REGION 1 RVP NOTES – Feb 2008

 

An NEB meeting was held 4-7 Feb 2008.  Below are informal notes, observations and comments.

 

Actions taken:

 

1. The Finance & Investment Committee report was approved and accepted. For 2007, the NARFE funds grew at rates from 7.17% to 9.2%. In view of the changing market conditions, the committee will continue to monitor the funds closely.

 

2. An overview of the 2008 Membership Plan was presented by John Clements. The plan was distributed to the Federations and chapters.

 

3. A motion that the NEB submit to the 2008 Convention a proposed Resolution for the OMOV issue as directed by the Delegates at the 2006 Convention was approved without a recommendation. The proposed resolution is being forwarded to the Federation Presidents for information or action as appropriate.

 

4. The Global Email Messaging System (GEMS) is now being tested “in house” and should be completed by mid April 2008. One of the major problems is that Member E-mails are not current. Members are reminded that they are responsible to ensure that NARFE HQ has your current email address. The help of chapters and federations in updating the e-mails is vitally needed.

 

5. David Snell, Director of Retirement Benefits Services announced that a “BLOG” for Service Officers is being set up. Members will be advised as soon as it is up and running.

Reminder: For those of you sending in nominations for the Service Officer awards, the deadline has been extended to 2-29-08.

Nominations for the award must be forwarded by chapter presidents to NARFE Headquarters, Retirement Benefits Service Department.  The nominations should include identifying information, some background information, such as the agency the individual retired from, and how long the nominee has been a Service Officer. The nomination must include a paragraph detailing why the officer deserves this prestigious award. The basis for the nomination may include cumulative achievements over a long period of time or a singular action taken under unusual circumstances that greatly benefited a member.

Send nominations to: NARFE Headquarters, attention David Snell or e-mail to: dsnell@narfe.org

 

6. The Question and Answer Book is currently being revised and updated and hopefully, will be available to the membership sometime in 2008.  A Training Manual for Legislative Chairs is being developed and is an ongoing project. Availability unknown at this time.

 

7. Public Relations A motion was approved that the PR Director present specific plans for publicity outside the DC area at the July 2008 NEB meeting. These specific plans must have a proposed amount of funds needed to accomplish the desired task.

 

8. The NEB voted to confirm Mary Pierson to continue as the Pre-Retirement Seminars (PRS) Director and extend her contract for one year. Also, the NEB voted to confirm that Jill Crissman will be promoted to Assistant Director of Legislation, effective June 2, 2008.

 

9. NARFE-PAC Members are referred to the March magazine’s cover and feature article: “NARFE-PAC: Key to Capitol Clout.” Chapter meetings and spring federation conventions should promote NARFE-PAC, urging each member to make a NARFE-PAC contribution. Encourage your members to donate whatever amount they can. Members contributing $20 or more receive the special NARFE PAC pins.

 

 

10. A proposed resolution for single Association dues which was endorsed by the Federation President’s and which was prepared for submittal to the federation presidents for their information or use was approved by the NEB supporting the concept of Association dues. Existing members would be grandfathered from proposed changes.

 

11. The Site Selection Committee, chaired by RVP Ross, presented the final hotels/cities to be considered by the NEB. After presentation by the committee member that made the site inspection, the NEB voted on the final five to be presented to the delegates at the National Convention in Louisville, KY. The winning hotels are:

 

The Nugget in Sparks, NV

The Peppermill in Reno, NV

The Silver Legacy in Reno, NV

The Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, FL.

The Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, Daytona Beach, FL.

 

12. A motion moving that “The NEB supports modification of the Convention Site Selection Procedures to allow the NEB final selection of the future Convention site at the February (in the year of the National Convention) NEB meeting.”  was approved.

 

13. As a result of discussion on Honorary memberships and the costs associated with it, the following motion was made and approved: “In view of concerns raised by the Federation Presidents at the July NEB meeting, a recommendation of the Committee on the Enhancement of NARFE, and the high cost of maintaining the program, the NEB supports modification of the NARFE Honorary Membership Program (all current Honorary members would be grandfathered from any changes).”

 

14. It was agreed to delay discussions concerned with forming a 501 (c) (3) foundation or subsidiary for NARFE until the July meeting.

 

15. The RVPs announced their selection for their member of the National Leadership Development Committee as directed by Article II, Section 2, E, 3. Based on the fact that this committee is just getting started and only has nine months until the end of their appointments, the ten RVPs selected Richard Thissen of Region V as the chair. This committee’s appointments end on October 31, 2008. New members will be appointed by the new RVPs. As concepts and training plans are formalized in the regions, reports will be made at NEB meetings and results distributed to the Federation Presidents for information and application as appropriate.

 

16. Action was taken to ensure proper delivery of orders for magazines and materials in a timely manner, particularly during the month of November, which is well known as the month where Health Fairs are held all over the country.

 

17. National Treasurer Dick Ostergren reported that NARFE members wishing to attend the upcoming National Convention in Louisville will be able to register on line for the convention and for the banquet sometime in late February 2008. NOTE: Delegates will still need to have their names on the Form C/08-2 sent in by the chapter secretary.

 

18. At the November NEB, it was agreed that the NARFE staff would look into establishing a new officer’s code, namely a “Records Officer” to be used at the chapter and federation level. The NARFE Staff reports that this new office code is just that, another code. As we all know, there are many positions established within many chapters that are not listed on the F-7 and the staff recommends that we don’t establish any new codes. By consensus, it was decided that this matter should be discussed with the staff at future meetings.

 

19. The NEB reviewed the proposed “Schedule of Events” for the National Convention, which will run from Sunday, September 6th and end after the banquet on Thursday evening, September 11, 2008. The theme for this convention is titled “NARFE: Going the Distance for your Future.” Among the activities: There will be a Dinner Boat Cruise on Saturday evening, with a maximum of 150 attendees; Delegate Orientation will be Sunday, September 7th at 2PM in Ballrooms ABC, 2nd Floor, East Tower, with opening ceremonies in the same location at 4:30PM; The Regional Caucuses will be held at 2 PM on Tuesday afternoon, September 9th.  

 

20. Reminder to Chapters: Continue with recruitment and Retention of member efforts to compete for the Chapter awards of $500, $300 and $200 as announced earlier.

 

 

Augie Stratoti, Regional Vice President Region I