CHAPTER CHATTER
MEMPHIS/MILLINGTON
The Memphis/Millington Chapter is still alive and doing well. Since we have not had news in the newsletter in a while, I thought I would catch you up since our December ‘09 meeting. We held our annual White Elephant auction and raised money to support the scholarship fund. We also donated canned goods and a check for $150.00 to the local Crisis Center. The Crisis Center was very thankful since the economic times have hit everyone very hard and they have had many more requests this year for assistance than in years past. Our nominating committee announced the following proposed officers for 2010-2011 - they were: President - Jannie Mathis, Vice President - Harold James and Secretary/Treasurer - Cheryl Evans. Elections were held in March 2010. At our March breakfast meeting, held on March 13th at 9:00 AM at Old Timers Restaurant, we received the results of our White Elephant Auction which realized $106.00 in revenue. Two new retirees in our area were announced: Carl Sneed and Rita Bennington. As a group we worked on the Chapter Support questionnaire and gave input to the president to provide to our contact at National. It was announced that John Davis, a long time member of the group, was in a home and since that time we have learned that John passed away. There is a new type of card required for retirees to get on the base. It is called a CAC card and, unless you are a military retiree or a retiree's dependent, you must get a CAC card. The group decided to hold our next White Elephant Auction at our September meeting since a lot of the items can be used for Christmas gifts. Our next meeting is scheduled for June 12th at 9:00 AM at Old Timers Restaurant. A reminder was given to all in attendance to pay their NEREA dues.
Submitted by Shirley Maes
TIDEWATER VA
With summer ahead of us we started off with a great local luncheon and meeting on May 06, at the Golden Corral Restaurant in Virginia Beach Va.
As the new President I am happy to report that the Tidewater Chapter has grown by 40% to a total of forty nine paid members, and it continues to grow. This is in great part due to past Presidents who have given of their time, as well as member participation, who continue to move the chapter forward.
I want to thank all past presidents, who have served as mentors, not only for me, but for the membership and its growth. As we move forward into 2010, I have great hopes that the Tidewater Chapter will continue to grow in support of NEREA and its mission.
During the March / April / May meetings; Debbie Haddox / Bob Elszy and Nancy Collette (respectively) won the 50/50 raffle. Some donated their winnings back to the scholarship fund. Our Rudy Godfrey, our Vice-President, hand carried an accumulated $1000.00 check for the scholarship fund to the NEREA Convention in San Diego.
I want to thank Vice-President Rudy Godfrey, Recording Secretary Fay Ryan, Treasurer Harvey Kislow and Social Director Noelia Rosario, for volunteering to serve. Special thanks to Mr. Frank Cirino (former treasurer) who continues to help with the 50/50 raffle, plus other administrative tasks.
The spring 2010 NEREA Newsletter “DID YOU KNOW“ was a great hit, due to chapters members sending in photos and memoirs for consideration. We welcome the following April retirees: Belinda Baker, Debbie Bickers, Karen Brooks, Rosetta Ling, Mary Manuel, Frank Miller, Peletisara Tauti, Rosalinda Wich and Patricia Williams.
Our next meeting is June 03, 1200 hours, at the Golden Corral Restaurant, located on Independence Blvd in Virginia Beach. Any retirees visiting the Tidewater area are most welcome to join us.
Bob Elszy, President
SOUTH FLORIDA
The South Florida Chapter held its spring meeting on the 14th of March 2010 at the home of Don and Beverly Cook. It seems like our meetings have become popular and we have a great turnout! We had 25 members and their guests attend the meeting and everyone had a good time. We had our newest member, Ms Holly Long attend (who spent most of her career with the NEXCOM in the Tidewater area). Welcome aboard Holly.
Also attending was our old friend Mr. Herb Goldberg from New York. Looking younger every day, you know he is younger than Ole. Two of our yearly snowbirds, Arlene and John Sullivan, attended in March, and we love to see them every year.
We had our 50/50 drawing for the Scholarship Fund and took in $235. The winner was our Secretary/Treasurer, Ole the "Swedish Stallion" Olson, who donated his share of the $235.00 back into the Fund. This will allow us to have
another record year in donations for the NEREA Scholarship Fund.
We may have a small Chapter but our members have big hearts. Ole Olson, our Sec/Treasurer, did a little survey and this is what he came up with: our chapter members come from nine (9) Florida Counties. These nine counties cover 10,952 square miles. Ole, you get an A+ for effort, "we have to find this boy a job"!
