Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 1

June 2017 Reflections

P r e s i d e n t ’ s M e s s a g e

Our association is often referred to as a social organization but we do so much more. Yearly we have to submit a summary report of our yearly activ-ities for the MRSPA Annual Meeting. We should be proud of the wonderful things we have accomplished as reflected below from this report.

• Donated funds to four elementary schools to buy supplies for students in need.

• Collected food to be distributed to local food pantries at three of our general meetings.

• Hosted the August birthday celebration at the St. Mary’s County Nursing and Rehabili-tation Center. The patients enjoyed playing bingo with prizes provided by our mem-bership. In addition, SMCPSRA provided the prizes and refreshments for the Septem-ber birthday celebration as well.

• Created and stitched a quilt which was raffled to help fund our scholarship program and make a contribution to SKILLS USA.

• Collected over 300 children’s books at our Holiday Luncheon meeting for distribution to families in need and to donate to a local soup kitchen so children could have them when they were there or to take home.

• Attended St. Mary’s County Public Schools Board of Education meeting to continue to be a presence and advocate for our membership

• Created decorations and decorated a Christmas tree highlighting life around the Ches-apeake. The decorated tree was given to Hospice of St. Mary’s for their tree auction to raise money. The combined amount raised between the winning bid and the spon-sor’s donation was $850.

• Awarded a $1000 renewable scholarship to a local senior who was graduating from a county high school and was going to college to prepare to become a teacher. In addi-tion, we continued to provide a $1000 scholarship to previous recipients for three more years.

• Sponsored day and overnight trips. The overnight trips included Historic Trains in Col-orado during the height of the aspen color season and a January cruise in the Carib-bean

• Published Reflections (our newsletter) regularly to keep our membership informed of all we do and provide helpful information.

• Remembered our members who had passed during the year in a ceremony at our June Luncheon meeting.

~Robert Abell

2016-2017 OFFICERS

Presidents: Robert Abell

Vice-President: Chuck Gantz

Recording Secretary:

Sharon Thorstensen

Corresponding Secretary:

Janet Kellam

Treasurer: Jack Hazuda

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

President’s Message

Service Projects 1

Brunches & Lunches 2

Committee Reports 3

Scholarship 4

Activities & Trips 5

MRSPA News 6

Area II South News

Remembrances 7

MRSPA News, cont. 8

Contact List

Calendar, Links 9

Views of the Past 10

S T . M A R Y ’ S C O U N T Y P U B L I C S C H O O L S

R E T I R E E S A S S O C I A T I O N , I N C .

Reflections

Service Projects-2017 June—Nursing Center items for Bingo prizes & birthday pre-sents .

Keep a lookout for specials on these items during your travels.

Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 2

June 2017 Reflections

Our next lunch will be June 13 at the Elks Lodge. Pictures are posted at https://smcpsra.shutterfly.com/. ~Lonna Siskind (Pictures taken by Lonna Siskind)

B r u n c h a n d L u n c h M e e t i n g s

March Brunch

Donated food items

Guest speakers: Leslie Fancella (l) & Heather Huff ®. talked about our insur-ance packages.

Our student cooks/servers standing with the teacher (in pink, or third from right)

Duff Bailey was the 50/50 raffle winner.

Mary Hart & Ernestine Pence

Nancy Lewis & Pat Downs

Jean Ford

Carolyn Nelson & Omega Taylor

Robert Moore

Barbara Engle, Donna Fitzgerald, & Ruth Dixon

Jo Hultman

Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 3

June 2017 Reflections

C o m m i t t e e R e p o r t s

History Collection Archives: As always we welcome articles and items that memorialize persons and events of the school system. Placement of some materials will remain at Green-view Knolls Elementary School with annual contributions

made to SMC Historic Society. If you have ques-tions about donations contact:

~Janet Kellam, Archives Chairman pandjkellam@verizon.net.

Member Changes Return to: JoAnn Wurmlinger; 22490 Armstrong Drive; Leonardtown, MD 20650 or Email her. Or bring to a lunch/brunch. Email saves us mailing time and money. You get up-to-the-minute news and newsletters in color, if emailed.

Name: Date of change:

New Address:

New Phone:

New Email:

Comments?

Exercise with Friends The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) offers our members an Individual Member-ship—every 3 months access to the Fitness & Aquatic Centers in Charles, Calvert, & St. Mary’s. Members must register either on-line at the CSM link on our website www.smcpsra.org (members only page) or call contact on web page or come in person to the campus for assistance.

