rc 10 skyline news - Retiree Council 10

RC 10 SKYLINE NEWS
ISSUE # 1 for 2015-2016 / AUG.—SEPT.
RC 10 Officers
From Your President:
President - David Golden
( dmgolde@nycap.rr.com )
518-371-0604 (Vo/Fax)
The end of summer is a time to face the prospect of going back to work, if
you are still working of course! For those of us who are past that, the view is
a bit different. Fall and winter are just summer at lower temperatures! Mostly it is time to enjoy those things we always wanted to do, but could not because we were locked into the school calendar. That rigid lock step pattern
of life prearranged what you could do and when. Times have changed! Sure
there are still some work deadlines, but much of it is to be done when we
choose to do so. If gardening is your thing, temperature and seasons are your
boss. For those who like to get away a bit and change the view and locale,
travel when you want the allure.
1st Vice–President - Jim Stolis
( jimnfros@aol.com )
518-424-5426
2nd Vice–President - Ann Cherney
( acherne1@nycap.rr.com )
Secretary - Laraine Gillette
( rc10secretary@hotmail.com )
Treasurer -
Paula M. Johannessen,
( rc10treasurer@gmail.com )
518-283-3556
NYSUT Delegates
Daniel Boone
( boonesfarm1976@yahoo.com )
Dennis Bouchard
Jane Weihe
( Mweihe1@nycap.rr.com )
Alternate Delegates
Bonita Maxon
( bamrdk@aol.com )
Vince Pelliccia
Ernie Reis
AFT Delegate
Jim Stolis
AFT Alternative
Bonita Maxon
Membership Director
Joan Root
744 Route 32N
Schuylerville, NY 12871
( rootjoan12871@msn.com )
518-796-8468
Travel Program
Kathryn Chesterfield
12 Heritage Court,
Cohoes, NY 12047
( kchesterfield@nycap.rr.com )
518-235-0264
Webmaster and
Newsletter Editor
Ernie Reis
( ereis6267@gmail.com )
518-392-3449
http://rc10.ny.aft.org
TO UPDATE YOUR
PERSONAL CONTACT
INFORMATION
CALL NYSUT MEMBER
RECORDS (518) 213-6000
If you can manage a short trip not far from the same site, give your attention
to the Adirondack Museum trip that Doug Porter is organizing. This includes
transportation, admission and lunch all in one package, along with a chance
to view the Adirondacks in living color! Blue Mountain Lake is a stunning
site and the views from the Museum can be breathtaking. The locale itself
DAVID GOLDEN
offers a wide look at that part of the state, its history and development. This is
the land of the “Great Camp” and the best of these is just down the road from the museum! If the “Gilded
Age” crowd found this an irresistible site, you will enjoy it as well. The bus is filling rapidly, so get your
reservation in before you get left behind to rake leaves rather than enjoy their beauty. Deadline October 1.
Eating can be fun, and Erica Berger has organized a chance to eat, have fun and learn a bit about Saratoga’s principal industry, Horse Racing. Just journey to the far side of the track, at Longfellow’s on October 15 and enjoy the company of friends and fellow retirees while you learn about the history of Saratoga’s greatest industry. The food is good and the friendships you share will make the day fly by. Deadline
is October 9!
For those who think in terms of helping others in need, the fall offers another chance to do so. Our Joy
Bear program will be meeting again on October 28th. Notice you are coming is most welcome and helpful,
but helping is what matters most. Ann Cherney just needs a call to tell her how many to expect and the red
carpet is out for you for this most worthwhile cause that helps those afflicted with cancer. Come and help
as best you can.
But every November we need to block some time to vote or get our absentee ballot in, if we will be
away. If you are at home then voting is the thing you need to do. Voting is a public record and voters are
publicly listed. Knowing that, I was still surprised recently to receive from NYSUT a print out of all of
our members telling me their voting record! No, not who they voted for. That is something known only to
themselves. It was who is registered to vote, which member did or did not do so in the last three elections.