Don Cook, President
PENSACOLA, FL
We scheduled our quarterly meeting on May 8th at the Golden Corral Restaurant, but when we arrived, the restaurant had been overrun with people from a local Junior College graduation. There were no parking spots, tables left or enough food available for us because the restaurant didn't expect that many people. So, we regrouped, and headed out to a Ryans on the other side of town. Even though we left word with Golden Corral to tell any NEREA late comers where we had gone, a few people were not told and were left behind. I would like to personally apologize to those people. It was circumstances beyond our control. After arriving late at Ryans and finally getting settled, we did have an enjoyable get together. We had three new retirees attend and we welcomed Jim Diamond, Lila Hepler and Murray Kramer. We hope they attend all the meetings from now on. We also had some returnees who haven't attended in a while, Ed Rogers and Tom LeHane. Ed Rogers brought his wife, Mary Ellen, and we congratulated them on just celebrating their 43rd Anniversary. Also, we wished Ed Korolenko good luck on his excursion as a staff member for the Boy Scouts Jamboree celebrating 100 years. Hopefully, everything will go back to normal at our next meeting which is tentatively scheduled for August 14th.
Cathie Carter, Secretary/Treasurer
OAKLAND/ALAMEDA, CA
The Oakland/Alameda Chapter held it's meeting May 7, 2010 at the Pier 29 Restaurant. Six persons attended. Our lowest to date. However, our spirits were not dampened by the low number. We had a good lunch, some liquid joy, and Loraine Tello contributed a baked surprise. In lieu of a raffle everyone chipped in a donation for the Scholarship Fund. A report on the San Diego convention was provided by Matt Tello.
We look forward to our next meeting scheduled for June 25, 2010.
Matt Tello, President
NEW ENGLAND
Hello from chilly New England. You would never know it was May what with over night temperatures around 30 degrees. Summer is coming. Just don't know when.
Our meeting was held on February 22nd at Gregg's in North Kingstown and two retirees joined our group. We welcome Doris Parks and Johnnie Smith. The turn out of twenty three retirees and friends was excellent. The food was good and the price was even better. The desserts are fabulous and many bought extra to take home.
We had a retired East Providence firefighter, Bob Courtemache, as the guest speaker. Very interesting, so much so, I went right out and bought two carbon monoxide detectors.
Some of the members had donated yarn to the John Clarke Retirement Center, and the ladies there have made eight Afghans lap blankets for hospice. Great job everyone.
Connie Flanagan won the 50/50 raffle. The door prizes were won by Doris Parks, Connie Flanagan and Art Schobert. A raffle was held and believe it or not, Fred Nalle won twice. Marie Bourque and Kathy Pridgen were the next two lucky ones.
We all enjoyed Gregg’s so much we are planning our next meeting there on May 24th. Again, we will car pool as it cost $8.00 round trip to go over the Newport Bridge, unless you have a transponder, then its 83 cents.
That's if from New England for now. Hope you all have a great summer.
Ann O’Connor, Secretary
SAN DIEGO
Thirty-one members attended the quarterly Spring Luncheon Meeting, held on 2 March 20l0 at Sizzler’s Restaurant. A total of $110.00 was collected for the Scholarship Fund raffle which was won by Ms. Carol Sanchez. Other raffle winners included Iko Marcum, Ester Brikel, Mary Light and Steve Robinson.
The next meeting is scheduled for l2:00 PM, 24 June 2010 at Sizzler’s Restaurant located at 3755 Murphy Canyon Road in San Diego.
The NEREA National Convention held, at the Town and Country Hotel/Convention Center 25-30 April, was a big success. Events included a Wine and Cheese Reception, a business meeting, the Old Town Trolley Tour, a San Diego harbor dinner cruise, a tour of the newly remodeled Naval Base San Diego Navy Exchange, and lunch at the Navy Base San Diego Anchors Conference Center. Festivities concluded with the Banquet Dinner attended by RADM Steven Romano, Commander, and NEXCOM. RADM Romano’s presentation included an overview of the Navy Exchange Program, which included information concerning Navy Exchange and Navy Lodge facilities throughout the world, their customers, FY2009 sales results and a question and answer session. Several NEREA Chapter members and individual retirees presented Mr. George Horey with donations to the Scholarship Fund. In addition, a 50/50 raffle was held during the convention which raised $1,018.00. The 50/50 raffle was won by Ms. Helen Springer of the San Diego Chapter, leaving $509 for the Fund. The San Diego Chapter provided a donation to the fund as well as goodie bags for all conference attendees.
Barbara Montoya, President
TRISTATE CHAPTER
Our chapter met again for its quarterly meeting on Saturday, March 20, and we continued getting a very good turnout – 31 members and guests. Lively discussion centered on the brutal winter we just went through in the Metro New York area, with record amounts of snow and cold weather. But we took satisfaction in knowing that our friends who winter in Florida were not spared the abnormal weather. The upcoming convention in San Diego was discussed and members were strongly encouraged to attend. NEREA scholarships were discussed and everyone who had grandchildren who qualified was encouraged to get an application and submit for a possible award. Everyone was reminded to pay their $10 annual dues to National NEREA due January 1st if not already done – refer to the check register in your checkbook and if there is no check payable to NEREA, send your $10 check right away. While you are at it, also include a contribution for the scholarship fund, no matter how small the amount – every dollar counts.