Treasurer’s Report Our Checking Account’s balance is $15,222.94 and our Money Market Savings Account’s bal-ance is $10,032.99 as of May 2, 2017

~Jack Hazuda

St. Mary’s Nursing & Rehab Center The annual St. Mary’s Nursing & Rehab Center party will be held Tuesday, August 8. I am once again asking for your help. Each resident having an August/September birthday receives a gift and we play BINGO for prizes.

The following is a list of suggested items that would be good for Bingo prizes. Bring items to the June luncheon. Join us for the August party. There is NO dollar or other limit on cost of items.

--Body Washes --Hats/Ball Caps --Large print crossword & word find Books --Sport Water bottles with straws & lids --Costume Jewelry (new or gently used) --Tissues --Purses (new or gently used) --Lotions/Skin Creams --Women’s Scarves

We also need some members to help resi-dents play Bingo on Aug 8. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

~Sandra Rock

Welcome New Members We would like to welcome our newest mem-bers: Linda Perrygo, LuAnn Smouse, and Patricia VanRyswick

Irish Sayings and Proverbs

• There's one thing that all Irishmen have in common, the gift of gab.

• If you’re enough lucky to be Irish... You’re lucky enough!

• Questioning is the door of knowledge. --Irish Proverb

• Continual cheerfulness is a sign of wisdom. -Irish Proverb

• "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” ~Oscar Wilde

• There are only two kinds of people in the world, the Irish and those who wish they were.

• A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.

• The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune

The Legislative Committee report is found on page 7.

Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 4

June 2017 Reflections

Rebecca will be graduating from Leonardtown High School with a 4.13 weighted GPA. She will be at-tending SMCM in the fall majoring in psychology and education courses to become an elementary teacher. Rebecca attended the Teacher Academy of Maryland at the Tech

Center and volunteered at Tech Center functions as well as competed at the state level in Skills USA/Early Childhood. She became a member of the Na-tional Honor Society and volunteered at functions in the 10, 11, 12th grades as well as played JV softball. Rebecca was active in her church, assisted with Special Olympics, and volunteered at Hits for He-roes events to make money for local veterans. She has been developing lessons and tutoring students for Students Achieving Independent Learning (SAIL). She is completing an internship in the fifth grade at the Chesapeake Public Charter School. Rebecca has accomplished much of this while fulfilling the duties of hostess at Olive Garden

St. Mary’s County Public Schools Retirees Association Scholarship Fund Donation Make checks payable to the “Lexington Park Rotary Foundation”

Indicate SMCPSRA Scholarship Fund in memo line.

Name:

Date: Amount:

Donation: Memorial Contribution:

Mail to: Linda Himmelheber 18100 Carthegena Lane; Drayden, MD 20630

If memorial, please give name of individual

SCHOLARSHIP NEWS

Daniel will be graduating from Great Mills High School with a 4.37 weighted GPA. He will be attending Christopher Newport University in Newport News Virginia majoring in English/history with a minor in lead-ership. Even though Daniel attended

the STEM program, he wishes to pursue a career in secondary education in either of his two majors. Daniel credits his grandmother for developing his passion for history. Daniel was the founder and pres-ident of the Debate Club, member of the National Honor Society, and Computer Club. He has been on the Highest Honors Roll for four years. Daniel has been active in the community as a FLOW mentor working with children at Oakville and as commander of the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary Juniors. Though Daniel will be attending college in Virginia, he intends to return to St. Mary’s County to become “not just an employee, but an improver, a mover, a shak-er, a teacher”.

I hope you feel as proud as we do in assisting these talented students in becoming teachers in SMCPS. Please re-member that this year we are supporting two students with our contributions. If everyone in our organization contributed just $25 a year, we could support two students without depleting our fund. As of this newsletter the following members have donated to the Scholarship Fund: Margaret (Peggy) Lawson and Linda Himmelheber in memory of Joan Hand. SMCPSRA contributed in memory of Joan Hand. The March 50/50 raffle provided $40.

~Linda Himmelheber lkhimmel@hotmail.com

Rebecca Johnson and Daniel McCollum were selected as our 2017 scholarship recipients.

Date: March 2017 From: St. Mary’s Caring Lexington Park, MD

We are very appreciative of the canned foods you donat-ed to St. Mary’s Caring. Thank you.

BECCA Scholarship presentation 16 May 2017. Our winners with Linda H.

Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 5

June 2017 Reflections

A c t i v i t i e s a n d T r i p s

YOUR TRAVEL INFORMATION

(**does not apply to cruises) 1. We all travel at our own risk.

2. Trips are open to members, their families, and friends first. If bus is not filled, we have the option to go out to others.

3. There is always some walking involved as we travel. Read the itinerary carefully, keeping in mind your capabilities.

4. Itineraries, times, and details are approximate. Changes are sometimes necessary and unavoidable. Be 5-10 minutes early at the bus pickup / drop off areas.

