www.winnebagocountyrta.org JANUARY 2020
February 13, 2020 Thunder Bay Grille
WCRTA Membership Meeting 7652 Potawatomi Trail, Rockford
11:30 am-2:00 pm
Hello, WCRTA Members, and welcome to the “New Year!” We hope you enjoyed the holidays and are ready for 2020! Our first general membership meeting for this year will be held on Thursday, February 13, at the Thunder Bay Grille, located at 7652 Potawatomi Trail in Rockford from 11:30-2:00.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Our featured speaker will be Renee Wolters, Tour Director from Van Galder Tour & Travel. Renee will give us an overview of the many trips Van Galder has to offer. If you love to travel, you won’t want to miss this presentation as there is something for everyone to enjoy throughout the year! Feel free to bring a guest who might also be interested in the trips, tours, and cruises. If you want to look at trips in advance, visit https://tours.vangalderbus.com/
Thunder Bay Grille will feature a customized menu for us with five different options ranging in price from $10 - $16. The tax, tip, and beverage is NOT included. You will be able to order individually from the choice of FIVE items and pay separately the day of the event.
For planning purposes, please email Gayle Haab at ghaab74@gmail.com by February 3 with the number of people attending from your group so she can give a headcount to the Thunder Bay Grille. Please include the names of the people attending so I can prepare the name tags in advance. You may also mail the form below if you do not have access to the internet.
--Gayle Haab, Program Chair
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Reservation Form for Thunder Bay Grille – February 13, 2020
Please mail the form below to Gayle Haab, 3767 Doreen Drive, Roscoe, IL 61073 so it is received by February 3, or email her at the email address listed above if you plan to attend.
Thank you!
NAME(s): _________________________GUEST: _____________________________
EMAIL: _______________________________ PHONE: _______________________
Message from Norm Alpers, Co-President of WCRTA, n_alpers@yahoo.com
Happy New Year to all our WCRTA Unit Members. The time seems to go faster every year. It is my pleasure to be your President. I am still missing Fred Kunz, my partner for the last few years.
Please take the time to read our newsletters this year in order to take advantage of the programs and events we are planning and will be providing. If we have your correct e-mail address and you have not told us otherwise, you will receive your newsletter via email, as we have informed you previously.
In February, our first event will be a presentation from Van Galder Tours. They have some great trips and events covered for the coming year. If you have not tried one of the bus trips that we offer during the year, you are really missing out on some interesting and “worth it” adventures.
2020 is, of course, an election year. I can hardly wait. Can you? As usual our focus will be on the legislators who are seeking election or reelection in the districts representing our membership. We want to keep you informed of the ideas they have for balancing the budget, which may include reducing funds directly involved with our pensions and benefits. We will keep you informed of the happenings in Springfield. I also encourage you to visit the websites of the IRTA and WCRTA.
If you have not checked out some of the new and or improved benefits available through IRTA, be sure and read our newsletters or check IRTA’s website. I urge you to keep supporting The IRTA Foundation which provides aid to retirees who need financial assistance. The Foundation also makes numerous grants to current teachers to help them obtain additional teacher materials and equipment for the classroom.
If you are not now a member of IRTA, I urge you to join. IRTA is the only organization committed to protecting our retirement pensions and benefits. The IRTA also promotes many benefits for its members as mentioned above.
WCRTA is finalizing the details of the Fred Kunz Memorial Scholarship. It will be a one-time scholarship for a high school senior who is committed to becoming a teacher and has shown a commitment to volunteering during his high school career. Funds for the scholarship came from memorials given in Fred’s memory. Fred’s widow also contributed to make the amount of the scholarship $1,000.
If you have not yet renewed your membership in WCRTA, please do so. There is a form printed in this newsletter as well as an address to renew your membership. The price is right. We really work to make it worth it.
And, yes, we still need you to volunteer to be a board member for WCRTA. I will be happy to help you attain that position.
Have a happy and awesome new year.
Norm Alpers, 815-988-0523
Member Planet and Legislative Updates
Wonderful! If you’re reading this, then either you successfully received the January Edition of the WCRTA Newsletter by email or you’re reading it in a print version as usual. This is the first time we’ve tried sending the newsletter via email using Member Planet in our first steps towards making WCRTA’s communications more efficient. If by some chance you had difficulty receiving the newsletter, or know of someone who did have difficulty, please go to the WCRTA Website, http://www.winnebagocountyrta.org/ and click on the “Unit Info” tab at the upper left and scroll down to “Contact Form” and let us know. Check your email regularly as we explore other ways to best communicate with you as we work to keep you informed and involved in issues important to the retired teachers of Winnebago County. (We promise not to overdo it and only send what’s important.)
You’ll notice that this Legislative Update is included with an article on Member Planet. Hopefully you read in President Norm Alper’s message that 2020 will probably be one of the most important elections in decades and we hope to help you stay informed. Things are pretty quiet in the Illinois Legislature right now after a really busy year, but that will certainly change as the election gets nearer this Fall. WCRTA will again be visiting all of our incumbent local legislators this summer and we hope to also visit with their challengers.
As I found last election, however, even after I’d visited with a legislator, I often saw a different side of them when I saw how they reacted to questions in a town hall or open forum. The League of Women Voters typically holds an excellent forum of the local candidates but during the last election the announcement for it came out after our newsletter had mailed and WCRTA had no way to let you know when it would happen. This year we’ll try to get out an email announcement of any events like this as soon as we know of it to give you an opportunity to see your candidates in action.
