Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 9:00 a.m.
Rm. 178 Human Resources Bldg.
President Bob Rosemier called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m.
Members in Attendance: Scott Banish, John Engstrom, Gary Gresholdt, Jerry Halverson, Steve Johnson (Public Relations/Events Committee Chair), Lee Ann Henry (University Liaison), Mary Ann Nash, Marge Rey, Bob Rosemier, Irene Rubin, Joe Vaughn, Alan Voelker and Lynne Waldeland
Guest: Bennetta Stearnes
Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the January 10, 2007 meeting were presented for approval. A motion was made by Scott Banish to approve the minutes and was seconded by Alan Voelker.
Approval of Agenda: Bob Rosemier submitted the agenda for approval with two changes. The topic of "Intergenerational Initiative" was moved from Old Business, item 7C, to follow the Approval of the Agenda, item 3. The topic of "Revisions to NIUAA Constitution" was moved from Old Business, item 7A, to follow the Treasurer's Report, item 4. A motion was made by Gary Gresholdt to approve the amended agenda and was seconded by Scott Banish.
Old Business
Intergenerational Initiative: Bennetta Stearnes spoke to the board about the "Intergenerational Initiative" which she described as a statewide program. She pointed out that several programs have been extremely successful. The program is not limited to older volunteers or academic endeavors only, but may involve sharing life experiences. The initiative is mutually beneficial to those who are giving as well as those who are receiving. Bennetta spoke about the initiative "VOICES" (Volunteers Offering Intergenerational and Collaborative Experiences with Students) in the DeKalb school district, pointing out that the program offers great flexibility in the commitments that can be made. She then showed the board publications which come from the state committee approximately three times per year. Discussion followed. Bob Rosemier circulated information on the "VOICES" program as well as volunteer sign-up sheets.
Revisions to NIUAA Constitution: Mary Ann Nash addressed the proposed changes to the Constitution. A committee composed of Bob Rosemier, Don Buckner and Mary Ann met in March to review suggestions submitted by board members and to identify other necessary revisions. Some of the revisions being proposed were necessitated by changes made by SUAA, some were a result of new committees and changes in the functions of current committees and other revisions were made for clarification purposes. Discussion of the proposed revisions followed and minor revisions were made to Constitution Article IV-1, Membership and Dues, and Bylaws Article V-6, Dues and Assessments, Expenses. A motion was made by Lynne Waldeland to present the proposed revisions to the Constitution to the full NIUAA membership at the Annual Meeting. Marge Rey seconded the motion. Lee Ann Henry will coordinate printing and copying of the document for distribution at the meeting. After the Constitution is finalized at the Annual Meeting, the revised document will be posted on the NIUAA website.
Treasurer's Report: John Engstrom distributed a copy of the report. The current checking account balance is $11,008.96. To date, the approximate balance of the savings account is $5,716.50. The second page of the report summarized the individual receipts and disbursements for the current fiscal year. John pointed out the contribution, approved by the board, to Willard Draper whose home was destroyed by fire. He indicated that this amount would be matched by SUAA. Mention was made of the expenditure incurred in co-hosting the March meeting of SUAA at Kishwaukee College. John also indicated that the line identifying PIC mailing costs would be changed to indicate a mailing about legislative candidates sent to the membership by the NIUAA. Motion was made by Gary Gresholdt to approve the Treasurer's report as submitted and was seconded by Scott Banish.
Committee Reports:
Benefits: Lynne Waldeland notified the board that insurance policies or carriers for the upcoming year will remain unchanged. We should be receiving our benefits booklets in mid to late April. Next year we will be renegotiating our major medical carriers. This is cause for some concern. Public Health in the Department of Health and Human Services will bid out our insurance next year, not CMS as in the past. Public Health is unfamiliar with our constituency, higher education users, and our needs. Lynne noted that there are no changes in the benefits available to NIU retired faculty and staff. She stated that she has continued reviewing benefits available to spouses and survivors of retirees. Discussion followed concerning membership to the Recreation Center. Currently membership is free to retirees but is neither free nor available at a reduced rate for spouses and survivors. The board arrived at a consensus that free membership for spouses and survivors will not be pursued at this time, so as not to jeopardize current benefits for retirees.
