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HOUSTON ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED TEACHERS
HART BEAT
November 2011, Vol. 11-12, No.2
Come All Ye HART Members and Guests
Join Us for the Annual Holiday Luncheon The Junior League of Houston
1811 Briar Oaks Lane
Friday, December 9, 2011
Our entertainment will be musical selections by Kambui Deajon-Jackson, HSPVA student performer.
The menu will offer a delectable salad with baby spinach, sliced strawberries, mandarin orange segments and basil vinaigrette; parmesan crusted chicken topped with fresh tomatoes and basil; green beans; chateau potatoes; tiramisu; coffee and/or tea; and plain and orange rolls.
Reserve an entire table for your family and friends for $300. To reserve your table, call Helen Filenko at 281-970-0196.
Tickets will be sold during the November general meetings for $30.00 each.
2011-2012 Programs Offer Information and Fun November 11 ‐‐ Health Awareness ‐ Preventive Diagnostics;
Celebrating HART's 60th Birthday
December 9 ‐‐ Holiday Luncheon at Junior League (information on
tick tickets above)
February 10, 2012 ‐‐ Travel and Leisure Opportunities
For more information on future programs and HART activities, see
the HART website at http://houstonarearetiredteachers.org
HART meets at: St. Luke’s United
Methodist Church
3471 Westheimer @
Edloe
9:30 AM coffee and
conversation
10:00 AM program
TRTA 59th Annual State Convention Although plans for the TRTA State Convention that District IV will be hosting in Houston on March 25-27 are in the early planning stages, information from the state office shows that many committees will have to be formed. These committees will be staffed by District IV members and all 21 District IV local units will be involved. This is not a maybe we will or maybe we won’t situation. Every able body will have to volunteer.
Here is an example:
Registration Committee - This requires at least 24 volunteers per day to serve in 4-hour shifts for 2 ½ days. Greeters Committee – These volunteers will serve as greeters and guides at the hotel. Information Seminars Committee – Members of this committee serve as facilitators for break-out sessions
speakers. They introduce the speakers, distribute handouts and collect evaluation forms. Information Committee – This committee sets up the information table and provides maps, information about area
attractions, restaurant information, nearby drug stores, convention programs, lost and found information and maintains the message board.
Souvenirs Committee – This committee selects, designs and purchases the goodie bag, and assembles them prior to the convention.
Publicity Committee - This committee contacts the local media for convention publicity. Meal Functions Committee – This committee is in charge of planning the decorations for the banquet and
reception. Entertainment Committee – This committee determines two choices for the keynote speaker, two choices for the
banquet entertainment and two choices for the music at the reception.
The dates in the TRTA 2010-12 little black calendar for the 59th Annual State Convention in Houston ARE WRONG. THE CORRECT DATES ARE MARCH 25-27.
Since registration begins on Sunday and District IV members are going to be volunteering, consider registering for Saturday night. If you decide you don't need to be there Saturday night, you can cancel up to 24 hours before and will not pay a penalty. Hotel registration can now be done through the TRTA.org website.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
TRTA is the largest organization of its kind in Texas or in the United States that represents solely the interests of retired public school employees. With 20 districts, 257 local units and 62,000 retired public employee members, TRTA is respected as the voice for Texas Education Retirees.
November is TRTA Foundation Month
You will receive a notice from the Foundation
and we will accept voluntary donations at our
November meeting. TRTA Foundation is a 501
(c) (3) and donations are tax deductible.
HART will continue to accept donations to
HART Scholarship Fund, HART Continuing
Education Fund and HART Books for Children
Fund at our general meetings as well.
Money Bits On 10-19-2011 the U. S. government announced that
Social Security recipients will get a raise in January 2012. The increase totals 3.6 percent, the first raise since 2009. Some of the increase will be lost to higher Medicare premiums which are deducted from Social Security payments.
Also, effective 1-22-2012, stamp prices will rise by 1 cent. A first-class stamp, also known as a "forever stamp" will increase to 45 cents. Remember the old "penny" post card? It will cost you 32 cents (up 3 cents) to mail a post card next year!