I hope you are one of the 83% of NYSUT members who are registered to vote! If so congratulations to
you but if you are part of the 31 % who are registered but DID NOT vote in the last election, congratulations are not in order! Staying home is a vote for the other guy, the one out to get you and your interest! It
may not be real to get all 100% of our members registered and out to vote in any election but it is real to
get more of our members registered. It is real to get more out to vote. Remember the 2017 convention call
will be on the ballot soon, get used to voting and know where to vote, and be sure your registration is in
order. Start now making voting a habit and routine. Start now to protect your vital interest and the chance
to enjoy the retirement you have earned, and paid for.
When you are registered and cast your ballot, consider a “shop till you drop” tour that begins at West
Point but spends much of the afternoon at Woodbury Common Shopping Center. It’s a great chance to
jump start holiday shopping and get in a dose of history at our oldest military academy. Please note the
requirement for government issued ID for all participants. Kathy Collins can answer your questions and
take your reservations. Remember that he who hesitates pays full price!
One of our most important luncheons will be on November 17 at NYSUT headquarters. It will give us
the chance to hear from our Director at Large,Florence McCue. While NYSUT led the way in including
retired members within its membership, there are many unresolved issues in the relationship of active and
retired members. Retired members make up about 1/3 of NYSUT membership and their voting rights are
not based upon one person one vote! Florence has emerged as the leader of efforts to insure that retired
members are treated evenhandedly and fairly. She is striving to tear down the old fears of retirees and as
Continued Page 3
NYSUT RETIREE SERVICES RC 9/10 Retiree Services Consultant
Barbara McCarthy ( bmccarth@nysutmail.org ) 518-783-7977
Page 2
ON THE WEB—TRIP INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION FORMS—HOW TO GET IT. 1) Log on to http://rc10.ny.aft.org,
2) Click on ACTIONS & EVENTS menu, and 3).then the Travel & Social tab. The generic travel/social form is a pdf file on this page.
SAVE THESE DATES–TRAVEL & SOCIAL CALENDAR!!!!!
October 7, 2015, Adirondack Museum Trip. Doug Porter will lead a bus trip to the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake.
The cost will be $60 for members/$65 for non-members and includes round-trip bus transportation, admission, lunch at the cafe, and a 4-hour
period of discovery at this spectacular museum of everything Adirondack. The bus will pick up at Latham Farms (former Walmart lot) in
Latham at 9 am and 10 am at Aviation Mall in Queensbury. We'll leave the museum at 3:30 and return to Queensbury and Latham at about
4:30 and 5:30 respectively. The deadline for registration is October 1. Make your non-refundable check payable to NYSUT Retiree Council 10 and send to Doug Porter, 9 Blakley Court, Troy, NY 12180. For more information, contact Doug at dporter1950@aol.com or phone:
518-669-3433.
OCTOBER 15, FALL LUNCHEON, LONGFELLOWS, 500 UNION AVENUE, SARATOGA. This luncheon will honor newly retired
teachers and SRPs from the Retiree Council 10 area. The noon luncheon will be preceded by a business meeting at 11:30 a.m. The choices
for this $24 per person luncheon are meat loaf, chicken, and vegetarian. Karen Wheaten from the National Racing Museum in Saratoga will
be the luncheon speaker. Please complete the reservation form and send it with a non-refundable check (payable to NYSUT Retiree Council
10) to Erica Berger, 91 Pheasant Ridge, Schenectady, NY 12309. The deadline for registering is October 9.
OCTOBER 21, NEW YORK CITY ON YOUR OWN. Indulge yourself with shopping, a show, or a visit to a museum. If you want to
visit the 911 Museum, you must send for tickets. UPSTATE TRAVEL will leave from Saratoga at Wilton Mall left side of Dick’s by light
pole 2 at 6:30 am; Latham at Latham Farms in front of Sam’s Club at 7 am; Albany at Crossgates Commons lower level of Walmart’s at
7:30 a.m. Stops in NYC will be made at Bryant Park (Sixth Avenue at West 42 Street) and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth
Avenue) around 11 am. EVERYONE WILL BE PICKED UP AT BRYANT PARK AT 7 PM. Return will be around 10 pm. Cost: RC 10
members who have paid their annual fee pay $40. Guests and NYSUT RC 10 members who have not paid the annual fee pay $45. Reservations must be made by October 10, 2015. Make your non-refundable check payable to NYSUT Retiree Council 10 and send to Kathy Chesterfield, 12 Heritage Court, Cohoes, NY 12047. Any questions: contact Kathy at 518-235-0264. Email: kchesterfield@nycap.rr.com.