It was great to see Lynn Manzi, who recently retired in Virginia Beach and returned to New Jersey, at the meeting. And also to see our dear friend Grace Pasqua who hadn’t been with us for a while due to illness. Everyone was saddened by the tragic passing of John Russas who was killed while crossing a street in Queens. Ironically, John had just finally recovered from injuries suffered when he was hit by a car while crossing a street in early 2008. This should be a warning to all of us to be extremely careful not only when crossing streets but while walking through parking lots at malls. As I write, Ruth McAllister continues her recovery from her recent surgery and we are all happy about that. Hopefully she can be released from rehab in the very near future.
As usual, our next meeting will be held at La Piazza Trattoria behind Applebee’s on Richmond at 12 noon on Saturday June 19. Let’s continue our great attendance by bringing another retiree and/or guest – our goal is to revitalize and strengthen our chapter, which incidentally, established NEREA in 1993.
Submitted by Bill Butler
ORLANDO, FL
The Orlando Chapter met at Smokey Bones for our March meeting, with 20 in attendance. We were delighted to have Carolyn Lucas join us. Mary Pate, Carol’s sister, won the 50/50 raffle of $20. Dolores Hobbs won a hurricane candle set, and Francine Adams a bath basket. Birthdays and anniversaries were celebrated with a cake.
Our April meeting was at the Golden Corral, where 24 of us enjoyed the buffet. Linda Staelens won the 50/50 raffle of $31. A shower set was won by Flora Vickers, Palma McCarthy, a very nice kitchen spatula, and Ellen Pace, a candle set. A decision was made to have our Christmas luncheon on December 9th at the Crystal Palace in Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Please make your plans now to attend.
The 16th Annual Convention was fabulous! The Orlando Chapter attendees had a wonderful time, it was great to see and visit with every one. We were all amazed and delighted to see the remarkable change in Paul Feuer. Truly God is good! There were 8 of us who were able to attend: Francine Adams, Doreen Costa, Carol Hubbard, Dolores Hobbs, Barbara Hodge, Joan Moss, Linda Staelens, and 1(one) man, John Adams. The comments were never ending; “1 man and 7 women”, it was a ball! I HAVE TO TELL YOU, John has more patience than Job!! He was our travel agent, chauffeur, tour guide, and “best buddy”. We love you John and appreciate you more than you will ever know.
Upon return to Orlando, Doreen and Jim Costa took the Auto/Train to Massachusetts celebrating their 50th Anniversary. We know you had a wonderful time!
Thanks again to the San Diego Chapter for hosting a great convention. The business meeting was informative and well presented. Thanks to Admiral Romano for his presentation. Barbara Montoya and her Chapter Retirees are to be commended for a job well done. Orlando is already looking forward to next year.
Carol Hubbard, President
Jacksonville
Golden Corral was the place to be on May 12 as 32 exchange retirees and guests met for the second quarterly luncheon. We had lots of new attendees since we changed the location and everyone is happy. The food is great, the environment very nice and the staff pleasant. Welcome to all the loyal supporters who continually join us for the quarterly gatherings. It was great to see Joan Roulston, Millie Acosta, Linda Dillard, Carolyn Chester and Joyce McDonald, who joined us this time. Marcie Rogers was there after having shoulder surgery in February.
Lucky winners for the fifty –fifty drawing were Joan Roulston $27 and Sarah Houston $12. Vivian Mallory and Denise Speedling won $10 Golden Corral gift certificates. Thanks again to Nancy Murray, Pat Richens and Yoneko Martin for selling raffle tickets. The raffle wouldn’t happen without them. As a result of your generous raffle purchases, the Jacksonville Chapter donated $300 dollars to the NEREA scholarship fund. Thank you to Keith Spradlin who attended and presented our check at the San Diego NEREA convention in May.
Another group of retirees that work and not able to attend during the week met at Buffalo’s in April and plan on meeting again on Saturday, June 12. Contact Sarah Houston if you would like to join them in the future.
Our next meeting is Wednesday, August 11. Look forward to seeing you there.
Carol D’Onofrio, President
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WILL THIS BE YOUR LAST NEWSLETTER?
The NEREA Constitution and By-Laws, in Article II Section 2, states that “MEMBERS WITH DELINQUENT DUES FOR A TWO YEAR PERIOD, RUN THE RISK OF BEING REMOVED FROM THE NEREA MAILING AND MEMBERSHIP LIST.”
Does the mailing label on this NEREA NEWS has a (-08) or (-09) or (10), or higher number after your name? Each one has a significant meaning, and tells you that was the last year you paid dues. It there is an -08, your dues for the current year 2009 have not been paid. Again, the NEREA membership will be reviewed to determine retirees that are delinquent in their dues. Please, consider this: NEREA has continued to send you the quarterly NEREA NEWS newsletter, although printing and mailing costs have escalated, and your fellow retirees with current dues have had to bear the cost for you!
Any member with delinquent dues will be dropped from the NEREA membership and mailing list. When you send in your back dues, remember to include dues for 2009, which were due last January. Dues are $10.00 for each year. Dropping someone from the mailing list is a difficult decision, but a necessary one from a financial standpoint.
NEREA NEEDS YOU, AND YOU NEED NEREA!
NEREA Membership Committee
