At last it is May, the gold trees are blooming, the roads and restaurants are available again, and best of all, the Florida Legislature has slunk away no longer on attack against our retirement system.  We dodged their bullets again by writing, emailing, calling, and supporting our team at FREA that did yeoman's duty this year.

   It occurs to me each year that we need to recruit more members who will help us fend off these annual attacks.  Do all of your retired educator friends know how important we are to their retirement funds?  Let them know.  Send them the email address of this blog which may give them some idea of what we do.  But most of all, tell them what we do.  We need them as members.



Catherine Fischer

                                                                  

 

 



Charles and Elaine Johnston

Ed Ethridge,  Fay Murphy, and Susan Darovec

  Fay Murphy who is an FREA Director and a member of MCREA spoke at our April meeting about FREA and its influence in Tallahassee.  She also cited the many ways in which FREA serves retired educators.  Again, we are reminded about how important our membership in FREA is.  Certainly not the largest association in the state, we do carry a bit of clout with Fay, Ed Ethridge, and David Brown all holding state offices. 

 

 Our May 15 meeting, next Thursday at 11:30, will be our last one until September.  We will be following the traditional plan of a picnic lunch and lots of informality.  We are asked to wear red, white, and blue, if possible, and to come prepared with a "show and tell" item.  Perhaps it could be something you picked up on a trip or another object which you think would be interesting to share.  Each table will be asked to choose one to share with everyone there.  Shrunken heads, anyone?

 

  Dues should be paid at the next meeting if possible.  It will save us postage and time writing and calling to remind you.  Also, remember that if you wish to have your name in our handbook, the cut-off date will be October 1 for getting those dues paid. 

 

  Special guests at our May meeting will be our 2014 MCREA Scholarship recipients: 

• Desmond Brown, Palmetto H.S., attending SCF
• Lonnitra Jefferson,  Manatee H.S.,  attending Florida Memorial University
• Janaye Brown,  Manatee H.S.,  attending FSU
• Megan Neu, Lakewood Ranch H.S., attending USF
• Kristy Palanco, Manatee School of the Arts, attending SCF

 

  Each  will receive $500 with a chance to receive another $500 when he or she has completed 60 hours and has chosen a major field of study leading to a career in education.  As you may remember, the Scholarship Committee felt that the cost of college grew for students who would be leaving SCF and attending a university or that funds might be getting harder to find after two years of college.  Of course, the students must receive good grades.  However, we should remind ourselves that funding these scholarships depends on our members' generosity and interest in sending good students into education. 

 

  Remember that we are still collecting food for the Manatee Food Bank and toiletries for the nursing home.  Donations of children's books have fallen off sharply lately.  Please look through your collections and share them with the children of FELT.  There are bins in many grocery stores with lots of shiny new books.  Also the main library downtown has a selection of children's books for sale in the second hand book shop.  Those of you who live in the eastern side of the county are near the Good Will Bookstore at the entrance to Tara.  For those of us who don't, it is well worth the drive to see what great bargains are available for summer reading for us too.

 

I am looking forward to seeing you all one more time this spring.  If you have not been contacted by your caller, please call me at 794-1646 to make a reservation by Sunday.  Mary Ann Jensen is traveling in Europe and will be unavailable this time.

 

Ellen