Greetings to you as the new year begins and we start meeting again! We are ready for our Spring meetings at Groce United Methodist Church on Tunnel Road beginning at noon. We will enjoy lunch prepared by Howard Bridges and follow the meal with a business meeting.

We want to hightlight some calendar events for your information now. We encourage you to attend our local meetings. It’s a good time to connect with former colleagues, to hear an informational speaker, and to ask questions related to the Pension Fund and the state heatlh plan. If we do not know the answer to your question, we will try to find it. Asheville/Buncombe is moving forward with plans to strengthen our voice, particularly on legislative issues. We are part of a strong coalition of western counties that maintain the respect of our delegation in Raleigh.

Listed are some important dates for Asheville/Buncombe RSP. Read more about these items throughout the newsletter.

• Legislative Stump Meeting February 25
• Local Unit Meetings – March, April, May
• State NCRSP Convention March 17-18 in Winston Salem
• District I Legislative Meeting at Lambuth Inn – “Organizing for Success”
• NEA-R East Regional Conference - Asheville
• Installation of new officers in May

See you soon, Alice, Vicky and Local Unit Board

Telephone Calling Tree and Local Meetings

From Claire Rector and Sandra Mueller Communication Chairs: We would like to know if you would be a caller when we have legislative issues to share with members. The legislative agenda we support is so different from calls about meetings. If you like dealing with legislative initiatives we would appreciate your help when this is needed. Let us know about your interest at the March meeting or call one of us to allow us to set up your calling list..

Directions to Meetings

Groce United Methodist Church

954 Tunnel Road, Asheville, 28805

Traveling East or West on I-240, take exit #7  (Asheville Mall.) Turn heading to Tunnel Road - East

Payroll Deduction – New Plan

A new membership plan is in effect now. You can join NCRSP on Payroll Deduction at any time without paying back dues. You dues and coverage begins the day you join and continues per month. A small monthly amount is deducted from your check for the month’s dues. We think this is the best way to continue your involvement in legislative issues that affect retirees as well as enjoy the benefits of membership in NCAE, NEA and the NC Reitred Division.

Retired Recognition and Recruitment—3 R’s

We are also working with our local BCAE unit in a membership grant that promotes partnering with the local active unit. Lately we have attended membership initiatives at various Buncombe County schools along with June Pearson, Uniserv and Retired Division representative. So far we have been to Avery’s Creek, Sand Hill-Venable, and plan on W.D. Williams. We could use a volunteer to help us at Enka HS on February 24  and Fairview on February 26. We spend a few hours with June as teachers and ESP personnel take their breaks during the school day to answer questions and enroll new members.  

Welcome to our new members, and those who have joined our Local Unit! These are: Robert Atkins, Patricia Burnette, Dorinda Cartin, Donald Jacob Cohen, Patricia Fore, Malvary Gamble, Marie Kernodle, Michael Lodico, Beverly Marler, Judy McCormick, Joyce Payne, Willis Shawn Payne, Helen Gordon Phillips, & Chris D. Searcey.

Volunteer Hours

From Barbara Buell, Volunteer Chair: Fellow educators, welcome to our new year of 2010. As I made the final report about volunteer hours, it amazed me how many of us (95 members) gave of ourselves in 2009 to the community at large. We are a caring group of citizens! We contributed a total of 8,922.5 volunteer hours this past year: 4,077 in education and 4,845.5 in our communities! Let us all go forward in 2010 by helping others as we’ve done in the past. Thanks to each of you who have been so

faithful in recording your hours.

By applying the multiplier of $20.25 the monetary equivalent amounts to $180,681 of savings to our community. Please contact Barbara Buell about volunteer opportunities to give back to your community.

toward Swannanoa. The church is approximately 1.5 miles at the intersection of Beverly Road and Tunnel Road. Asbury Hall is in the lower level, so please enter the lower doors. Please proceed to the registration table to receive your nametag and pay for your meal, $10 again this spring.

Meeting Dates for Spring

March  10, 2010, 12:00    Health Adventure, Sarah McCord, Dr. Tony Baldwin-Superintendent of Buncombe County Schools, and Amanda Eller-Buncombe County Schools

April 14 , 2010, 12:00            SHIIP and AARP

May 12, 2010, 12:00    Attorney, Jack Stevens             

2010 Membership Directories will be available.

Grant-In-Aid

Our Grant-in-Aid recipient for 2009-10 is Jocelyn Haley Queen from Canton, who is a Dental Hygiene student at AB Tech. This year we were able to pay $1,000 toward her tuition costs.  Jocelyn has completed her fall semester in Dental Hygiene with a GPA of 3.4. She has been invited to attend one of our spring meetings. Asheville-Buncombe RSP will be recognized at a Scholarship luncheon at AB Tech on March 11, 2010.

We will continue with our spring fund drive at the March meeting. Our plan is to contribute $600 to the Buncombe County Schools Foundation and $300 to the Asheville City Foundation. A letter has been enclosed with this mailing. Please consider a $5 donation for our grant-in-aid fund. You can bring this to the March meeting. You can also mail a check to Susan Laney, Treasurer, 39 Mark Twain Drive, Asheville, 28805.

 Membership

“Each One – Reach One”  Our Local Unit goal of increasing our membership by at least 10% or 30 members these past two years is becoming a reality. We are so close to that number just this year. We will begin mailing information to retirees from the December roster that we received from NCRSP state office. Janet Brown, will welcome more names on her mailing roster particularly those folks you know

who have retired some years ago.

Legislative Summary

The Asheville/Buncombe Local Unit will join with Polk, Transylvania,  and Henderson Local Units to meet with our legislative delegation.

Ash/Bunc RSP Stump Meeting

February 25 – 10:00

Shoney’s at Long Shoals Road

Breakfast Buffet

We need you there to maintain our communication with our legislators. Please make this a priority that morning. Enclosed you will find our Talking Points 2010 sheet as a review of our legislative agenda.

One extra note, the Retirement Roundtable met in January and suprisingly endorsed the request for a COLA for TSERS. This recommendation was supported by NCRSP, NCAE, NCRGEA, SEANC and NCASA. No COLA  amount was mentioned. NCRSP has been reluctant to ask for a COLA due to the economic situation in the state. This request departs from our state legislative agenda, but is an important one to bring before legislators in May when the Short Session begins.

Finally, would you like to join with others in making a day trip to Raleigh to talk with our legislative delegation? The District I board wants to plan a trip for some time in May.  Hear more abou this at our meetings. This trip will be finalized at the District I general meeting on May 7^th at the Lambuth Inn. The theme of the meeting is Organizing for Success.”.  

Asheville/Buncombe Officers

Presidents

Alice Pfirrmann and Vicky Rogers

692-4970 and 456-1830

Vice President – Donna Brown – 669-4080

Treasurer – Susan Laney – 298-2344

Secretary – Zanie Davidson – 252-0695

Membership – Janet Brown – 252-3715

Legislative – Beverly Burks – 258-2035

Corresponding Secretary – Diane Livingston

Grant-In-Aid Ben Spangler 

Pre-retirement-Jerry Plemmons

By-laws-Ben Spangler

Memorials – Peggy Ramsey

Past President-Sylvia Hanley

Co-Communications

Claire Rector and Sandra Mueller

645-6596 and 374-3780

Community Participation - Barbara Buell