March 2015

    Perhaps this is a dangerous day to write a blog.  I seem to be able to make a good many errors on an ordinary day, like misspelling "Witt" in my last one.  If I can do that on a good day when I have had enough sleep and my inner clock is functional, I dread to think what I might do today, the first day of daylight saving time.  I read somewhere that there are more heart attacks in the first few days after the time changes than at other times.  I will not be having one of those, but a brain freeze is always possible.
 
    So now I have covered myself for whatever happens, and I hope that you will forgive me ahead of time.  Maybe you won't even notice my errors since you are also a bit befuddled today. 

    Our meeting this month is on Thursday, March 19.  As usual, although we start our meeting at 11:30, it is wise to get there as near 11 as possible if you want to avoid the line and have some time to visit with everyone.  Actually, we are now such a convivial group that it seems an imposition to ask everyone to quiet down for the exceedingly short business meeting.  Our April meeting, which has been switched with the program in May, will be much more informal.  It is titled "Show and Tell" and everyone gets to share -- no formal speaker.  I know you will enjoy it.

    This month's program sounds interesting.  "Musical Entertainment and Comic Relief for the Chronologically Gifted" is how it is described.  Okay, I understand the first part, but who are the C.G.'s.  Does that mean us?  Perhaps it is referring to our great wisdom?  If that is the case, it is good to have that positive spin.  I say hooray for us!

    Last month's speaker filled us in on some of the machinations of politics, Tallahassee style.  Linda Edson is our FREA Representative there, a 2010 retired teacher.  She made several points which I think are very important.

    "Logic, common sense, and facts don't count," she said, when dealing with the
legislators.  The House, she said, always votes along party lines, so there is not much chance of changing anyone's mind there.  The Senate sometimes listens.  Letter writing, emailing and phoning all work.  The messages may not be read or heard, but they are tallied by office staffs. 

    Regarding FRS:  Our present pension plan allows the FRS to make long-term investments.  Changing to individual retirement accounts would negate those.  The reason the retirement funds were unfunded during the recession was not so much because the investments lost money as it was that the funds paid in by the members of FRS were not put into FRS, but into the general fund.  Even so, our pensions are rated well nationally and have the fund has grown a great deal now that the stock market has recovered.

    Florida Education's future:  When the Drop program was eliminated in 2011, many educators signed up in its last year who might have gone on teaching longer.  In 2016 there will be a teacher shortage as those people retire.  Numbers of students majoring in education are dropping which will contribute to the shortage.

    Priorities for FREA:  Edson said keeping FRS money from being put into the general fund, and letting new hires have a choice of Pension or "Defined Investment"   
(their term for an IRA investment rather than the FRS) is another item.  At present, the default program for new hires is FRS.  If that is changed, some who really aren't paying too much attention might find themselves in the IRA program.  Keeping the health insurance subsidy and the COLA which FREA fought for and won many years ago is another goal.  Yes, even those last small items are in danger.

    On the bright side, she thinks that maybe the new presidents of the Senate and the House will be more willing to listen to us.  She reminded us that our FRS fund has more money than half of the world's countries and it is invested well and wisely.

    Our neighbors, the  Sarasota County Retired Educators, visited us at the meeting.  They seemed to be interesting and interested.  I had a surprising reunion with one of my students from Southeast H.S., Kathy Dring, who has retired from the Sarasota Schools. 

    We are still collecting food for the Manatee County Food Bank, children's books for FELT (Feeding Empty Little Tummies), and small items like soaps and shampoos etc. for gifts for shut-in seniors at Christmas.  The MCREA Scholarships forms have been sent to the high schools and we eagerly await their return.  The FREF Scholarship winner's application has been submitted to FREF and now we have our fingers crossed for her.
FREF door prize tickets are still available at meetings.

   If you do not hear from your caller by Sunday of the week prior to our meeting, please call Mary Ann Jensen at 756-7603 at the latest to make a reservation.  We had 112 reservations for the February meeting.

    I will leave you with some pictures from Minnie Lee Jones,Social Affairs Chair.

St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
Dr. Phyllis Omilak helps Clydie Mae Collins on the computer.

Members and guests visit SMART
Ron Schneider, Eileen Schneider, Sue Roe (holding the horse), Eugene Jones, Minnie Lee Jones, B.J. Jones, Ezra Mason, Mildred Owens, Deborah Thomas

Strawberry picking at O'Brien Family Farms
Mildred Owens and Minnie Lee Jones

Minnie Lee Jones helps women use the new computers.