Eleven HART members
attended District IV spring
training in Houston:
(front row) Alice Ott, Erna
Joy Dempsey, Jane
Eixmann, Dora Scott‐
Nichols, Judy Bristol, (back
row) Yolande Eugene,
Joan Williams, Brewster
Rogers, Virgil Fisher,
Marcy Cann, Liz Stamey
Lenora Anderson received
the Walks‐a‐Million Health
Care Award ‐ for submitting
the most steps walked during
the year.
Mary Lee Cook received the
Community Volunteer Hours
award.
Congratulations to Lenora
and Mary Lee!
Karen Holloman, Anne Holloman, Ginger Araujo, and Armando Araujo
smile as Anne receives the “Spirit of HART” award.
Judy Harwell presents “School Bell Award” to Leader editor Greg
Densmore and wife Alise.
Tim Lee, TRTA Executive Director,
talks to members at the September
HART meeting.
Not Back to School Party
We look forward to not going back to school next year!
Defined Benefit Programs vs. Defined Contribution Programs
Do you know the difference between a defined benefit retirement program and a defined contribution program? Educators and other school personnel in the public schools of Texas are currently participating in a defined benefit program. This is very important for members of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), and we must keep this program in operation. The problem is that governments and private companies across the nation are looking at these programs and are considering ways to change them to defined contribution plans. Defined contribution programs require considerably less management, and therefore, are much less expensive. The employee is more responsible for making investment decisions and riding the waves of the market’s ups and downs. This would shift the responsibility onto the backs of the retirees. In contrast, the defined benefit plan assures a lifetime annuity, because the State is responsible for filling in when the pension fund is down due to unfavorable market conditions. It is especially important for TRS to remain a defined benefit program as most Texas public school districts are not currently part of the Social Security system. Features of a Defined Benefit Program:
1. You cannot outlive your benefit; it guarantees a lifetime pension. 2. Funds are managed by TRS investment professionals. 3. Its benefit is based on your age at retirement, years of service, and highest salaries; not based on the balance in the individual’s account. 4. It is a selling point for employers in recruiting and retaining teachers. 5. It generates a predictable, steady retirement income. 6. It is the sole guaranteed retirement income for most TRS members because most Texas public school districts are not part of the Social Security system.
Features of a Defined Contribution Program:
1. You can outlive your benefits because it is based on the amount in your account. 2. Its success depends on each employee’s ability to make good investment decisions. 3. It provides disability and survivor benefits based on the individual’s account balance only. 4. It can generate an unpredictable retirement income. 5. It often requires that workers stay in the workforce longer. 6. It is portable from job to job.
From the Texas Retired Teachers Association website http://www.trta.org
FINGERPRINTS
We all know about the economic problems we are having. In speaking about our problems now, my mother in-law would have said, " Nobody knows what poor is until they have lived through a depression in an East Texas sawmill town." I get requests for donations from all sorts of organizations but I still reserve the right to choose which one or ones that I contribute to on a regular basis. Because we put three children through college I know what it means to have money available to pay tuition. I also know that tuition goes up and up. For that reason, I contribute regularly to a scholarship fund at my church and to the Houston Association of Retired Teachers student scholarship. I get a lot of satisfaction in knowing that I have left my fingerprints on a student who is trying to get a degree! Betty McKinney, Chair
Donations may be mailed to: HART Scholarship Fund
P.O. Box 6727 Houston 77265-6727
Thanks to Gary Tuma
and Smart Financial
Credit Union for under‐
writing the cost of
preparing the mail‐out
for this issue of the
HARTbeat newsletter.
STILWELL RETIREMENT RESIDENCE
The Stilwell Retirement Residence is a non‐profit 501(C)(3) organization as determined by the Internal
Revenue Service. Gifts made to Stilwell qualify as charitable deductions to the extent provided by law.
The Kate Bell Residents’ Assistance
Fund is maintained to ensure that
individuals with limited resources will
continue to enjoy the services and
amenities of living at Stilwell.
According to Bob Herndon, Director of
Development & Operations, “HART is
the only group actively and so
generously working to make sure
retired educators benefit from the
services and accommodations Stilwell
offers through The Kate Bell Residents’
Assistance Fund.”