5. Smoking and drinking of alcoholic beverages are not per-mitted on the bus.

6. Write a separate check, payable to SMCPSRA for each day trip. ** No refunds unless space can be filled.

7. Your reservation is definite upon receipt of down payment or full payment, whichever is required by deadline.

8. An email or phone call can reserve a spot but obligates you to send registration & payment by required dates, or your spot could drop. **

9. All registration forms are on-line. You may also mail it .

10. Refunds are made only when your space can be filled. If trip cancels, you will be notified and be refunded in full. **

11. We must have at least 30 people for bus trips. This keeps the cost to a minimum. **

12. Email: trips@smcpsra.org

Upcoming Trips—see trip flyers and registration at www.smcpsra.org or in this newsletter, pg 8-9. Space AVAILABLE on all trips and you can RESERVE NOW!

Day Trips—None at this time. Save the date for a trip to the US Navy Band Holiday Concert to be held at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. on December 16, 2017. To express interest, email trips@smcpsra.org. or call.Lonna.

Overnight & Cruise Trips

2017-Sept 13-27: “An Irish Adventure” -14 nights, 15 days to see in Ireland & Northern Ireland. Join us. Contact Stephanie at Grand American Tours, 800-423-0247. See the presentation at http://smcpsra.org/travel/ There is even some Irish music in the presentation for your listening pleasure. Looking for a roommate? Let us know and we will help you find one. You can register for a roommate online at our website. No guarantees, but we try.

All Cruise and Trip flyers are online at our website and at the Shutterfly web site. Mail or sign up at a lunch/brunch for day trips (if any scheduled) or register for day trips online www.smcpsra.org and pay at any brunch or lunch. Mailed forms & fees are also accepted.

Contact vendors on flyers for cruises and ex-tended trips for registrations and payments.

~Ernestine Pence 301-373-5909

Wanted: Trip Stories & Pictures Anyone want to write a short paragraph, some sentenc-es, or even a few words on a trip they took with us? Send them to Lonna via phone call or email. Thanks.

Join us on this exciting Ireland adventure!

Next overnight trip: Discover Ireland—September 2017 Check out the PowerPoint slide show with music on our Travel web page. After hitting the link, it downloads to your computer. Just open it and enjoy. You do not need PowerPoint to see it. Use the [up/down arrows] or [page up/down] to see slides. Use [Esc] to leave the show.

“AN IRISH ADVENTURE” DELUXE CUSTOM IRELAND PROGRAM W/CASTLE STAY

SEPTEMBER 13 – SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 ~ 15 DAYS / 14 NIGHTS Join us for an “An Irish Adventure” to visit Ireland and Northern Ireland. Almost all expenses are paid up front, including airfare, transfers, luggage handling, tips, daily breakfasts and dinners, one lunch, sightseeing, and entrance fees to included sights. $5,979/person, double occupancy. An optional tour to Guinness Storehouse in Dublin is offered. This trip is designed specifically for our SMCPSRA group and their friends & family. See scenery, religious sites, history, & culture. Come along for a toe tapping, luck of the Irish, good time. No need to be in Maryland to come along. Vendor will work with you on flights to Ireland from any state. Flyer and forms are on our website & will be at the next meeting. A few spaces are still left. Don’t miss this once in a lifetime adventure. Deadline to register is June 14, 2017.

For more INFORMATION contact: Lonna Siskind at 301-862-1315, or trips@smcpsra.org For RESERVATIONS & Info contact GRAND AMERICAN TOURS—Stephanie

~ 1-800-423-0247. Complete color flyer is found on our Travel web page

Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 6

June 2017 Reflections

Consumer Education Anna Moseley, SMCPSRA Consumer Education/Health Committee Chair.

Dale Lloyd was presented the MRSPA Community Service Individual Nominee Award for 2016-2017, St. Mary’s Co. She was not present, so the certifi-cate is planned to be given to her at the June meeting.

When it comes to phone scams, be smart with these tips:

■ Caller ID isn’t foolproof. Scammers often use technology to make a call appear to be coming from a name and number you will recognize so you are more likely to answer. As soon as you realize you don’t know the caller, or they ask for money or any personal information, hang up.

■ Don’t try to opt out of robocalls, just hang up on them. “Opting out” confirms they have reached a working number and can lead to even more calls.

■ Register your phone number(s) with the FTC’s Do Not Call registry to reduce the number of telemarketing and sales calls you receive. Scammers may still get through but by receiving fewer unsolicited calls overall, you may lessen the chances of becoming a victim. Do an online search for numbers you do not recognize and block calls from ones that have been reported as scams.

