Volume 2017-2018, Issue 2 Page 1 December 2017 Reflecons Co- President’s Message We are off to a great start to a new year. Our September Luncheon at the ELKS was very well attended. At this meeting, we hosted a number of the newly retired school personnel and several have already become members. Also we held an election for co-presidents for a two year term. We are very appreciative that Karol Wolgemuth has stepped forward to be co-president with me. She and I will officially become co-presidents at our December Luncheon. Karol has already brought a new idea to your board of directors which will make our operations more efficient. With the approval of our budget for the 2017-18 year, we are happy to tell you that: • Four more elementary schools will be receiving a one-time donation of $250 to use to buy supplies for any student in need. The four schools for this year are Dynard, Benjamin Banneker, Lexington Park and Greenview Knolls. Various members of the board of directors will be delivering these donations before our December meeting. • A donation of $500 will be given to the system for their “Shoe Fund”. Shoes are bought from this fund for students who are desperately in need of them. Thousands of dollars are spent on this every year. The HOSPICE Festival of Trees is rapidly approaching and a subcommittee of our mem- bers has been diligently preparing to decorate a tree on our behalf. This year ’s theme is “Winter Wonderland.” The Festival of Trees is the first weekend in December and I en- courage you to go and see all the wonderful trees up for auction. Perhaps the biggest news is that we are truly moving into the world of technology. This is the year for us to put out a new directory for our members. The Board of Directors has decided it is time go electronic. All members who have email address will receive their directory electronically. Any member who has not given us an email address will be mailed a paper copy. This effort will save our association hundreds of dollars in paper and mailing costs. Going electronic will also allow us to provide more timely updates to those with emails. I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you a very happy holiday surrounded by family and friends. ~Robert Abell 2017-2018 OFFICERS Co-Presidents: Robert Abell & Karol Wolgemuth Vice-President: Chuck Gantz Recording Secretary: Sharon Thorstensen Corresponding Secretary: Janet Kellam Treasurer: Jack Hazuda INSIDE THIS ISSUE: President’s Message Service Projects 1 Brunches & Lunches 2 Committee Reports 3 Scholarship Remembrances 4 Activities & Trips 5 MRSPA News SMC Nursing Home 6 Membership 7 Contact List Calendar, Links 8 Day Trip Registration 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-2017-2018 December—books for children February—canned goods & non-perishables for local food pantry April—canned goods & non-perishables for local food pantry June—nursing center items for Bingo prizes & birthday presents (see May newsletter for item list) . Keep a lookout for specials on these items during your travels.
Transcript
Volume 2017-2018, Issue 2 Page 1
December 2017 Reflections
C o - P r e s i d e n t ’ s M e s s a g e
We are off to a great start to a new year. Our September Luncheon at the ELKS was very well attended. At this meeting, we hosted a number of the newly retired school personnel and several have already become members. Also we held an election for co-presidents for a two year term. We are very appreciative that Karol Wolgemuth has stepped forward to be co-president with me. She and I will officially become co-presidents at our December Luncheon. Karol has already brought a new idea to your board of directors which will make our operations more efficient.
With the approval of our budget for the 2017-18 year, we are happy to tell you that:
• Four more elementary schools will be receiving a one-time donation of $250 to use to buy supplies for any student in need. The four schools for this year are Dynard, Benjamin Banneker, Lexington Park and Greenview
Knolls. Various members of the board of directors will be delivering these donations before our December meeting.
• A donation of $500 will be given to the system for their “Shoe Fund”. Shoes are bought from this fund for students who are desperately in need of them. Thousands of dollars are spent on this every year.
The HOSPICE Festival of Trees is rapidly approaching and a subcommittee of our mem-bers has been diligently preparing to decorate a tree on our behalf. This year’s theme is “Winter Wonderland.” The Festival of Trees is the first weekend in December and I en-courage you to go and see all the wonderful trees up for auction.
Perhaps the biggest news is that we are truly moving into the world of technology. This is the year for us to put out a new directory for our members. The Board of Directors has decided it is time go electronic. All members who have email address will receive their directory electronically. Any member who has not given us an email address will be mailed a paper copy. This effort will save our association hundreds of dollars in paper and mailing costs. Going electronic will also allow us to provide more timely updates to those with emails.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you a very happy holiday surrounded
by family and friends.
~Robert Abell
2017-2018 OFFICERS
Co-Presidents: Robert Abell &
Karol Wolgemuth
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
Remembrances 4
Activities & Trips 5
MRSPA News
SMC Nursing Home 6
Membership
7
Contact List
Calendar, Links 8
Day Trip Registration 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-2017-2018 December—books for children February—canned goods & non-perishables for local food pantry April—canned goods & non-perishables for local food pantry June—nursing center items for Bingo prizes & birthday presents (see May newsletter for item list) .