In Memory of HART Members Sept. 1, 2010 to August 31, 2011
Ann Berridge Mildred Elkins Charles Nichols
Betty Blakely Robert C. Farquharson Estella Schmidt
Edna Cantrell Annette D. Greenfield Edith Siegel
Christine Colunga Mary L. Goyen Betty White
Aileen Williams Compton Marjorie Ruth Harrison Lamb J. B. Whiteley
John Davis Norma Lowder
HARTbeat NewsSend your news or information to Margaret Preston, Editor of the HARTbeat, at [email protected] . The
HARTbeat will be published four times this year. Look for the next issue in February. The deadline for the
submission of articles is January 25.
Dorene Drake, Joyce Van Houten, Carole Green, Al Green, and Candy Foster
New Members Enjoy September Meeting
President Jane Eixmann welcomes new members Rose Tovar, Linda Terry, Debbie Hall, Deborah Y. Hall, Sandra Hagins, Linda Burch, Elizabeth
"Boots" Reese, and Wanda Lavine.
Welcome New Members Attending October Meeting
Vivian White, Jo Ann Thomas, Julie Causley, Marilyn Tipps, Janet Stevens, Luisa Lago (Info on members in next newsletter)
Deborah Y. Hall has 34+ years in education. She spent 29 years at Paul Revere Middle School and the last 3 years at Clifton Middle School. She’s been a longhorn, a tiger and a gator. Her hobbies include the simple pleasures of life, gemology and fine art.
Sandra Hagins has 36 years in public schools and 3 years in private schools. The last three years of her career were spent as an instructional specialist at Walnut Bend Elementary School HISD. She has a husband, Jay Hagins and a son, Michael Hagins, Her hobby is camping.
Linda Burch has 37 years in education. She has worked her entire career in Goose Creek ISD. Her last position was teaching 4th grade Gifted and Talented language arts. Her hobbies include reading, volunteering at the Hospitality Apts and CCSC, mentoring, travel and crafts.
Debbie Hall has a 36 year career at Bellaire HS, Houston Community College, Gregory‐Lincoln, Black MS, Stevens ES, Sterling HS and Attucks Junior High. Her last position was as Library Technology Administrator with HISD. She is married to David and has one son, Matthew. She enjoys reading, travel, library advocacy and social networking.
Wanda L. Lavine has 35 years in education. She has taught at Hartman MS, Edison MS, Milby HS, Wheatley HS and Deady MS. She is married to Raymond and has one daughter, Deandria. She likes to collect recipes, read and volunteer.
Linda Terry has 28 years in education. She has worked in HISD, Cy‐Fair ISD and Aldine. Her last position was as a librarian in Aldine ISD. She has 2 children and 2 grandsons she adores. In her free time she likes to exercise, read, do research, knit and travel.
Opportunities Abound Fellow Members of HART, we still need your help in boosting our membership
this year. Our goal for this year is 900 members. As of our last meeting, our
current HART membership is 678. You have three opportunities to help not only
TRTA and HART, but yourself too.
First,” Each One Bring One” sponsored by TRTA gives a member a chance to win
$100.00. The member’s name will be submitted for a drawing for each new
member recruited to join TRTA. A new recruit is defined as a person who has
never joined TRTA or who has not been a member in the past three years. The
beginning date for new member membership starts with the dates of last year’s
TRTA Convention April 14, 2011, and runs through February 1, 2012.
When a new member joins and submits the dues to the local unit treasurer (Tom
Sanders), he confirms payment and the new member’s eligibility for the initiative.
Then all names must be submitted to the local unit first vice‐president/
membership chairman (Brewster Rogers) by February 1, 2012. She will then send
these on to the district.
The recruiting TRTA member will receive one entry per new member he/she has
recruited, i.e. if a member brings five new members, his/her name will be
entered five times. Each district winner will be announced and presented with a
crisp $100.00 bill at the TRTA convention in March 2012. Should a winner not be
present, a $100.00 check will be mailed from the TRTA office following the
convention.