■ Assume any unsolicited call is a poten-tial scam. Never share any personally identifiable information (PII) – such as your Social Security number, bank and credit card account numbers, and birthdate – with an unsolicit-ed caller. Source:

Robert Abell won one of the schol-arship prize baskets that was given away at the meeting. A raffle ticket for the MRSPA scholarship fund had to be purchased and then your ticket drawn at the meeting. He won the Sports Basket.

Member Attendees at the MRSPA Annual Meeting on May 9, 2017. Standing from left: Linda Himmelheber, Murphy Holley, Robert Abell, Deborah Faller, Sharon Thorstensen, & Ernestine Pence. Seated from left: Harold & Lonna Siskind.

MRSPA. The only organization in the state:

• That works exclusively for retired school personnel

• Advocates for its members’ interests locally in Annapolis and nationally in Washington

• Is represented on the Maryland Retirement/ Pension System Board of Trustees

If you haven’t joined, now is the time. Protect your future pension. Join MRSPA.

Picture right: Gift Bags and table decorations from the MRSPA Annual Meeting in May. Each attendee re-ceived a nice gift bag of goodies that were Maryland fa-vorites. Items in-cluded Utz Crab Chips, Otterfheim’s Bakery cookies, Goetze’s Candy, Fisher’s Popcorn, a Black-eyed Susan seed pack-et, and several other smaller items. All items were made in Maryland.

Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 7

June 2017 Reflections

Legislative Committee Report

As spring moves to summer the Maryland legislative session has ended. There are still some loose ends as the governor goes through the process of whether to sign, veto, or not sign a bill and let the bill become law. By not signing the governor allows the bill to become law to avoid a fight with the legislature.

Two bills that were not signed are HB 1, and HB 531. (as of May 9, 2017) HB 1 Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. This bill is to make employers provide a given

amount of sick leave days/hours to employees who do not have such leave. This sick leave is based on hours per week employed up to a maximum of 80 hours per year. This leave would provide low wage workers with the ability to take sick leave. One of the concerns for this bill is caregivers. The concern is that caregivers (individuals) either hired by a family or a company gets ill and cannot take off because of their low wage makes the person they are taking care of sicker. There are many other provisions to this law, the above provisions are the basics. The second bill is HB 631 Essential Off Patent or Generic Drugs-Price Gouging. Prohibition. This bill prohibits a manufacture or wholesale distributor from engaging in “price gouging” in the sale of an “essential off-patent or generic drug.” Medicaid must notify the Attorney General when specified price increases occur. On request of the Attorney General, the manufacturer of the essential off-patent or generic must submit a specified statement. The Attorney General may require a manufacture or wholesale distributor to produce any records or documents relevant to determining if a violation of the prohibition on price gouging has oc-curred. On petition of the Attorney General, a circuit court may issue specified orders, including com-pelling a manufacture or wholesale distributor to provide certain statements or records, restraining or enjoining a violation, requiring restitution, and imposing a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each viola-tion. ~Harold Siskind

Remembrances Please remember these persons and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Lt. Col. Donald King, USAF (Ret) (non-member, not pictured) 71, Husband of member, Reita King He

passed away 7/6/2016. Donald’s funeral will be in Arlington National Cemetery June 22, 2017 at 1:PM. Everyone attending must be in place at 12 noon. Contact Reita for more information.

Mary Ruth Horton (non-member, not pictured) 78. of California, MD. 1/31/1939 to 3/5/2017. She began her career as a teacher at Great Mills High School in 1961 and then was a plank owner for Esperanza Middle School joining their staff at their opening in 1962. She left teaching to raise her two children. She was our October 2016 meeting speaker.

Deborah McHugh (member, pictured) 62, Valley Lee, 10/30/54, passed away March 5, 2017 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She began her teaching career at Margaret Brent MS and later transferred to Leonardtown HS teaching Special Ed when it opened. She was the Chair of the Special Education Depart-ment until her retirement in 2009. After retirement she substitute taught until 2016 at Leonardtown HS.

Joan Hand (member, pictured) 88, 6/8/1928 to March 6. 2017. She passed away at a hospital in Costa Ri-ca in the comforting presence of her son, Rich. Her ashes were interred next to her husband’s and other family members in Sarasota, Florida on Wednesday, March 15. Joan was a first-grade teacher at Oakville and Greenview Knolls elementary schools. She retired around 1988. She was an outstanding teacher of young children, a mentor to many of us, and a friend to all who knew her.

Joseph Potanka, Jr. (non-member, not pictured) 70, born 11/22/46 and passed away March 15, 2017. He was a PE teacher at Piney Point ES before retiring.