Keep a lookout for specials on these items during your travels.
Volume 2017-2018, Issue 2 Page 2
December 2017 Reflections
Pictures from the September lunch at the Elks Lodge. Pictures are posted at https://smcpsra.shutterfly.com/. 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
September Lunch
Linda Himmelheber won the 50/50 raffle
Some of the newly retired who attended our lunch. We hope they will join us and come back soon. Alphabetic order, not order of picture, are Pamela Coflin, Susan Evans, Tracey Heibel, Brenda Henley, Betsy Hundert, Miriam Klapka, Deborah Kole, Virginia Ridsdale, Mary Smith, and Joanne Vaiden
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:
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.
Note: As of Sept 1 CSM raised the price for the 3 month plan. Description is on the web page. It is now $105.
Treasurer’s Report Our Checking Account’s balance is $18,352.67 and our Money Market Savings Account’s bal-ance is $10,037.07 as of November 14, 2017
~Jack Hazuda
Welcome New Members We would like to welcome our newest mem-bers: Donna Bednarik, Tracey Heibel, Miriam Klapka, Lois Mills, Jean Morgan, Christine Plath, Mark Smith, and Carolyn Steiner.
Quilt Raffle Members can now buy/sell chances on the quilt. Con-tact Robert Abell for tickets. Money is going toward the scholarship and Skills USA funds. Drawing is in April, 2018 at the member brunch. Tickets will be available at all Lunch or Brunch meetings before the drawing and upon re-quest. Contact Robert Abell.
1 ticket = $2 3 tickets = $5
Community Service Remember to keep track of your volunteer hours for this year. The Community Service Record form is found online at: http://smcpsra.org/forms/default.html You can download the form to your computer, or print the form and fill in as you volunteer.
Thank you so much for your support. It makes all the difference.
~Sue Gough
Hospice Festival of Trees SMCPSRA once again put a tree in the Festival of Trees. Come out to see your tree. Theme: “Winter Wonder-land”
Cost to enter festival on Saturday is FREE this year in honor of their 10th anniversary!
Date: December 2, Saturday Time: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Where: Southern MD Higher Ed Center
44219 Airport Road California, MD 20619
Holiday Book Collection Members are asked to bring one or two books to the December luncheon.
While it is helpful if some of the books are wrapped, it is not necessary as some will
be taken to a book basket. If wrapped, please indicate a suitable age or grade for the recipient, as well as whether the book might be best for a boy or girl or both. Half the books will be taken wrapped to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church where, shortly before Christmas, they are delivered along with food to families throughout the county who are in need. Half of the books will be taken to St. Mary’s Caring for their children’s book basket. Children can choose their books to read there or take their books home. All of us know how important reading is and everyone, especially people who work with children, realize how reading enriches lives and opens innumerable doors. It is important that retired public school employees continue to foster reading during the wonderful, happy and festive holidays.
Membership Our membership now stands at 359. We were very happy to see 11 new retirees attend our September General Meeting, some of whom have already joined! If you see retirees who have not yet joined, please encourage them to become a member. We have some very informative topics planned for future meetings that I am sure all will enjoy!
We did lose a few members who did not renew, some be-cause they moved. Remember that no matter where you live you will receive newsletters and directo-ries as they are published! It is always good to stay in touch with fellow retirees!
Thank you for your continued membership! JoAnn Wurmlinger
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
SMCPSRA SCHOLARSHIP UPDATE We are presently assisting four students with college scholarships-- --Rebecca Johnson attending St. Mary’s College of MD ($1000), David McCollum attending Chris-topher Newport University ($1000), Rose Young attend-ing St. Mary’s College of MD ($1000) and Delaney Hart attending Salisbury University ($2000). Delaney is com-pleting her four-year program in three years through heavy scheduling and summer courses. On the plus side, we received $2000 from Kathleen Sheldon who married and moved to Texas and was una-ble to teach two years in St. Mary’s County fulfilling her Memorandum of Understanding. Also many members have met the challenge of donating at least $25.00 a year—and some much more. Therefore this year, 2017, our deposits have exceeded our withdrawals by $492! Our balance stands at $41,722.07 as of 10/16/17. Thank you to the following members who helped make this possible since the last newsletter: Robert Abell in memory of his brother, Edwin Abell; Mary Jane Shoe-maker in memory of her brother, Robert L. Platzke; Jack and Sally Hazuda in memory of Joan Hand; and Teresa Butt. Winnings from the 50/50 raffle at the Sep-tember meeting plus Linda Himmelheber’s share went to the scholarship.
~Linda Himmelheber
Remembrances Please remember these persons and their families in your thoughts and prayers.
Patricia Wilson (member, not pictured), lost her husband, Dr. Christopher Mogan Wilson, Sr, 92, of Lexington, MD on Sept. 22, 2017. He served in WWII with the 86th Infantry, and was in Germany on VE Day. He was also head the Sciences Department of St. Mary's College starting in 1971.