OCTOBER 28, JOY BEAR PROJECT. RC 10 will hold another J oy Bear Workshop from 10 to 12 at NYSUT on Route 7 in Latham.
Joy Bears are decorated teddy bears that are given to cancer patients to provide comfort as they undergo chemo treatment. It is the hope of the
project to get dozens of bears decorated and delivered to a cancer treatment center to be offered to their patients. This pro ject only asks you
for your time. All materials are provided free of cost. You do not need to be a long time craft person to make a Joy Bear. If you have craft
supplies (thread, lace, ribbon) that you would like to donate, please bring them with you. New teddy bears would also be greatly appreciated.
Bring a friend or two to help us complete these much appreciated bears. To sign up, please contact Ann Cherney at acherne1@nycap.rr.com
or call 982-1923 after 3 p.m. Please help! If you know of a person undergoing treatment for cancer, please contact rc10secretary@hotmail.com and a bear will be sent to that person.
NOVEMBER 4, WOODBURY COMMON AND WEST POINT. The first stop on this trip will be West Point for a guided 1½ hour
bus tour and then onto Woodbury Common for shopping until our departure for home at 5:30 pm. The bus will leave Wilton Mall (Exit 15) at
7 am at the light pole by Dick's and Latham Farms at 7:30 am in front of Sam's Club. All meals are on your own. Cost is $55 for sustaining
fee paying members and $60 for guests and members who have not paid the sustaining membership fee. PARTICIPANTS MUST BRING
GOVERNMENT ISSUED IDENTIFICATION (passport or driver’s license). Make your non-refundable check payable to NYSUT Retiree
Council 10 and send it with the travel registration form to Kathy Collins, 801 Beryl Way, Watervliet, NY 12189. Deadline is October 21. For
more information, contact Kathy Collins at 518 608-4812 or email klcollins70@hotmail.com.
NOVEMBER 17, LUNCH AT NYSUT HEADQUARTERS. Come join Retiree Council 10 Board of Dir ectors for a $5 lunch at 800
Troy Schenectady Road, Latham. Florence McCue, NYSUT director at-large, will be a special guest of RC 10. As a director who has been a
voice for retirees, she will focus on the role of retirees in NYSUT and retiree representation at the Representative Assembly. The buffet lunch
will begin at 11:45. Return the registration form to Laraine Gillette, 9 Cortland Drive, Albany, NY 12211, along with your non-refundable
check for $5 made payable to Retiree Council 10 by November 1. Contact Laraine at rc10secretary@hotmail.com if you have questions.
JANUARY 26 TO FEBRUARY 3, 2016, TRIP TO CUBA. This trip is sold out. JANUARY 29 TO FEBRUARY 7, 2016, CUBA. Sold
out! Anyone with further interest will be added to a waiting list. Contact Doug Porter, 518-669-3433, dporter1950@aol.com for information.
MAY 28-JUNE 8, 2016, DISCOVER CROATIA, SLOVENIA, AND THE ADRIATIC COAST. The up-and-coming European destination! Travel with AAA Choice Vacation. See medieval architecture, ancient villages and cities, spend time on Croatia's Rivera, explore Croatia's National Park, and visit numerous UNESCO world heritage sites. Explore the cities of Opatija, Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb in Croatia
Continued Page 3
TRAVEL/SOCIAL GENERIC REGISTRATION FORM
Read Me!!!!! Highlighted Lines Required Information
(If you are signing up for more than one activity, or should be taking a guest, please copy this form and fill in the appropriate information)
Name _______________________________ Home Phone_________________________ Cell Phone *_______________________________
*Take phone to event
Email _____________________________________ Registering for: Event/Date________________________________________________
Check One 2015-2016 ( ) RC 10 Fee Paying Member
( ) Non Fee Paying Member
(RC 10 fee paying members receive a reduced price on all trips)
Event Selections:
For Luncheons/Meals. Entree of Choice____________________________ For Trips. Pick Up Location ____________________________
Other notes (Keep it Simple): _________________________________________________________________________________________
Total Enclosed $______________
Page 3
Travel/Social—continued
and Liubjana and Lake Bled in Slovenia. Early bird cost of $4,129 includes bus to JFK, roundtrip air, transfers, excellent and well located
hotels, 15 meals, and expert led tours. Special travel presentation on September 24 at 10 am at NYSUT headquarters. Contact Karen Maher
(518-477-6746 or kmaher2@nycap.rr.com) to reserve a spot or for additional information/flyer about the tour.