See you soon,

Ellen 

February 9, 2015

    I know everyone was saddened by the deaths of our members, Everlina Carter and Sharon Ethridge.  Then we also lost two well-loved, former Superintendents, Dan Nolan and Gene Whitt.

    Several years ago, David Brooks, N.Y. Times editorial writer and commentator on PBS News, wrote a column about loss which resonated with me.  He said that we never really lose our loved ones because they are part of us.  As we go on living, the experiences, thoughts, and dreams we shared with them remain alive.  Yes, we miss them terribly, but they still live on in us. 

  When I first started teaching at Southeast High School, Dan Nolan was already there teaching English and Speech.  He was in his early 20's and looked every bit of 16.  It was his second year there and he said that finally other teachers had stopped sending him back to his classroom because he didn't have a hall pass.  His wife Marilyn also was there teaching Biology.  Love bloomed.

    Gene Whitt was a force of nature.  When he appeared at Southeast as principal, the school changed completely.  He swept us all up, students and faculty, with the strength of his personality, sending us out to teach and learn as we had never done before.  School spirit bloomed and grade averages rose in spite of our lack of textbooks, desks, and a living wage.  When we, in desperation, walked out, Gene came with us.  He stayed for a few days until he was ordered back into the school by the superintendent.  But we knew where his heart was.  It was always with the students and their teachers.

    Our meeting attendance has been great.  We had 92 signed up to come to our last session.  We hope that you will join us on Feb. 19th.  We are hosting the Sarasota Retired Educators Association.  Linda Edson, FREA Legislative Committee Chair, will be our speaker.  You will hear about the latest legislative activity which may prompt us into some activity of our own if they are still attempting to weaken the Florida Retirement System. Just for fun, we are suggesting that you show some patriotism for this month of Presidents' Day by wearing red, white, and blue. 

    When you are chatting and doing Sandy's latest puzzle, do not forget to jot down your volunteer hours and put them in the basket your table.  The numbers are amazing when everyone shares.  In May, all the hours of all the units across the state are amassed and then presented in the form of a check to the Governor for the amount those hours would be worth.  Good karma and good publicity in one shot.

    MCREA Scholarship forms are in the high schools and we hope for some great applicants.  The Scholarship Committee is still accepting donations.  Just give your check made out to MCREA Scholarships to Ron Schneider when you sign in, or mail it to him at 3802 Chinaberry Road, Bradenton, FL 34208.
  
    FREF is asking for donations to the FREA Scholarships also.  Tickets for door prizes will be available at our meetings until May.  We have two Manatee County Students who are currently receiving the scholarships.  These are particularly good awards because they continue throughout the winners' college career.  We had an excellent student apply this year, and we have sent her application with our recommendations along to FREF.  Competition is keen since each FREA Unit in the state may send in one student application.

    The MCREA Board elected to donate $50 to the Manatee County History Fair as we have done for several years.  If you are interested in volunteering as a judge or in some other way at the fair, please see Phyllis Omilak for information.

    The Board also decided to charge $5 for a handbook replacement.  If you would like to purchase another, see Elaine Waldron.

    As always, if your caller misses you, call Mary Ann Jensen by Sunday, Feb. 15, to make a reservation.

See you soon,
Ellen

January 9, 2015

I made a huge error on the last blog.  Forgive me Minnie Lee Jones for incorrectly calling you Minnie Lee Rogers.  Of course, I know her well and I can't imagine where my brain was when I made her a Rogers.  I do know that at one time I knew a Minnie Rogers so I guess the synapses snapped on that and the fingers followed.
    A few months ago a college classmate who writes class notes for our alumni magazine asked for anecdotes about our college experiences.  I sent one to her which she has sent on to the editors who are gathering the stories for an article.  When she thanked me in the latest alumni class notes, she called me Helen Bell.  Yeah, I was a little bit miffed thinking she would remember me as I remember her.
   So, Minnie, I can understand if you are upset with me.  Someone once said that he or she didn't care what the media wrote as long as they got his or her name right. 

Regretfully,
Ellen

January, 2015

    Time does go much faster for me now that I have definitely hit the downhill side of the mountain.  Climbing up through all those years of raising children, keeping a home running, and educating adolescents was a long slog.  It took years and years and it felt like eons.  Then came retirement, an expectation of a slow glide through the "golden years" of travel, reconnection with my family, and lots of great books.