Public Relations/Events: Steve Johnson reported to the board on the Wellness Fair held on March 28 in the Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center. He thanked Bennetta Stearnes, Mary Ann Nash, Alan Voelker, Bob Rosemier and Brad Pietens for assisting in staffing the NIUAA table. Our presence yielded 10 – 12 new memberships. One hundred fifteen visitors to the table signed in and indicated whether they were a member or non-member of our organization. Visitors received a handout of either a letter opener or a jar opener, both of which were in red and black. Steve pointed out that the Benefits Fair will be on Thursday, May 3 and that he will be soliciting workers to assist him at our table. He also mentioned the upcoming Mississippi River cruise on June 13 & 14 and the trip to Chicago for the Gold Coast River North Art Fair on August 4. In the future, Rosalie Hewitt will be assisting Steve in his travel planning.
Communications: Charlie Larson was unable to attend the meeting. Bob Rosemier informed the board that The Annuitant has been sent for formatting and should be out to the membership in mid-May. The newsletter will contain pertinent information on the Annual Meeting and President's Buffet Dinner. The event has moved back to the Holmes Student Center. The meeting itself will be held in Sandburg Auditorium, followed by dinner in the ballroom. President Peters, Mallory Simpson, Senator Brad Burzynski, Representative Bob Pritchard, Steve Cunningham and Dennis Davito will be asked to make a brief presentation. After discussion, it was decided to hold the business portion of the annual meeting prior to introducing the guest speakers. The speakers will be given an approximate time to appear as well as a given amount of time in which to speak, approximately ten minutes each. Bob and Lee Ann will contact the appropriate persons to coordinate duplication of information in the presentations.
Legislative:
Joe Vaughn reported that legislative changes affecting pensions and funding are currently all speculation. No real action will be taken until the final days of the legislative session. Irene Rubin indicated that there will be some attention paid to the current pension under funding problem. She also noted that there is enormous support to reduce pension benefits for new employees. There is still discussion of reducing the automatic 3% annual increase to individual pensions. Scott Banish indicated that he is working to identify when the agreement for the automatic increase became effective and the specific provisions of the agreement, as there is general agreement that we have been contributing one-half percent to funding this increase ourselves. Trying to locate the specific legislation has been difficult.
NIUAA PIC Committee: Irene Rubin informed the board that currently, the major focus of the PIC is completion of articles for the upcoming newsletter and preparation for Lobby Day on April 25. A bus to transport attendees from NIU to the meeting in Springfield is being provided by the University. There will be a planning session held on April 23. Irene did not have the location available but would get it to interested parties. She urged us to attend the Lobby Day if possible, as it is imperative that we make our presence known. If we are unable to do so, she implored us to write to the Governor and our legislators stressing our concerns about our pension funding and benefits. She referenced the fact sheet and post card idea sheets which she had emailed to us as possible starting points for correspondence, pointing out that a personal letter will receive more attention than a one-line post card. Irene noted that Governor Blagovich has agreed to address the rally, but that getting to see legislators will be more difficult as they will be in session.
SUAACTION Committee: Alan Voelker informed the board that he would be attending the SUAACTION meeting on Friday, April 13. The main agenda item will be damage control. Alan indicated that although there was a good monetary response to SUAACTION's fund solicitation letter, the response to the format and content of the letter was not good. The committee will also be working on guidelines for spending of funds by both the state and local committees. SUAA is also giving attention to the relation of SUAACTION to the SUAA legislative committee.
Nominations to Board and Committee Chairs: Bob Rosemier informed the board of the slate of officers and board members to be voted upon at the Annual Meeting. Joe Vaughn is being nominated to assume the office of President, Linda Schwarz the office of Vice President and Pat Sauter the office of Secretary. Nominations for new members to serve on the board are Bennetta Stearnes and Pam Farris. John Engstrom will be nominated for another term as Treasurer, while Irene Rubin and Marge Rey will be nominated for another term as members of the board. Irene Rubin made a motion to approve the slate as stated and to submit the slate to the full membership for approval at the Annual Meeting. Scott Banish seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously to approve. In addition, Bob Rosemier indicated that he would be assuming the duties of Past President as Alan Voelker leaves the board. Mary Ann Nash and Lynne Waldeland will also be leaving the board due to other commitments.
Old Business: Progress on new NIUAA brochure Bob Rosemier spoke for Joe Koch who was unable to attend the board meeting. The new NIUAA brochure is currently being printed. Human Resource Services has offered to pick up the cost of printing the new brochure. Bob indicated that Joe Monteiro has been asked to change the title of the current Annuitants' Guide to the "Retirees' Guide".
