Dear Fellow Retirees,

Hello, friends! It has been a while since we have spoken. I would like to welcome our new retirees to our ranks. It is great to have you aboard. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to a retiree who has a couple years under their belt…… we can help you with all sorts of advice. My biggest issue is that I can’t imagine how I could ever fit teaching back into my day!

I have just returned from a two week road trip to Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. We did an incredible amount of hiking with many friends and well over 300 geocaches were found and logged. If you are curious about geocaching visit geocaching.com and look around. It has been a wonderful addition to our post teaching life.

RC #45 is launching a scholarship for a graduating senior who is a child or grandchild of an RC #45 member. To access the application, which will need to be postmarked between March 15 and May 31, 2023, please log in to your account on our website nysut-rc45.org. You will find the full application there.

We will be having a 20 minute general meeting at the NYSUT Fall Retiree Conference at the Doubletree in Binghamton on Wednesday, October 19. Watch for more information and register to attend. These conferences are always informative AND fun, with good food and great company. You will meet several of our RC #45 officers and Mark Padgett (our NYSUT Retiree Services Consultant). That is a big title for the gentleman who serves as a liaison between retired members, retiree councils and NYSUT headquarters. He does a great job and is greatly appreciated by us. At this conference we will have raffle tickets being sold to benefit our new scholarship fund. We will have a few baskets to win.

In June we will be having a general meeting to elect our new slate of officers for the next three year term. We are seriously looking for SRP representation on our board. While all positions are currently filled, we are looking for new interested retirees to join our ranks as officers, delegates, and board members. If this sounds intriguing to you, please feel free to attend one or all our monthly board meetings as a guest. Learn what we do and how much fun we have doing it!! Contact me for more information!

In solidarity,  Vicki Darrow

President, NYSUT RC #45

Dear Florida Retiree Leaders,
 
I am writing to you today to help organize and get our NYSUT RC43 Road Trip going. We are counting on all of you to help out by sending this email, complete with a link (to register) and an attachment (for the Workshop Agenda), to all of your members in your respective TRIF Units. This will serve as an invite to join us in June to help identify, recruit, re-energize and develop the skills needed to speak one on one with our NYSUT Team coming down to Florida from Albany. I will personally send this informational email to all RC43 members that I have emails for but I am sure that your lists are more inclusive.
 
Three (3) of these special events will be held throughout the state of Florida: Tampa (June 13th), The Villages (June 15th), and in Boca Raton (June 17th). We urge you to find the closest location to your area and sign up for a full day of information in regards to eveything NYSUT, including benefits and Florida demographics. Lunch and refreshments will be served at each venue.
 
If you are interested, simply click on the following link, and register by May 25th.   https://forms.office.com/r/TzVzqhv06L
 
We are all excited and look forward to meeting you at one of these planned events. Please scroll down to view the attached agenda for the meetings. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me or any of our RC43 officers.
 
Thank you all for your continued leadership, help and comraderie.
 
Miriam Hanan
NYSUT RC43, 1st Vice President/Membership
8111 Muirhead Circle
Boynton Beach, FL 33472
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(516) 236-0276

Dear Fellow Retirees,

☘️ Winter is ending soon, at least I hope it is on its last vestige of it as I write this letter. We have a few warm days ahead so hopefully the snowbanks are dwindling as the daytime hours are increasing. It has been a busy time for our household as we have done some traveling. I highly recommend Hawaii to anyone who has not been, we traveled in January and other than some weird flight glitches, it was wonderful. We commended ourselves on our decision to spend more than one week there. We had so much to accomplish on our to-do list so the extra time was wonderful. While on the heavily populated island of Oahu my husband and I found ourselves showing our COVID-19 vaccination record as well as our license for access to most public spaces like restaurants and food courts. Check out https://epass.ny.gov/home  where Excelsior Pass Plus is available as a source for a digital record of your vaccinations. Hawaii had a similar program that made getting into the restaurants a little easier.

NYSUT’s Retiree Activist Handbook has been updated, please check it out online at https://www.nysut.org/members/retirees/retiree-handbook. You will find a lot of interesting information in the handbook. 

NYSUT is still celebrating the 30th anniversary of Retiree Councils which will carry on at the 2022 Representative Assembly. I have a lovely pin and a spring jacket that I will be wearing to the RA to show my support! RC #45 has three votes and we will vote conscientiously as we attend all committee meetings and general sessions. Diana Torta and I appreciate the ability to represent RC #45 and do not take this privilege lightly. It is important to note that Diana also represents us at the Committee of 100 meetings. Thank you for your involvement and perhaps consider becoming even more involved by contacting one of the officers or board members listed on the front of the newsletter. Our role as NYSUT Retirees is as important as ever in these challenging times. RC #45 works hard to meet your needs as well as look for ways to support our in-service sisters and brothers.

As I always mention, thank you to those of you who have already mailed your voluntary contributions.  If you have yet to do so, please consider sending your 2021 – 2022  voluntary contributions. As you now know, we do rely solely on your donations to support our efforts in keeping you informed and advocating on your behalf. No one representing the RC receives any monetary compensation for his/her work. Now that the Representative Assembly is back to an In-person convention, we will see our expenses on the rise.

Stay safe and healthy!!

In solidarity,  ~Vicki Darrow

President, NYSUT RC #45

Photo by Angela Bailey on Unsplash

Dear Fellow Retirees,

I hope you are all well and gearing up for a great holiday season, in whatever form you practice. My celebrations will be small again this year with close family and a few friends. I am really surprised at how much I have accumulated over the years to celebrate the holidays. What used to be important to display now sits as family history in a safe (and cluttered) space in my attic. Maybe this year will be the year I clean it out. There needs to be an app for us to put unwanted but still “good” holiday decorations out for adoption. Someone somewhere must need a Santa that sings a song and HOHO’s, a small artificial tree, two massive flamboyant cookie jars, an elf on a tricycle, huge stuffed bears, 36 Christmas blankets, and countless TEACHER ornaments. 

Speaking of the teacher ornaments, I am grateful for those demonstrations of affection my students held for me. When I was an inservice teacher they were placed all over my office and classroom, with who gave them to me and the year they were given. It was always a special walk down memory lane to get them out. Now my tree is filled with Best Mimi, grandkids’ handprints and homemade ornaments. While remembered fondly, my past life and mementos remain tucked away. My new roles have taken over all of the space in my home and heart.

I would like to thank our readers for the many comments we have received. Your feedback and notes of appreciation were greatly appreciated. Please continue to let us know what you like about the newsletter, a fun book you have enjoyed, a special memory from your inservice days or a great vacation you have had.

NYSUT’s Retiree Activist Handbook has been updated, please check it out online at https://www.nysut.org/members/retirees/retiree-handbook. (You’ll be prompted to login at NYSUT’s website to view the handbook at this link) You will find a lot of interesting information in the handbook. 

As I always mention, thank you to those of you who have already mailed your voluntary contributions and if you have yet to do so, please consider sending your 2021 – 2022  voluntary contributions. As you now know, we do rely solely on your donations to support our efforts in keeping you informed and advocating on your behalf. No one representing the RC receives any monetary compensation for his/her work.

Stay safe and healthy!!

In solidarity,  Vicki Darrow

President, NYSUT RC #45