OCTOBER 7-OCTOBER 23, 2016, PANAMA CANAL CRUISE. This 16-day cruise will sail from San Francisco, CA, to Fort Lauderdale, FL, via the Panama Canal with stops in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, and Columbia. The price will be based on the type of
cabin selected ($1,900 to $3,400) and airfare ($800 to $1,000). For more information, contact Karen Ferris-Fearnside at apqueeny@aol.com
or call 518-372-2370.
President’s Notes Continued from Page 1
and assure that they are properly represented and their interest is considered. This event is a rare chance to hear directly from one of our most
thoughtful retiree leaders and to provide her some feedback on her efforts. Her efforts and focus are on things vital to your wellbeing as a
retired member. Be there! Contact Laraine Gillette to make your reservation. Yes the $5.00 fee is a bargain cost for lunch but the event makes
it more of a bargain than you can imagine. Don’t miss the chance to hear Florence and ask her your questions!
2016 is almost upon us, travel wise. If you had considered the trip to Cuba next year, you considered too long! Not one but both trips have
sold out. You can contact Doug Porter about getting on the waiting list and if things open up, you will be contacted. Present law and practice
limits what can be done and when, but things are changing fast! Don’t be left behind.
We already are taking reservations for the May 2016 trip to Croatia, Slovenia and the Adriatic Coast and indications are it will be a very popular venture. Save your space early and use insurance to back you up against the unexpected. Contact Karen Maher.
The second trip of 2016, a cruise via the Panama Canal, was so good someone bought the entire trip out from under us! You will notice that
the offering on this trip has changed a bit in terms of date and departure port. That occurred when a major European firm purchased the entire
ship for the trip we had offered. Faced with a choice of selling us a few cabins or them an entire ship, they won! What we have is a slightly
improved trip to make up for our inconvenience and a chance to get in on a proven winner of a cruise. Contact Karen Ferris Fearnside for
reservations and information, before this one gets scooped up as well!
How do you get the full and timely information on these and other worthwhile fun events? You all get the Skyline News from us 6 times a
year. But in between these editions we rely on our Email list for the latest news, changes and just emerged opportunities. For that to work we
need to have your Email address! We have about 1/8th of the membership on email but 100 % on surface mail. Economics and lead time limit
our use of print mail. Email registered with us and/or NYSUT gets you the latest news, opportunities for fun or service. Please send your
email address to rc10Secretary@hotmail.com so we can add you to our list and speed up your access to programs and travel opportunities.
If you do not do so, then the only other option to keep up in our fast changing world is for you to check the RC 10 web site often. That requires you to look early and often while the email just comes to you when needed. It’s your call, but you do need to do one of the two. For
most of us, opening the email is easier and less prone to missing news than remembering to check a site. If you don’t like a particular message, there is always the “Delete button,” but you make that choice for yourself, rather than rely upon habit to check the web site. Forgetfulness hits us all, when we most need to remember. But while you will never forget how to delete, you will regret that you missed news when
you wanted to know it. Register today and empower yourself and your own good judgment!
David Golden, President
Left: NYSUT President Karen Magee spoke nearly 45 minutes at the Regional
Conference, often without notes. She highlighted the improved view the public
has of teachers and their union. Much of what she said could have been the
last chatper in books by Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error or Dana Goldstein’s The
Teacher Wars.
REGIONAL CONFERENCE
Thursday May 14, 2015 brought together more than 75 retirees from Retiree Council 10
for another successful sharing of programs and services available in our area.
We started the day with a mini-volunteer fair where 8 Capital District organizations were
present to share how interested people might become involved as a volunteer. RSVP
was also present to share their upcoming Volunteer Fair on June 10, at the Beltrone Living Center in Colonie. If you missed this, the full text of this article many of these opportunities can be found on the RC 10 website.
