservation.  Bring your friends who haven't joined MCREA yet.  We know they will enjoy our trip down Memory Lane.

We will be collecting, as usual, for the Manatee Food Bank and for FELT.  If you don't have time to shop, a check will be gladly accepted by both groups.  As a matter of fact, because of the deep cuts in prices afforded to Manatee Food Bank, your money goes twice as far there.  FELT can also benefit from the Food Bank's coat tails, if you write the check to the Food Bank, and then in the subject line on your check, write " FELT account".  Ed Ethridge asked to me to tell you that we collected 140 pounds of food for the Food Bank at our Sept. meeting.

There is always some confusion about our scholarship drives.  We participate in two awards, the State Florida Retired Educators Foundation (FREF) Scholarship and the Manatee County Retired Educators Scholarship.  The FREF Scholarship is an ongoing award through college for students who plan to become educators. Each state unit may nominate one candidate for that award.  We were pleased that our candidate last spring received an FREF award.  We also awarded the MCREA Scholarship to two local high school seniors who plan to become educators.  Please remember to donate to our MCREA Scholarship.  We award as many scholarships for which we  raise funds.  The FREF Scholarship is also asking for donations, and they sponsor a fund drive each year with their door prizes. 

By the way, we really would like to have some new members on the MCREA Scholarship Committee.  Please see Julia Forkgen, Terry or Joan MacDonald, or me if you would like to join us.  It is fun to read the applications and to get to know some great Manatee County students.

Someone has asked if the names and email addresses of members are shared with any outside groups.  The answer is no.  By reading this Blog, you are not allowing advertisers into your computer.  Perhaps I should say, I am not allowing that, but in cyberspace there is always a chance of hacking.  We have to hope that a group of retired teachers would probably not be the first choice of a hacker who was looking for money or for susceptible, naive senior citizens.  Probably they would instead run in horror at the very idea of meeting their severest critics, classroom teachers, in any venue since they probably were not esteemed students.

See you on the 14th,

Ellen

October 3, 2012

    I hope you are planning your Halloween costume to wear at our meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 17.  We had a lot of fun with the costumes last year, and I know we can do even better than that.  The only problem I have is driving to the meeting and hoping I don't have to explain myself to a traffic cop if I goof up. Two years ago when I was all dressed up in my "lady from the grave" costume with gray face makeup and a fright wig, I had to rush out to tell the garbage men not to take a fish box that held some dead leaves. ( I have had it drummed into my head by Chester that fish boxes cost money).  Except for a slight widening of his eyes, the courteous young man did not comment on my getup at all.  My neighbor who was watching out her window is still laughing. 

 Please note that we are meeting on Wednesday this month due to a request from Renaissance on 9th that we do so. 

    A number of Board Members attended the FREA Leadership Conference in Port Charlotte on Sept. 17.

Fay Murphy,our District VII Director as well as the State FREA Director, presided.  MCREA received a number of awards from FREA for membership, contributions to FREF, and many others.  Here is MCREA President, Deborah Thomas displaying them.  Other MCREA members are also there. 

    I was interested to read the motto and the mission statement of FREA on the conference program. 

The motto: "To serve, not to be served"

The mission statement:

  "To promote the well-being of retired educators

    To encourage community service, and to support

    public education by disseminating information to

    members and the public through publications,

    programs, and projects at the state and local levels."

Are we doing that?  I think so, but we could do more of the disseminating.

    With every first meeting in September, the Scholarship Committee reminds the members that we support graduating high school students who wish to become educators.  In some years, we have been able to award as many as four $1000 grants to worthy applicants.  Last year, we had two recipients whom you met in the spring.  

    The Scholarship Committee has decided to proceed differently this year.  Realizing that the big crunch for a student's finances occurs at the beginning of the third year or when he or she chooses a major (an important time for MCREA's scholarship as well due to the need that the student must be pursuing a degree in some form of education), the committee will award $500 to graduating seniors and the remaining $500 when the student reaches that crucial period.  In that way, we will be helping students stay the course in their college careers, and we will be ascertaining that our money goes to those in education.  

    Clearly, all the money for these awards must come from our members.  Years ago, after selling each other things for years and completely wiping out everyone's white elephant collection, it was decided by the membership to just ask members to contribute to the scholarship fund.  I do not know if there was a suggested contribution, but if a majority of the members contributed at least $25, we would be in good shape.  Of course, some will do more and some of us who retired a long time ago before wages grew along with inflation may not be able to offer that much.

     I am happy to report that at our first meeting, we collected $295 from six members.  Please bring your checkbooks to our next meeting or send a check to our Treasurer, Ron Schneider, made out to MCREA Scholarships.  Ron's address is 3802 Chinaberry Road, Bradenton, FL 34208.

    Sandra Stevenson has once again set up the Bingo Game for our October meeting.  She asks that you bring 20 quarters to play with.  The money will be donated to the scholarship fund, and you win some perfectly wonderful, if inexpensive, prizes.  The program this month is fun and games for Halloween.



FREA Director Fay Murphy

    I hope I will see you all on Wednesday, October 17.  Deborah is asking everyone to try to arrive at Renaissance on 9th at 11:00-11:15 in order to get everyone signed in by 11:30. 

    If you do not receive a call for a reservation, call Mary Ann Jensen before Monday, October 15.  Her number is 756-7603.

Ellen

September 13, 2010

 These are photos from our new member reception at the library last week.  We had 20 new retirees who attended and 12 signed up on the spot.  Some others took home applications so we hope to hear from them soon.

  If you know someone who has recently retired or has retired a long time ago, please invite them to join us for one luncheon to see how much fun we have staying connected once a month.  Of course, there are other incentives too, like insurance programs, opportunities to volunteer in the community, interesting programs, and a darn good lunch.
If your friend was a member of MEA, his or her first
lunch is on them and their first year's dues too.

  Don't forget that we are collecting food for the Manatee County Food Bank's all but empty shelves and smaller food items for FELT.  I sent you a copy of the FELT newsletter where you will read that they have taken on 2 more schools this year.
 
Please join us on Thursday, at 11:30 a.m., September 20 for a great lunch and some good conversation.