Chapter Chatter – Winter 2011
ORLANDO, FL
Greetings from Orlando! I am writing this letter from Orlando Chapter, for Carol Hubbard our
President. Carol had surgery, a little over a week ago. She is now at home. Let us keep her in our
prayers and wish her well.
Doreen Costa went to England and spent two weeks there. She came back with lots of pictures
and memories. Doreen has a large family, and they keep her quite busy when she visits. Barbara
Hodge’s brother came from Germany for a visit. Ellen Pace's husband passed away this past October.
She too needs prayers. Joan Moss babysat her great-great-grandchildren. She needs to rest now. We
all know how those little ones can wear you out. Linda Staelens just came back from a family reunion in
North Florida. And Delores Hodges was blessed with her third great-great-grandchild.
I for one, spent fifty days in the hospital, and two and a half months afterwards with home care.
But I am well now, and ready for Thanksgiving. You know what they say... if it were not for bad news,
there would be no news at all. But it is not quite true… some of our members, had a wonderful summer,
and we are all looking forward to our Christmas luncheon, which will take place at the German Pavilion, at
Epcot on the fifteenth of December.
I wish you all a blessed Christmas, and the very best for the year to come.
Francine Adams - Vice President (still drafted)
SAN DIEGO, CA
Our Fall Luncheon/Meeting, held 1 September 2011 at Sizzler’s Restaurant in San Diego, was
attended by 17 members.
A total of $76.00 was collected for the raffle held in support of the Scholarship Fund. Barbara
Montoya won the 50/50 raffle and donated her winnings to the Scholarship Fund. Other raffle winners
included Don and Jenny Boas, Sam Forest, and Aiko Marcum.
Daley G. Rockwell, husband of Maxcine Rockwell, former Personnel Manager at NAS North Island,
passed away on 31 August 2011. Anaiano S. Cruz, who retired from Naval Base San Diego, passed
away on 21 July 2011; and Pat Gossling Grasso, who retired from the Naval Submarine Base San Diego,
passed away on 19 September 2011.
Our Winter Meeting/Christmas Luncheon Meeting will be held at 1130, Wednesday, 7 December at
the Anchors Catering Facility located at Naval Base San Diego. The cost will be $16.00 per person and
the menu will include prime rib, chicken, soup, salad, dessert, and a beverage. In lieu of the food drive,
members can participate in the Annual Toys for Tots Program by bringing unwrapped new toys for
children of all ages. A representative from the Marine Corps will attend the party to collect the toys.
Barbara Montoya, President
PENSACOLA, FL
November was our last meeting for 2011 and almost no one showed up. We had our smallest turnout
for a meeting, only 7 people were there. Maybe it was because it was cold and windy. The temperatures
were only in the 60's so it was a "wintery day" for our Florida folks. Sybil Watson , 93 years young, drove
to the meeting and is planning a trip to Disney World with her family. Russ Learn was there talking about
checking a task off his "Bucket List". He just came back from a 17 day cruise of Alaska and took over
1300 pictures. Thank goodness he didn't bring them all to the meeting to show us. Another world traveler,
Ed Korolenko, just returned from a 16 day tour through Warsaw, Lithuwania, Estonia, Latvia, Russia and
Minsk. We also took the opportunity to wish Mary Lou and Verlon Whitfield a happy 60th Anniversary.
Even though there were only a few people, we all managed to have good food and a good time at the
meeting. The Pensacola Chapter would like to wish all NEX Retirees a very happy holiday season and a
healthy, prosperous New Year.
Cathie Carter, Secretary/Treasurer
SOUTH FLORIDA
Season Greetings to all NEREA members and their families.
South Florida never seems to get into the holiday season, singing Jingle Bells when it is 80 degrees while
wearing swimming trunks and wiping your brows. It’s just not the Holiday Season to me.
We had a very quiet fall, and our fall meeting was canceled due to scheduling conflicts. We are looking
forward to our Spring Meeting in early March 2012, just prior to the NEREA Convention in New Orleans
LA. We are encouraging all our members to attend this convention for the comaradery of our retirees, the
tours and the great food and other amenities in New Orleans!
We are hoping to have a great year with the contributions to the NEREA Scholarship Fund. If you would
like to contribute to South Florida Scholarship Fund contact our Sec/Treas, and he loves phone calls.