New Business:
NIU Credit Union Proposal: NIU Credit Union Proposal: Bob Rosemier informed the board that the NIU Credit Union has offered to subsidize the cost of the NIUAA April 25 coffee to be held at Borders. In return, they would like to be present to distribute information about the Credit Union. A discussion followed concerning the appropriateness of accepting similar requests to sponsor an event by other groups or individuals. The board determined that these types of requests should be considered only for groups with a direct affiliation with the University. It was agreed to allow the Credit Union to sponsor the April coffee.
The meeting adjourned at 11:16 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Ann Nash, Secretary
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Rm. 178 Human Resources Building
President Joe Vaughn called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
Members Present: Scott Banish, John Engstrom, Gary Gresholdt, Joe Koch, Marge Rey, Bob Rosemier, Irene Rubin, Linda Schwarz, Joe Vaughn, Bob Wheeler
Committee Chairs in Attendance: Steven Johnson, Bennetta Stearnes, Alan Voelker
University Liasion: Lee Ann Henry
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the April 11, 2007 meeting were presented for approval. A change was requested to the nominations section showing that Bob Wheeler should have been nominated as a new member rather than Benetta Stearns. A motion was made by Irene Rubin to approve the minutes and was seconded by Gary Gresholdt.
Approval of Agenda: Joe Vaughn submitted the agenda for approval with two additions. The topic of a CD was added to the Treasurers report. Bob Rosemier added the Annuitants Website under Old Business, and The Annuitants Brochure was added to Old Business. A motion was made by Gary Gresholdt to approve the amended agenda and was seconded by Marge Rey.
Introduction of new officers, directors and board members: Joe Vaughn welcomed back returning board members and officers and introduced new board members Bob Wheeler and Linda Schwarz, Vice President. Pam Farris, new board member, was unable to attend the meeting.
Announcements: Joe announced that Lee Ann Henry would be filling in as secretary while Pat Sauter is healing from a fall.
Joe announced that the next Annuitants Meeting previously scheduled for October 11, will be moved to October 17, due to a SUAA meeting being held that day in Champaign.
Treasurer’s Report: John Engstrom reported on the past years activity bringing attention to the cash balance in the checking account as of June 30, 2007 of $11,817. This account is currently earning 1% interest, which is an increase over last year. There is a current balance in a CD of $5,801, which is currently earning about 5% interest.
John then presented a proposed budget for fiscal year 2008. He asked the board to use this more as a guide that can be adjusted during the year. Irene Rubin asked if we could reapply for the grants that we received in 2007. John said that we could reapply every year. Motion was made by Gary Gresholdt to approve the proposed budget for FY08. Scott Banish seconded the motion.
John made a motion to lower the balance of the checking account by putting $8,000 in a CD. Bob Wheeler seconded the motion.
Motion was then made by Gary Gresholdt to approve the Treasurer’s report as submitted as it was seconded by Irene Rubin.
Membership: Gary reported on the SUAA Annual meeting at which the NIU Annuitants Association received three awards. The first award was for having the largest gain in membership, the second for having over 50% of our members on dues deduct, and the third for an increase in membership for 5 or more consecutive years. On that great note, Gary reported that our membership count stands at 1,760, up 11% over last year at this time. We have been very aggressive in increasing our membership. Letters are sent out to new retirees three times annually. Bob Rosemier mentioned that SUAA had originally planned on sending out letters to all current employees 45 or older, but it was never followed through. He suggested that maybe we go ahead and do it on our own.
Communications: Charlie Larson was not able to attend the meeting today, so Joe Vaughn reminded all the committee chairs to email their reports to him by the deadline of September 10. The Annuitant will be printed and sent out in mid-November.
Public Relations/Events: Steven handed out and reviewed a list of upcoming events and encouraged everyone to participate when possible. A group attended a Mississippi River cruise in June in which he had 13 annuitants sign up. Steve has also been working very hard on planning a reunion trip to Canada and New England for Sept. 2008.
Steve reported that the group would again be having coffee klatch gatherings at Border’s and Barnes and Noble. Irene Rubin suggested it would be a really nice gesture if a bus could be used to go and pick up our members that reside at Oak Crest. Steve said he would check on several options, including TransVac.