NYSUT RETIREE COUNCIL 10
E-MAIL
As many of you are aware, the time between
when the six newsletters are published by RC
10 and when they are received by members in
the mail can often be from two to three weeks.
If you would like to receive your newsletter
when it is published, please send your request
to rc10secretary@hotmail.com.The newsletter
and updates between these newsletters are sent
to those on the RC 10 e-mail list. The newsletter will still be mailed to you.
2016 RC 10 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS—Left to
Right: Clarissa Hanson,
Saratoga, Megan Eddy,
Albany, and
Amanda
Weaver,
Rensselaer, Madeline Mathers
– Washington (not pictured)
To get the full story on
the students and the RC
10 Honorees: visit the RC
10
website—http://
rc10.ny.aft.org
,
Page 4
Oscar Wilde said, “I'm exhausted. I spent all morning putting in a comma and all afternoon taking it out.” As the RC 10 newsletter editor. I
spend a lot of time working on the placement of text, some editing, but the really serious editing is done by our three editing Musketeers: Jinny
Ucci, Laraine Gillette, and Barbara McCarthy.
As someone who struggled with writing throughout high school and college, the process of writing a tight explicit sentence building it into a
paragraph and beyond remains a tough process. Writing is a scary endeavor. I enrolled in a creative writing course in college where the professor
would make copies of our writing and let the students critique the work. A third of the students could not take the criticism and dropped out.
When I taught high school equivalency preparation in Columbia County Jail, writing (next to math), was the most hated subject. My approach,
build confidence in being able to write and work with students on one basic task: recognizing that they can edit their own wo rk while answering
one basic question, “How can you make this sentence better?”
There was no way the student would have bought into diagramming a sentence and working on grammar. The process worked extremely well
when they worked on their court papers which was only allowed if they did their own work. Of course they would ask the teach for help. I would
put it back into their court.
Editing or making the newsletter a tight four page 9x13 document also goes beyond grammar, spelling, and punctuation, as there are forms,
announcements, and graphics. An RC 10 reader informed me years after it had been appearing on the front page next to the map for the RC 10
area, that Rensselaer as in the county, had been misspelled. Writing may be a lonely endeavor you cannot do a newsletter alone.
In the last newsletter, on the front page in the first sentence of the article there appeared a four letter word common and known to all but incorrectly used and missed by all until the very end. This echoes a statement made to me by another editor. “You’re standing in line to get it printed
and mistakes galore jump out at you.” If you read the last newsletter you will see no mistakes in the first sentence of the article, but here’s a word
game: what word was there and corrected before the newsletter finally went to NYSUT.
Submitted by Ernie Reis
PRE-RETIREMENT SEMINAR
On Saturday, October 31, from 8 to 1:30, a PreRetirement Seminar will be held at NYSUT
Headquarters for active teachers and SRPs
within Election District 10. The seminar will be
hosted as a collaborative effort by Election
District 10 and Retiree Council 10.
Representatives from the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System; the New York
State Employees Retirement System; NYSUT
Member Benefits; and Feldman, Kramer &
Monaco, P.C., speaking on legal considerations, will present pertinent information to future retirees.
If you know of an active teacher or SRP who
plans to retire in the next five years, please
have him/her contact Jim Stolis, RC 10 First
Vice-President, at 424-5426 or E-mail jimnfros@aol.com. For a registration form, please
contact rc10secretary@hotmail.com.
A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
When our
Founding
Fathers
convened
the second
constitutional
convention it was
to
improve the dysfunctional Articles of Confederation.
Every twenty years New York holds a constitutional convention, and some believe it will be anything
close to an exercise that improves the wellbeing of
New Yorkers, in particular – retirees. Linked to this
short introduction is a short piece titled – Pandora’s
Box – Get the Facts about a Constitutional Convention. - See more at: http://rc10.ny.aft.org/news/nys- NOW A DIRECT LINK TO
constitutional-convention-are-youMEMBER BENEFITS ON THE
ready#sthash.UlDBT4UC.dpuf
RC 10 WEBSITE