We now also have the capability to send surveys via Member Planet so we can get your views on the issues. So, once again, as the year progresses, check your email regularly and, most important, if you change emails, let us know so we can let you know.
--Dr John Carleton, jcarle2312@gmail.com
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
Membership Meetings WCRTA Board Meetings
April 16, 2020—Mauh-Nah-Tee March 19, 2020 at ROE
See County Club
May 14, 2020—Bus Trip to Fireside May 7, 2020 at ROE
June 11, 2020—Wesley Willows Towne Hall
Dues Reminder
Thanks to all WCRTA members who have already paid their 2020 annual dues. Those who have not are reminded the $10 annual dues for the 2020 year were due starting January 1, 2020. Recipients of this newsletter are reminded that dues must be paid by March 31 in order to avoid a lapse in membership and to continue receiving the WCRTA newsletter.
Please check the mailing label on this newsletter (above your name) to see what our records indicate concerning your WCRTA and IRTA status. The code “LA2020” on the label means that you have paid your dues for 2020. This stands for “Local Annual 2020 dues for WCRTA. This code only applies to members who pay on an annual basis. Life members of WRTA will see the code “LL.” The SECOND code on the mailing label refers to our local understanding of your status in the state IRTA organization.
HOW CAN I JOIN THE WINNEBAGO COUNTY RETIRED TEACHERS ASSOCIATION (WCRTA)?
There are two ways to join WCRTA. Life membership is $100. Annual membership is $10 per year. It is easy to join by completing the following form and mailing it along with your dues check (made payable to WCRTA) to our treasurer, Dorothy Schoonover, 4143 Catalpa Woods Dr., Rockford, IL 61101.
MEMBERSHIP FORM
Last name:_________________________First name:__________________________
Street Address:_____________________________________________ Apt. #_____
City:______________________________ State:_________ Zip Code:_____________
Email:________________________________________ Preferred phone______________
School Attendance Center retired from:______________________________________
Year Retired: _______ WCRTA Membership desired: Annual: ($10/yr.)___ Life: ($100 for life)____(Indicate by “X)
Do you have an IRTA membership: Yes or No (Please circle)
Illinois Legislative District #________ Illinois Senate District #________
WINNEBAGO COUNTY RETIRED TEACHERS ASSOCIATION
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Bus Trip to Fireside Theatre, Fort Atkinson
In this installment of The Church Basement Ladies series, the year is 1960 and a reformation is underway. Beverly gets her first pair of high heels for confirmation. Mrs. Snustad wins top honors at the County Fair for her Grand Champion pickles. Mavis must find a way to deal with the new super highway that cuts through her farm. Karin finds freedom behind the wheel of her husband’s pickup truck. And Pastor has found new love and announces his impending nuptials. Against the changing tide, these “bulwarks never failing” stand strong in their faith and in their friendships with more crazy antics, more great songs, and more lessons reluctantly learned.
A “possible” stop at Rotary Gardens in Janesville will be decided on after we know the ending time for the matinee and travel time back.
FEATURED MENU: Chopped Salad (Finely diced Harvest Blend, Romaine, and Iceberg Lettuce, Hard-boiled Egg, Red Onion, Grape Tomato, Avocado, Cucumber, Jones Cherrywood Smoked Bacon Chips, and Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese) topped with The Fireside’s Pepper Cream Dressing and Crisp Tortilla Ribbons; Roast Boneless Pork Chop: Herbed Crouton Dressing with Sauerkraut and Jones Original Recipe Sausage. Served with Whipped Yukon Gold Potatoes glazed with rich homemade Pork Stock Gravy, Creamed Corn, and their specially crafted Cinnamon Apple Sauce; Apple Pie: Homemade Apple Pie with Streusel Topping, served with our Homemade Vanilla Bean Frozen Custard.
We will depart at 9 am from Farm and Fleet, 7300 East Riverside, Loves Park, IL and return between 5-5:30 pm. The cost $95 includes transportation. Lunch, gratuity, and the matinee show—with our group discount. Mail form & check payable to WCRTA to Gayle Haab, 3767 Doreen Drive, Roscoe, IL 61073 no later than April 9, 2020. This will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and our trips usually sell out!
Name _______________________________________ Guest__________________________________
Email address __________________________________ Cell Phone #________________________________
WINNEBAGO COUNTY Non-Profit Org.
RETIRED TEACHERS ASSOCIATION U.S. POSTAGE
c/o Sharon Vinson, Editor …… P A I D
11966 Tresemer Road Permit #4466
Roscoe, IL 61073-7708 Rockford, IL
THANKS TO ALL INVOLVED IN PRODUCING THIS NEWSLETTER.
Thanks to the people who write articles for this newsletter, help in producing it by folding, labeling, etc., and especially to Sharon Vinson for editing and putting the newsletter together. Receiving this newsletter is one of the benefits of membership in the Winnebago County Retired Teachers Association
WINNEBAGO LOCAL UNIT (WCRTA) NEWSLETTER
WINNEBAGO UNIT #6 OF IRTA
Printing made possible by an agreement with Scott Bloomquist at the Winnebago-Boone Regional Office of Education