   Little did I know that as the work slowed down, everything else would speed up.  For example, I spent at least two hours yesterday discovering how to use the U Go device that my granddaughter gave me for Christmas.  Coordinating it all required the little gizmo with its impossible-to-insert battery, the cell phone with an Apple store app, and my computer.  Finally, I attached the little tracker to my body ( you don't need to know how), and now I can track all my footsteps and my sleep hours.  It occurred to me that now I can watch myself fail in real time.  Do I really want to take 2000 steps each day and sleep 7 hours?  And if I do, do I need a record of it? 

    With January comes FREA's drive to raise money for the state education scholarships.  Since we have two local recipients right now, I think we should be very interested in helping them out.  Also, the door prizes that they offer are usually terrific.
I am sure they will be announced at our meeting this month.  We should not forget our local scholarships in the meantime.  Although we will be concentrating now on the state promotion, MCREA Scholarships are still receiving funds if you haven't donated yet.

    FELT book contributions were great in December.  Unfortunately, they came in the day before school ended for winter break and that was too late to send them home with the kids.  However, the books are residing under my desk waiting for the last day of school in June to be distributed.  Please keep them coming in.  I have about 100 books now, and there are about 400 kids in the FELT program.  Remember, the students are from K to 5th grade, so there is quite a range of reading skills to serve.  I grade them all quickly (no formulas or counting words, just eyeballing) and give them to Bill Evers who takes them to the backpack assembly point. 

    Joan Sackett, Judi Ussery, and their crew packed up the gifts you brought for the elders and took them to the retirement homes.  I am sure they were much appreciated there.  You brought a little cheer to some shut-in souls. 

   Our Christmas program was very enjoyable with Sam Lane's piano rendition of favorite seasonal music.  I was lucky to sit at his table and hear about his extraordinary life.  He was accompanied by his wife Anita who helps him navigate in his world without sight.  Perhaps because of his disability, which he has had since birth, he is very sensitive to everyone around him and is a great conversationalist.  I loved hearing his conversation with Minnie Lee Rogers about church matters.  He called her "Sister Rogers" which was very sweet and respectful.

    Here are some shots of the festive December group.

    Our next meeting is on January 15, at 11:30 a.m., at Renaissance on 9th.  If you want to avoid a line, come early.  Apropos of our presenter Sam Lane in December, our speaker will be Debbie Grubb from the Florida Council of the Blind.  We are still collecting for the Food Bank, so bring a can or a box or two. 

    See you soon,
    Ellen

December, 2014

This photo was taken by Deb Bell off the dock behind her house.  You are looking at Sarasota Bay.  On the far right, you can see the Cortez Road Bridge to Anna Maria Island.  It had been a rainy day and when the sun set, the few clouds that remained were lined up that way.  I think it is a great picture.








    Because of some sickness and difficulties in my family, I am late getting this out to you.  I will try to hit the most important things and let the others go until next month.

    Last week, Chet and I delivered 171 children's books to Bill Evers for distribution in the FELT program.  FELT's founder, Jane Evers, thought it was important to give the children books along with their food at the last session before Christmas vacation.  We  were able to help with that dream for several years.  This year was a little different though since the FELT program is now serving nearly 400 homeless children in the school system.  We were quite short of that number even though Deborah Thomas and I made a last minute foray to the Good Will Book Store at Tara.  When I called Bill, he said they would be happy to hand out as many books as they got.  I divided them into grade levels with a little sadness thinking of those who would not get a book.

    Please bring in any lightly used books you may have for K-5 children.  Of course, an occasional child can read at the 6-7 grade level, so those are acceptable also.  Just because a child is homeless does not mean he or she is not a good reader.  If you want to buy some books, second hand stores, the Good Will Book Store at Tara, and sometimes at regular stores, there are new books for sale at great prices.  If we could get 400 books together before the end of the school year, we could send the kids home with a book each for summer reading.

    Sam Lane, a popular pianist in the Bradenton-Sarasota area, will entertain us at our Holiday meeting on December 18.  We hope you will all be there to enjoy his program.  There was an article about him in the Sarasota Herald Tribune several weeks ago.  He plays jazz and pop, and most surprising, he is blind. 

    If you do not hear from your caller before this Sunday, please call Mary Ann Jensen, 756-7603, to make a reservation.  If you arrive at Renaissance on 9th at 11 a.m. or shortly thereafter, the line will not be as long.