Area II South Director Notes I attended the annual meeting. One of the important items brought up at the meeting was member-ship and the importance of it to all of us. Maryland Retired School Personnel Association (MRSPA) represents us in Annapolis. The Association fights hard for us through our paid Legislative Aide. This year there were several bills in the legislature dealing with the pension/retirement systems. One of those bills was an attempt to increase the amount that the counties must pay to the system. If this would have passed, the repercussions would have made it difficult for the counties to continue the

current funding of the Boards of Educations. As an unintended consequence, our insurance could have been affected as money becomes tighter and tighter to fund current programs. It can become a case of insurance or programs. This is just one example of the kinds of laws that are proposed in the legislature. MEMBERSHIP MATTERS! ~Harold Siskind

Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 8

June 2017 Reflections

Editor’s Note: The Drop Off Center for meds in St. Mary’s Co is at the Sherriff’s Office in Leonardtown. They have a bin right inside the door to drop off unwanted meds. Check your local law enforcement office and they might have such a place, or know of a spot in your area. Picture source: MRSPA Consumer Connection May-June 2017.

Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 9

June 2017 Reflections

2016-2017

Keep your email address up-to-date If you are NOT receiving emails and expect them from us, send your email to JoAnn Wurmlinger at jawurm-linger@yahoo.com or call 301-475-3437.

Activities email: trips@smcpsra.org Directors email: directors@smcpsra.org Regular email: smcpsra@gmail.com

If you want up-to-date news, get it on email.

Officers and Committee Chairpersons

Officers

President ......................................... Robert Abell Vice President ................................. Chuck Gantz Corresponding Secretary ................ Janet Kellam Recording Secretary ....................... Sharon Thorstensen Treasurer ........................................ Jack Hazuda

Committee Chairs

Archives ................................................................ Janet Kellam

Bylaws/Legislative ......................................... Harold Siskind

Communications/Publications ............... Lonna Siskind

Community Service....................................... Sue Gough

Consumer Education/Health .................. Anna Moseley

Finance ........................................... George Kirby

Membership ....................................................... JoAnn Wurmlinger

Nominating .......................................................... Myra Raspa

Program ................................................................ Murphy Holley

Remembrance .................................................. Karol Wolgemuth

Scholarship ......................................................... Linda Himmelheber

Telephone Tree ............................................... Debbie Faller

Travel/Activities ............................................... Ernestine Pence

Committee Members Still Needed! Contact Robert Abell, rateach2nd@aol.com or

Email: smcpsra@gmail.com

Links Our main website: www.smcpsra.org

Our Picture & Newsletter archive website: smcpsra.shutterfly.com

Like us: https://www.facebook.com/SMCPSRA

The St. Mary’s County Public Schools web site has a link to our retiree website: http://www.smcps.org/staff. The link is found under Human Resources, within the “Staff Portal” page.

MRSPA-State retiree’s web site: https://www.mrspa.org/

CALENDAR

2017 June 13 Lunch Elks @ 1200 Aug 8 St. Mary’s Co Nursing & Rehab

Center Bingo/Birthday party at 2pm

Sept 13-27 An Irish Adventure trip

————————- Aug 8 Board of Directors meeting @ 10:00 in SMCPS Board Room

Reflections is published quarterly, plus additional ones as needed. You may have it emailed or mailed. Email is en-couraged to save mailing costs and labor.

You can submit articles & pictures for Reflections, website, or Facebook to: smcpsra@gmail.com Lonna Siskind, editor. phone #: 301-862-1315

2017 September Issue—articles & pictures due August 10

www.smcpsra.org

OPEN 24/7

Here is our QR code for the website. Use with a smart phone free QR application.

Not a Member?

If you are getting this newsletter from a friend, why not

join yourself and get all the benefits? Go to

www.mrspa.org to join (can mail, or use credit card),

www.smcpsra.org to download the membership form, or

contact JoAnn Wurmlinger.

Pictures of Events

Pictures will be posted from our events on our Shutterfly

website, and some will also go on our Facebook page.

Go to www.smcpsra.org for links.

Why wait for the mail? Receive this Newsletter at least a week earlier with email delivery! And it’s in color!

Stay Informed

Volume 2016-2017, Issue 4 Page 10

June 2017 Reflections

St. Mary’s County Public Schools Retirees Association, Inc. PO Box 1037 Leonardtown, MD 20650

Views of the Past

March Brunch

Mary McNey Chuck Gantz Ellen Johnson

Mary Jane Shoemaker Joan Tippett

Rose Nelson Ed Fitzgerald & John Felicitas

Robert Moore