Holiday Party: Marge Rey announced the annual holiday party will be held on Wednesday, December 5, 2007. Marge and Joe have been working with catering and would like to keep the dinner the same as it was last year. Catering can offer it to us for the same price as last year. There will also be a sugar-free desert table. Valet parking will be offered to those with a handicap placard by calling Marge ahead of time. The deadline for signing up for the dinner will be November 26. After that date, members will have to pay an additional 20% for their meal. Marge made a motion to keep the holiday party as is for this year. Bob Rosemier seconded the motion. Joe Vaughn will sign the contract with the Holmes Student Center.
Benefits: Bob Wheeler reported that he will be attending all the university benefits meetings to keep up on what is going on. The next meeting is scheduled for September 6. He did say that next year parking services is going to be adding online registration. There will be no notices sent out to the 756 retirees that currently have a permit. It was suggested that we post the notice and include a registration form in the spring issue of the Annuitant, as well as posting it on our website with a link to the form. We need to find out if they will mail out the permits as they have done in the past. If not, Scott Banish has offered to help coordinate the efforts to get this accomplished.
A suggestion was made about producing a “Guide for Survivors”. Joe had a sheet that Larry Sill had previously done as well has a brochure from another school. Bob will review this material as well as call Jan Cook of ISU per a suggestion from Alan Voelker.
Legislative: Joe Vaughn reported that the House and Senate passed a joint resolution urging repeal of the social security offset. Copies of the resolution were sent to all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.
NIUAA Political Action: Irene began by giving a brief report on the Lobby Day in Springfield, noting that six members from NIUAA went down to Springfield to the rally and to lobby. She had prompted the University to take a role as well, but they were very cautious about the appearance of lobbying (or seeming to pressure staff to participate on a workday.). Many other chapters of SUAA had members there, who were all visible to each other because of the caps that they wore. Irene was glad we went as it gave us a chance to support the unions, who had so often protected us in the past. She mentioned the lobby day to Linda Brookhart, who said she was not sure about future participation in higher education lobby day, but that SURS had had a luncheon for legislators, and for many it was the first time they had heard the SURS story, that it was very successful, (in conjunction with lobby day) and that she hoped that would be repeated. Irene concurred.
Irene mentioned that Linda Brookhart had come to her house for lunch to discuss the NIU PIC's role in providing research for advocacy. She was impressed with her energy and her increased role in lobbying, compared to her predecessor, though he has strong opinions and we might not always agree, but that was fine. She seemed to have a handle on what some of us considered a problem of our lobbyist, who had not been doing much of anything but had been charging us, and simultaneously her other clients, for doing it, including attending a party for lobbyists. She seems on top of the situation and I offered the opinion that we might get a new lobbyist. Alan Voelker noted that she was hired in part because of her willingness to lobby on our behalf, and how the work of the rest of the staff would be organized, who would be hired with what skills, was still an open question. Linda had immediately dealt with the issue of reporting on our political fundraising and spending, and she explained that was why we needed to collect the contributions centrally and then issue them back to the chapters as needed, so that there could be central bookkeeping for these dollars. Irene told her we needed guidance in the chapters for how to handle these funds, and she said that was a top priority, and thought that maybe SUAA could do some kind of interactive newsletter, where members could write in questions and the newsletter could answer them, and this would be maybe one of the first questions to be answered.
Irene noted that John Engstrom and she among others had been concerned that SUAA had no real independent audit, and she was already on top of that issue as well.
Linda Brookhart followed up on the visit and talk, trying to work out a strategy for what we could give up in a bargaining situation, and thought perhaps the percentage of funding required might be dropped from 100% or 90%, to 80% and wanted to know what practice was around the country. Within two hours, Irene had the answer back to her via email. Irene told her we had others on our PIC team who could also do research.
SUAA ACTION: Alan Voelker reported on the SUAA action committee. Each chapter is taking the initiative to raise funds to help support the committee. NIU Annuitants have given in excess of $6,600 for the fiscal year 2006-07. Our quota is $12K. The funds for the committee will be collected and kept at the central office. The board needs to make a decision if we want to actively solicit our members. The state newsletter will be out in 2 – 3 weeks with an information item regarding the action they are taking to help serve its members. It was suggested that we take that copy verbatim to use in our newsletter.
A motion was made by Bob Rosemier to go ahead and look into doing a direct solicitation. The motion was seconded by Bob Engstrom.