Ellen

MCREA November, 2014

    Does it seem to you that life has speeded up so much that it is difficult to keep up?  Or is it that time and events are keeping their usual pace and it is I who has slowed down?  The cool weather, the election, the doctors' appointments, the meetings, the dinners with relatives, the bills to pay, the housework, the laundry, the meal prep all keep me running.  While attempting to make dinner Wednesday evening, I had to field a call from a credit card company advising me that someone has been running up some hefty bills at Nordstroms, Toys Are Us, and Bed, Bath and Beyond.  I did shop at B.B.&B. last Christmas, but T.A.T. is a thing of the past, and I have never crossed the threshold of N.  Luckily, the credit card company knew me for a tight wad. 
 
    Then, my email program decided that I could no longer just type in "MCREA membership" and it would send to all the members.  Have you ever tried to communicate with Microsoft problem solvers?  They actually gave me websites that required at least 60 digits and letters to access.  Then when I got there, I couldn't understand the information.  So, I am left with the task of typing each one of your names into an email.  I will shop around some more for a better service.  I have tried Chrome, but they only accept Chrome users into their "Circles" which are called groups elsewhere.  Would you all like to sign up for gmail?  I didn't think so.

    Our trip to the Ringling Museum which was arranged by Minnie Lee Jones was really entertaining.  We had a docent-guided tour of the Ringling Mansion.  Of course, most of us had been there before, but many of us had never been upstairs to see the bedrooms and closets of the famous couple.  John's feet were very long and very thin.  In his room, his clothes were laid out on his bed as if he would be coming in at any moment and getting ready for his day.  But, horrors!  His hat was on his bed.  Those of you who have Celtic ancestors are aware that is asking for big trouble.

Lunch in the Ringling Restaurant

 

    In addition to our Halloween party at our October meeting, we were addressed by Dr. Diana Greene, Deputy Superintendent of Instructional Services.  She spoke about the new requirements in testing and technology which are affecting teachers and students in the Manatee Schools.  Each course in K-12 must now have an exit exam which will be administered on a computer.  Yes, even kindergarten. Even P.E. must have a written testn not a test of physical ability as one might logically expect.  And, the results of these tests will determine 50% of a teacher's evaluation score, read salary.  

 

    The State of Florida is pushing for digital, on-line materials so that Manatee could buy the textbooks and get the digital tests to go with them.  Grades 3-12 will all be assessed on line.  5th graders must type a five paragraph essay writing exam.  So now keyboarding must be taught quickly.  Cursive will also still be taught.  Aren't you glad you are out of there? 

 

    Deborah Thomas has taken on the chairmanship of the FREA 5th grade essay contest.  Packets which explain the contest, have been delivered to the elementary schools. The topic is a happy memory of time spent with grandparents or other elderly persons in a student's life.  The FREA prizes are $150, $100, $50 for the best three essays.  MCREA will award a $25 gift certificate to the winner here and a $25 gift certificate to the winner's class for the teacher to use as he or she sees fit.  We hope teachers will be able to squeeze this in, perhaps as a topic for a practice essay. 

 

 

    Scholarship Chairs, Pat Griffin and Julia Forkgen have distributed the FREA Scholarship forms to the high schools.  The Scholarship Committee is required to then choose one from all the entries to forward to FREF.  We have had two winners in the last three years of this more lucrative state scholarship.  When the winner has been chosen, then it will be time to send out applications for the MCREA Scholarship.  Again, we need donations from you to make sure we have the funds to award to new recipients and to others who will be becoming college juniors.  Julia and Pat will be happy to accept checks made out to MCREA Scholarship Fund or you can give or mail them to our Treasurer, Ron Schneider.

 

    Our meeting on Nov. 20 will feature speaker, Nick Drizos of SMART (Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy).  As usual, we will meet at Renaissance on 9th, at 11 a.m.  Be sure to wear your nametag.  If you don't have one yet, please see Sue Roe about picking yours up or having one made for you.  Congratulations to Elaine Waldron for the excellent and timely Handbook.  Again, if you haven't received one, come to the meeting and pick yours up.  If you do not hear from your caller in the next week, please call Mary Ann Jensen at 756-7603 to make a reservation.

 

    A reminder for you is to start handing out cards with your purchases from Sunday, Nov. 9th to Sunday, Nov. 16th.  You received these cards at the October meeting.  If you were not there, then you do not have them.  These cards are meant to inform local merchants how much we retired educators support the economy. 