Second, HART is sponsoring a member recruitment contest. We will be giving
away three $25.00 gift cards, one card to each of the three top recruiters of new
members between October 14 and November 11, 2011. Be sure you sign your
name on line 19 of the Membership Application form.
Third, a TRTA “Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding TRTA Membership
Recruitment” will be awarded to those who are top recruiters of new members.
Volunteers and Walkers Take Note
Please keep track of two important things: the number of volunteer hours you have each year AND the number of steps you take each year (from January 1 to December 31.) This information is gathered up from all TRTA members across the state and reported to the members of the Texas Legislature as well as to the general public. Forms for both are available on our website and in the HART 2011-2012 Directory.
Keeping in Touch with Members
Cards are sent to HART members
when they are ill or have a loss in
the family. “Thinking of You”
cards are sent for those who need
some TLC. We can only do this
when someone lets us know
about the person. We also keep a
list of those members who die
during the year and send their
families a card. Please call or
email Dorene Drake so we can let
people know we are thinking of
them:
713‐680‐2528 or
Since the last meeting, the
following cards were sent:
Thinking of You – Fran Speegle
Sympathy – Family of Dr. Ollie
Harris; wife of Ralph Anderson
Get Well – Paul Ofield
DIRECTORY DISTRIBUTION
At the October general meeting,
over 200 directories were
distributed. Thank you to all
members who picked up one or
more copies.
The following members were
either at the distribution tables or
present and ready to sit in: Fay
Coza rt, V.S. Crittenden, Tommy
Hall, Harriet Grossman, Aleen
Jones, Walter Jones, Mary
Mellum, Pat Middaugh, Freda
Patterson, and James Patterson. A sincere thanks to them.
All remaining directories should
be mailed by October 21 (or October 24).
Bob Kieke
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION HOUSTON ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED TEACHERS
JUNE 1, 2011 – MAY 31, 2012 PLEASE PRINT ALL INFORMATION
1. Last Name
2. First Name
3. Address
4. Apartment #
5. City
6. State
7. Zip code +4
8. Telephone #
9. Email address (Print)
10. HART Membership ONLY $10 OR
11. HART and TRTA Membership $35
12. Additional donation to HART
13. Amount Enclosed(Check payable to HART)
14. How would you like to receive your HART Directory? At a meeting or by mail
YES NO
Electronically YES NO
15. How would you like to receive your copies of the HART Newsletter?
By mail YES NO
Electronically YES NO
16. Would you like to receive monthly meeting reminders? YES NO
If yes, by telephone? YES NO
Or by email? YES NO
17. Are you willing to serve on a HART committee? YES NO
18. Is this your first time to join HART? YES NO
19. IF this is your first time to join, who encouraged you to become a member?
Name
PLEASE MAIL THIS COMPLETED FORM AND YOUR CHECK TO: HART MEMBERSHIP P.O. BOX 6727
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77265-6727
Houston Association NON PROFIT ORG Of Retired Teachers US Postage Paid P. O. Box 6727 Houston, TX Houston, TX 77265-6727 Permit No. 1956 www.houstonarearetiredteachers.org.
Return Service Requested
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT What a great beginning to the year! In August, about forty members met at Tia Maria’s on Dacoma for a Not Back to School social and enjoyed good food, good conversation, and enjoyable companionship! Our first general membership meeting in September drew over 130 members to hear Tim Lee, Executive Director of TRTA, share with us news of interest. He asked us to be watchful of two organizations opposed to our current TRS Defined Benefit retirement plan – Texas Public Policy Foundation and Houston Greater Partnership. Texas has over 380,000 public education retirees; 72,000 retirees belong to TRTA. Our job is two-fold—to continue contacting our legislators regarding our support for the current defined benefit retirement plan and to recruit new members to strengthen our organization! Check out the article in this issue which outlines the differences between a Defined Benefit and a Defined Contribution plan.
Our next big event will be the Holiday Luncheon at the Junior League on December 9th. You can purchase your tickets beginning at this meeting. The price once again will be $30 per ticket.
Please remember to visit our new website between meetings. Tom Sanders updates the information and pictures frequently. Refer prospective members as well to www.houstonarearetiredteachers.org.
Jane