Daniel Grosso (member, pictured) 96, of Silver Spring, MD passed away Sept 25, 2017. He was born in Buffalo, NY on 7/26/21. He received his undergraduate degree from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York and also his graduate degree from Canisius – a Jesuit run college. He did postgraduate work at the Univer-sity of Rochester, Georgetown University, and the University of Buffalo in training to become a Jesuit priest. In 1974 at a time when the Pope allowed priests - if they so chose - to be released from their vows. He chose to become a school counselor in the private sector. He went to Rockville to stay with a former mem-
ber of his high school band. There he was introduced to Doris Sweet and the two dated for several years. They were married in 1987. Dan taught at Great Mills High School from 1974-1979 then at Leonardtown Middle School for ten years, retiring in 1989. Dan and Doris enjoyed traveling the world after retirement.
Linda Dudderar (non-member, not pictured) 69, California, MD, passed away on October 8, 2017. In 1989, Linda was Assistant Principal of Benjamin Banneker Elementary/Loveville School. She was named Principal in 1991 for 10 years. She was then appointed Principal of George Washington Carver Elementary. In 2002, Linda became Director of Ele-mentary Instruction and then, in 2005, Chief Academic Officer for the St. Mary’s County Public Schools. In 2012, she assumed the role of Assistant Superintendent of Instruction for St. Mary’s County until her retirement in 2013.
SCHOLARSHIP NEWS
Date: September 2017 From: LPBC Lexington Park, MD
We wanted to take a moment to express our appreciation for the recent donations from the SMCPSRA to our church. The items that were donated have been used in our local community in the following area: Food Pantry Ministry to help feed the homeless and needy. Thank you again for your generosity.
Sincerely, Chris McCoombs, LPBC pastor Lexington Park Baptist Church
Funds Donations We are in the process of delivering $250 ea. to the next four elementary schools. Schools selected this year are Dynard, Banneker, Lexington Park, and Greenview Knolls. We are also donating $500 to the St. Mary’s Co School System shoe fund. All money should be delivered within a few weeks.
Volume 2017-2018, Issue 2 Page 5
December 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. **
Upcoming Trips—see trip flyers and registration at www.smcpsra.org or in this newsletter, pg 9. Space AVAILABLE on all trips and you can RESERVE NOW!
Day Trips 16 Dec 2017: US Navy Band Holiday Concert to be held at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. You can register online in the travel section of www.smcpsra.org, bring form/money to a lunch, or mail the form. Cost is $30. See page 9 for registration. Space is almost full. Register now.
Overnight & Cruise Trips—None at this time.
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 sched-uled), or register for day trips online www.smcpsra.org and pay at any brunch or lunch, if time allows. 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.
Irish Adventures
-We build tall ships and small ships. But the best ships are friendships. (Titanic Experience in Belfast) -There are no walls, except in people’s minds (Belfast) -There is reason for everything. (Tá fáth le gach nidh.)
Nineteen of us had an absolutely awesome time in Ireland and North Ireland. We attended 5 Irish mu-sic and dancing shows. One show included a sto-ryteller telling us about fairies in Ireland. One of the places we stayed overnight was in a castle. We learned Irish history, explored the countryside, explored churches, held birds of prey, rode in a jaunting cart, hiked around great sites, learned about Finn McCool and the Blarney Castle, and ate great food. First day some of us walked around Dublin and all toured the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin as shown below.
Here’s the group in North Ireland at the Winterfell Castle from Game of Thrones HBO series. We got to dress in costume and walk the grounds, even trying archery.
May 8, 2018—Annual Business Meeting. This time it will be at the Comfort Inn in Bowie, MD (just off hwy 301). All are invited.
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 fu-ture pension. Join MRSPA. Payroll deduction is the best way to pay your dues once/year.
Each One, Bring One!
News from the Legislative Committee A short bit of news from the November 14
th legislative workshop. We had many good speakers that were
very informative. One of the people who spoke was Dr. Juppe, Senior Operating Budget Manager, Dept. of Legislative Services for the state of Maryland. He was very informative as to how a budget is put together. A fact of the budget is that 40% of the budget goes to health and education. Another point that was given was that federal decisions greatly influence the state budget. If the federal budget is not resolved before the state budget is approved, the state could have some financial problems. There could be a swing of as much as billions of dollars. Another speaker was Delegate Alonzo Washington from Prince Georges County who is putting a bill in for considera-tion that would make the Community College in Prince George’s County for some students that would qualify free Wanda Twigg, MRSPA Executive Director, did a presentation on Navigating the Legislative Process from the MRSPA website. How to get to the legislative info:
• Open the MRSPA website (MRSPA.ORG) and scroll down the page until you see the column to Login/Sign up
• Click on the [Login/Sign up] tab. Hopefully you have already signed up so you just have to log in. If not, sign up on the link which goes to another page.