Mr. Ole Olson
3700 SE Jennings Road, Apt. #340
Port St. Lucie, Fl 34952-7701
Ole phone # is 772-335-0234
ole109@netscape.com
Again, Happy Season and hope to see all of you in New Orleans in March 2012, if you have never
attended give it a try, you might actually have fun!
Don Cook – President
TRI-STATE CHAPTER
Our Tristate chapter had its quarterly meeting on September 17 at the LaPiazza Trattoria on Staten
Island on a warm, clear late summer day with 25 attendees. As always, it’s great to see our old friends
again after a long hot summer and to get updated on family weddings, births and anniversaries. We
missed Lynn Manzi and Kathy Fischetti who were in the process of establishing a Jersey Shore chapter
of NEREA in the area of Lakewood/Toms River, NJ. Any NEREA retiree living along the Jersey shore
who is interested in joining this chapter is strongly encouraged to contact Lynn or Kathy. We also missed
John Lyons who was recuperating from hip surgery and is now doing fine. Phyllis Cosenza also had
hip surgery and is now recuperating while doing therapy. It sure seems as if hip and knee surgeries
are the ”in” things to do now. Betty Pisano’s mother recently celebrated her 103rd birthday with her
family. Everyone was happy to hear that it was almost certain that Social Security recipients would be
getting a COLA increase of approx. 3.6% in January checks. The next NEREA convention in March
2012 in New Orleans was also discussed. This will be a great opportunity to see a unique American
city fighting its way back. After lively discussions and a delicious lunch, overseen by Hilda Thomas, we
adjourned at 3:00 PM. The next quarterly meeting will be at 12 noon at La Piazza on December 3rd (our
traditional Christmas/Chanukah lunch). Everyone should go all out to bring a fellow retiree/friend and
most important, a gift costing up to $5, gift wrapped marked male/female for our service men and women
overseas. See you all on Dec. 3rd.
Submitted by Bill Butler
TIDEWATER CHAPTER, VA
During the September meeting held at the Golden Corral restaurant, located on south Independence
Blvd in Virginia Beach, we bid farewell to one of our original chapter founders: Bill Ferguson ,who moved
down to Florida. “Best Wishes, Bill “.
October Birthdays were Carolyn Davis, Yvonne Henry, Gerry Stillman and Mike Vecerkouskos. The 50/50
was won by Edna Kautz, Mary Munden won the social activities drawing, and Grant Allen won the meal
voucher donated by the restaurant. All members agreed to contribute to the Food Bank at the November
Meeting.
At the November meeting we enjoyed a speaker from the Virginia Beach Police Department, Master
Police Officer Dolly Deans made a presentation on “ Safety Tips for Seniors “. She provided many great
points on how to protect self and personal property.
November birthday babies were: Nancy Bedient, Jim Carbone, Frank Cirino, Glenna Skinner, Bob
McRoberts, Margaret Cuffee, Jerry Quadrino, and Bob Elszy. The 50/50 was won by Rudy Godfrey, Jim
Kautz won the gift basket, and George Horey won the meal voucher donated by the restaurant.
Special Thanks to Jim Carbone for volunteering his time and vehicle to gather and transport the
donations to the food bank.
The tidewater chapter continues to grow in numbers from 49 paid members FY 2009 to 77 paid members
ending November 2011. The success in growth is due to members reaching out to new retirees, and
older retirees not on the rolls, and inviting them to join the local chapter.
Bob Elszy, President
JACKSONVILLE, FL
Our fourth meeting of 2011 was held at the Orange Park Golden Corral on Wednesday November 09,
2011. We have had a very nice fall season with mild days and cool nights. This weather is normal for
Florida this time of year. It was great to see twenty members and five guests together to enjoy lunch and
have a chance to catch up. It was great to see so many of our friends and former colleagues including a
recent retiree, Ms. Dorotea Forth.
Thanks to Nancy Murray for selling 50/50 raffle tickets. We were able to add $25.00 to the treasury. Cdr.
Donald Springer (Ret) won $17.00 and Dot Coble won $13.00. Door prize winners were Eva and Bill
Dona (Golden Corral Gift card and NEX Thermal Bag). It was great to have the Dona’s back with us and
to see Bill looking great after having health issues. He must be doing better as his appetite was very
good and he took advantage of the many choices.
Chuck Finn was still absent due to the fall that has slowed him down. We asked that all keep him and
others in their prayers.
Keith A Spradlin - 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
