YEAR IN REVIEW 2007
The chapter started this year with a total voting membership of 733 members and 76 non-voting members. Elected officers for the year were Herb Roth, President; Joan Byrens, 1st Vice President; June Zalamous, 2nd Vice President, Carole Roth, Secretary; and Werner Gumpert, Treasurer.
Legislative Action
Rolland Hamilton, National Legislative Chair, kept chapter members informed about National Legislative issues through monthly articles in the Chapter Chatter newsletter. In his March article he described the major issues, provided a status update, and identified the level of support provided by local legislators. In the ensuing months the chapter was kept informed regarding progress on repealing the Government Pension Offset (GPO), and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and progress on obtaining for retirees the privilege of paying Health Benefit Premium with pretax dollars, the same privilege now granted current Federal employees. Chapter members were encouraged to obtain NARFE’s new Congressional Directory as an aid in contacting Congressional representatives in regard to issues of concern.
During August, NARFE’s designated Lobby Month, a meeting was
held with Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher’s
staff at her
Duane Peterson, Service Officer, urged members to sign up for NARFE-NET in order to keep informed about legislation and Federation news important to NARFE members. He also suggested that the members sign up for the FEDweek Weekly Newsletter and provided the website information and instructions for signing up.
Chapter Interface
with NARFE National and State Federation Organizations
In preparation for the May State Federation Convention, Chapter members were informed of the General Resolutions that would be presented at the Convention, and a show of hands determined the position of chapter members on the issues. This information was used to guide the delegate voting during the convention.
A total of 16 Chapter delegates and 3 guests attended the
State Federation Convention in
Subsequently, the chapter membership voted to support our hosting the 2009 Federation Convention. Past President Paul Andrews volunteered to serve as Chair of the Host Committee. The 2009 Host Committee Executive Board and the Convention Host Sub- Committee Chairs have been selected.
Member
Services
Duane Peterson, Service Chair, continues to contact survivors of deceased NARFE members to assist them in contacting the Office of Personnel Management in order to stop annuity payments, change FEHPB enrollment, receive life insurance payments, and to help survivors with the paperwork required in settling the deceased member’s estate as it relates to Federal service and benefits.
Copies of the revised NARFE publication “Be Prepared for Life Events” (Form F-100) were provided to the chapter membership during our July membership meeting. Duane urged members to fill out the forms included and to make the booklet available with our personal financial records so that our next of kin will have the information readily available to assist them in settling our estates.
During the summer Duane authored a Chapter Chatter article entitled “Tips to Survive the Summer Heat”. In it he described warning signs to watch for and tips to prevent heat related health problems. This information was a valuable service to all chapter members!
Community
Involvement
Rolland Hamilton continues to provide NARFE representation in the Congress of California Seniors which provides leadership in protecting the interests of seniors.
The chapter keeps in touch with activities of the local Senior Coalition through their monthly newsletter which contains minutes of coalition meetings and descriptions of programs of interest to seniors being held locally. Their newsletter has also been an aid in identifying program topics for our chapter meetings.
Chapter member Mildred Fong was honored by the Contra Costa
County Board of Supervisors for her work as an adult educator with
Congratulations, Mildred!
Charity
Projects
In January, the results of the
and $175 in cash. The
During our February Luncheon Meeting, June Duncan,
Alzheimer’s Chair, presented our 2006 donation checks to representatives of the
Our 2007 Alzheimer’s fund raising was again conducted in two donation drives, one in the spring and one in the fall. Results have been positive with donations totaling approximately $2,000, exceeding the totals of previous years. June Duncan, Alzheimer Chair, led off the 2007 drive with an informative article featured in the May Chapter Chatter. Healthy living advice and Brain Fitness Tips were included.
The chapter participated in the local Alzheimer Memory Walk
at
Chapter knitters provided 57 newborn and “preemie” caps which
were donated to the local
Social Activities
This year our summer outing was a
tour of a little-known local National Historic Site, Eugene O’Neill’s Tao House
in
On October 8, the chapter held its annual Columbus Day
Chapter Picnic at
The Annual Holiday Luncheon will be held again at Blake’s at
Boundary Oaks in
Programs and Speakers
Chapter meetings continued to feature a variety of interesting and informative topics of interest to seniors and NARFE members in particular.
David Livingston, Concord Police Chief discussed
Debbie Toth of the Mt. Diablo Day Care Center spoke about her Center’s program for Alzheimer patients.
A member of the Contra Costa County Master Gardner Program of
the
Linda Ausplund, Supervisor of the
Mike Blackford, retired Director of
the
Jane De May Andreotti, Vice President for Investigative Services and Manager of Corporate Security of the Bank of America discussed Senior Fraud, unauthorized withdrawals, counterfeit check rings, and elder abuse identity theft.
Henry Beardsley, Manager of Volunteer Services of the American Red Cross spoke on emergency preparedness for seniors. He also addressed the need for blood donations and the locations where blood may be donated.
The annual November FEHBP Open Season meeting featured representatives of Blue Cross and Kaiser Health Plans who discussed what changes will occur in their respective plans during the next year. Through the efforts of Congresswoman Tauscher’s staff a Medicare representative also attended this year and addressed Medicare issues and questions. Informative handouts and printed information were made available to the membership.
Administration and Organization
The Chapter Membership Committee was reestablished this year with Past President Paul Andrews as Chair and Harry Wolf and Fred Mewes assisting him in making contacts with members by mail, phone, and e-mail. New members were welcomed through personal contacts, new member packets mailed to their homes, and by listing new member names in the Chapter Chatter. Our “Stop the Drop” initiative to stem the declining membership numbers was supported by monthly written reports to the Executive Board of gains and losses in membership. Paul also provided monthly membership articles in the Chapter Chatter which publicized our gains and losses in membership and encouraged members to pay their dues on time to avoid costly reinstatement efforts. He also encouraged members to take advantage of dues withholding to avoid these lapses.
Despite prodigious efforts the year ends with our total chapter membership at 798, below the 800 level for the first time in many years. Although our percentage of loss is relatively low at 1.4%, Paul points out that membership decline continues to be a problem for which we have been unable to find an answer. Despite our best efforts, membership numbers continue to erode.
All current officers have agreed to continue to serve in their present positions for another year. Accordingly the slate consisting of current officers was presented by the Nominating Committee at the November Membership Meeting. Nominations were solicited from the floor, and receiving none the current officers were elected by acclamation to serve another term.
Note: This information is provided as a draft document. The chapter membership is invited to recommend additions and corrections. The final copy will be included in our official Chapter History.