• Put in your email address and password and press return
• You will see your email address in the column [Login/Sign up] space with {Logout] underneath.
• Scroll up the page to the menu on the left and click {Legislation] and pick one (do not click on the Committee tab)
• You then will see Legislative Updates, Take Action, Legislative Demo
• Click on Legislative Updates and there is where you will find most of your information One of the best bits of information was from Dean Kenderdine, Chief Executive Officer of the State Retirement and Pension System. He said that legislatively this looks like it will be an okay year. However, he told us that the Pen-sion Board is putting in legislation to take off the restrictions on pay that current personnel in the system have. Some people do not stay as they can make a bigger salary working for the brokerage houses. The really good news “the current system funding is up to 71% from the low 60s. Also, he said the last re-forms put into action several years ago have worked and are working better than expected.
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?
Membership Directory Membership directories will be emailed in early December to those members who have given us their email addresses. If you did not get yours, or want one on email, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. Those who do not have email will get their copy in the mail sometime in late December or early January. Reason for delay is that it takes time for several people to print, stuff and mail the envelopes.
SMCPSRA General Meetings
December 16 December Menu: Garden Salad Macaroni Salad with Shrimp Apple Pie Chicken Baby Baker Potatoes Green Beans Rolls Iced Tea and Coffee Dessert Program: Install Co-Presidents and Holiday music Note: Quilt Raffle Tickets (1 for $2 or 3 for $5) will be for sale. Drawing will be held at our April meeting.
December Lunch Elks Lodge 2092 45779 Fire Department Lane Lexington Park, MD 20653
Time: 1200 noon Please arrive 30 minutes early to pay for your meal and socialize.
Price: $20.00 + a book
The Elks Lodge is located off Route 235 & Chancel-lor’s Run Road (Route 237)
SMCPSRA February Brunch Meeting
February 13 Brunch Menu: Selected and cooked by the Tech Center students Program: TBD Note: Quilt Raffle Tickets (1 for $2 or 3 for $5) will be for sale. Drawing will be held at our April meeting.
February Brunch Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center 24005 Point Lookout Rd. Leonardtown, MD 20650
Time: 1000 Please arrive 30 minutes early to pay for your meal and socialize.
Price: TBD + a canned or non-perishable food item
Cancellations If school is closed, the brunch is cancelled.
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 [email protected] or call 301-475-3437.
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 Dec 16 Lunch Elks @ 1200 Dec 16 US Navy Holiday Concert trip 2018 Feb 13 Brunch Tech Center at 1000 April 10 Brunch Tech Center at 1000 June 12 Lunch Elks @ 1200 Aug 14 St. Mary’s Co Nursing & Rehab
Center Bingo/Birthday party at 2pm
————————- 1/9, 3/13, 5/1, 8/14 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: [email protected] Lonna Siskind, editor. phone #: 301-862-1315
2018 March Issue—articles & pictures due Feb 16
www.smcpsra.org or http://lonnasiskind2.wixsite.com/smcpsra
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!
Sponsor: St. Mary’s Co. Public Schools Retirees Assoc. Inc.
Date: Contacts:
OR Mail registration and payment to: Ernestine Pence Lonna Siskind 42539 Henry Court OR 23314 Holly Hill Ln Hollywood, MD 20636 California, MD 20619
Ticket Price: $30
Enjoy The United States Navy Band presenting its annual Holiday Concert at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, December 16 at 7:30 p.m. Featuring the Concert Band, Sea Chanters Chorus, Country Current, select members of the Commodores and Cruisers, along with their special guest. Some steps into building. This is an entertaining family-friendly show. Before, view the National Christmas tree, state trees, and other dis-plays on the Ellipse near the White House.
Price includes coach bus, driver tip,
water, and snack. Concert is free
but you must have a ticket and be
registered.
Bring a bagged supper. You can eat this on the bus. Water and snacks will be provided.
Bus stops: Wildewood Shpg Ctr-3:30 pm Charlotte Hall-4:00pm Back by 11:30pm
Register by Dec 5 (if space still available). Register on-line faster, easier.
TRIP RESERVATION FORM: DC NAVY HOLIDAY CONCERT Make check payable to SMCPSRA. (write concert in memo please)
Name #1: __________________________________ Name #2 ___________________________________
Name #3 ___________________________________ Special needs? _________________________ Phone #: _________________________________________ Bus stop: Wildewood Shpg Ctr Charlotte Hall
Email: ____________________________________________________ Cell phone # on trip____________________________
# ________ X $30ea = $_________(amount enclosed) (non-refundable unless space filled). Final due 12/16/2017 Emergency Contact during trip (name & phone):