 

   On a sad note, you probably read that Jeanne Parrish, a former member of MCREA and a long-time English teacher at Manatee High School passed away last week.  I remember her a classy and yet down-to-earth lady with practical ideas for teaching English to teenagers. 

 

    Halloween was fun!

 

 Even witches have serious times

Lady, there's a turkey on your head

Ace pilot and winner of the costume contest

Boo to you too

Witches coven

 Fair maidens

A reunion of friends

 

 

 Diana, the Peacock

 

 

    See you on Thursday, the 20th,

 

    Ellen

 









 



MCREA October 7, 2014

    Were you able to store up some of that cool and refreshing air which we experienced over the weekend? At my house, it was sort of like Hercules cleaning out the Aegean Stables. The open windows blew a lot of the dog and cat hair out from under the furniture and rearranged it into piles that could be swept up. My husband became obsessed with catching and smoking mullet as he always is in the fall. So we had smoked mullet on Sunday and we were able to air the fishy smell out afterwards. Heaven. Now I can't wait for the next "cold" front to arrive.

   Our September meeting was very well attended -- 101 members and guests. Some of our new members were there, having joined at our annual New Retirees Reception in August. We must remember that there is strength in numbers when it comes to protecting our retirement accounts. The Legislature will be out again to do the FRS harm in their spring session. Our membership in MCREA and in FREA is crucial in keeping them at bay.
 
  Our scheduled speaker was Supervisor of Elections, Michael Bennett. Due to a death in his family, he was unable to attend and sent us the Assistant Supervisor in his place. Some of the interesting facts that I wrote down from his speech were that there were on that day 211,000 registered voters in Manatee County which made us 16th in the state. The last election only drew 20% of the voters which is a particularly low turnout.

  Here are some of the guests at our retirees reception. Perhaps you will see a familiar face or two.


 

Mac Aldrich and Jean Jacobson

 

Dennis Rose and Dan Crumpler

Gary and Lorraine Kerwin

Sharon Hundley

Dick Andrews and Bruce Dietch

Lori Cooper and Alice Deslaurier

Judy Shostrom welcomes our guests.

 

    An opportunity to volunteer has come to us from Karen Carpenter, School Board Member.  "There is an urgent need for volunteers for the Reading Pals program.  One hour a week with a guided curriculum helping kindergartner for 25 weeks.  This is my third year volunteering and it is a great program and experience."  Her instructions are to contact Sandra Holmes at the United Way, 748-1313.  It is also on line at www.uwmc.net/, or you can email ReadingPals@uwmc.net/ 

    Please remember to bring cans for the Food Bank and small toiletries for the nursing home Christmas gift bags.  We are also still collecting gently used and new books for children who receive food to tide them over the weekends -- FELT (Feeding Empty Little Tummies).  We hope to have a book for each child to take home at Christmas.  If you are interested in volunteering at FELT, they have a web page. I will forward the next newsletter I receive from them so you will have it.

    Most dear to my heart are our MCREA Scholarships which we  present each spring to Manatee County seniors who are planning to become educators.  Yes, there still are some, and they deserve recognition for going into a field so demeaned at this time.  When you speak to one of them about that, he or she always credits a teacher who was an inspiration,  and so they want to do the same for some other kids.  In other words, they are motivated by the same desires that sent each of us into the profession.  Our rewards were not monetary, but they were "on the side of the angels."  Now we are asking again for your support.  Please donate what you can.

    Our Thursday, October 16 meeting is all about Halloween.  Come in costume if you like.  Many of us do go all out.  You will be amazed.  There will be prizes.  Also, our entertainment director, Sandra Stephenson will lead us in Halloween Bingo.  Yes, there are prizes for winners here too.  Everyone should bring 20 quarters to play with.  Those will be collected at the end of the meeting for the Scholarship Fund.  We have a group from the School Board coming to update us on their projects for the year, so we will have an opportunity to learn something as well.

    As usual, if you have not heard from your caller by Thursday or Friday of the previous week, please call Mary Ann Jensen at 756-7603.  If you haven't paid your dues for 2014-15 yet, you must get them in this month if you wish to have your name in our Handbook.  Our Treasurer, Ron Schneider, will take them at the door or you can mail him a check at 3802 Chinaberry Road, Bradenton, FL 34208.

    See you on the 16th.  Try to come early if you can to avoid the big line signing in. 
11 is a good time or even earlier and you can visit.

    Ellen