Intergenerational Project: Bennetta Stearnes handed out two pieces to the group explaining V.O.I.C.E.S. (Voices Offering Intergenerational Collaborative Experience With Students), as well as a listing of the many areas one can volunteer to help and in what capacity. She stressed that the group is very flexible in times or activities that you can participate in. It was suggested to list the volunteer opportunities on our website. Steve Johnson said they she was welcome to make a presentation at the coffee klatches.
Old Business: Bob Rosemeir announced that the new website was up and running and urged members to take a look at it and let him know if there were any additions or corrections that it might need.
Bob also asked the board to help make a decision on how many of the new brochures we should get printed at this time. It was discussed that there will be many opportunities in the next few years to take these to presentations and to also start handing them out to new employees at orientation. Human Resources has not let us know how much they are willing to help pay on them, but previously they paid around $80 for black and white brochures. If they were able to pay, it would cost the Annuitants Association about $375 to have 1,000 printed. Some will be stored at University Advancement with the remainder being stored at Bob Rosemier’s house. Marge Rey made a motion to accept the bid to have 1,000 printed, Gary Gresholdt seconded the motion.
The meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Ann Henry
Interim Secretary (On behalf of Pat Sauter)
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 10:00a.m.
Rm. 178 Human Resources Bldg.
President Joe Vaughn called the meeting to order at 10:00a.m.
Members in Attendance: John Engstrom, Gary Gresholdt, Jerry Halverson, Joe Koch, Marge Rey, Bob Rosemier, Irene Rubin, Pat Sauter, Joe Vaughn, and Bob Wheeler.
Committee Chairs in Attendance: Bennetta Stearnes, Alan Voelker
University Liasion: Lee Ann Henry
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the July 18, 2007 meeting were presented for approval. A correction was made to the Holiday Party report in the 6th line, changing “members” to “attendees”. In the NIUAA Political Action report, second paragraph, third line, changed “he” to “she”. A motion was made by Bob Rosemier to approve the corrected minutes and was seconded by Gary Gresholdt. Motion carried.
Approval of Agenda: Joe Vaughn submitted the agenda for approval. A motion was made by Gary Gresholdt to approve the agenda and was seconded by Bob Wheeler. Motion carried.
Announcements: Joe Vaughn thanked everyone for getting their newsletter items in on time. The newsletter is set to go out in early November. The next deadline for newsletter items will be December 20th.
Joe Vaughn will be making a presentation at the Pre-Retirement Seminar on October 23. He will hand out our new brochures and membership forms.
New Business: Joe appointed Jerry Halverson to chair the Nominating Committee, and Gary Gresholdt to chair the Awards Committee. They have both agreed to serve as chairs. At the January 9th meeting, Jerry and Gary will report to the board who will serve on the committees.
Joe asked the Board for approval to pay for a shuttle for the holiday party. The cost would be $80 for three hours. It was decided that the shuttle would be made available to anyone that would like to use it. After discussion, John Engstrom made a motion to approve the payment for the van, Gary Gresholdt seconded the motion. Motion carried.
V.O.I.C.E.S. had requested the use of the NIUAA email address list to send out an announcement for their orientation to be held on Tuesday, October 23, 2007. The announcement would come under Joe’s signature. Joe declined to do it, and would like the Board to decide how to handle it. Joe wanted it to be clear, that his declining the request had nothing to do with V.O.I.C.E.S. It solely has to do with restricting the list to only Annuitant matters. If we allow V.O.I.C.E.S. to use it, we will be setting a precedent. Secondly, we collected the emails under the assumption that we will only use them to let or members know about matters pertaining to the association. We do not want to abuse it.
It was decided that we would post volunteer opportunities on our website, and send out an email to the annuitants to let them know about our website and that we now have listed volunteer opportunities, and will put a brief note in the email about the V.O.I.C.E.S. orientation. Lee Ann, Gary and Joe will work on this email and get the information on the website. A motion was made by Irene Rubin to approve the email going out, and adding the volunteer information to our website. Marge Rey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Joe reported that he attended the October 11, SUAA Board Meeting, along with Linda, Irene, John, Alan. One of the things discussed was that the SUAA office is in transition. There are a lot of things falling through the cracks. The financial report was very much lacking in current and correct information.
SUAA introduced their new lobbyist, Dick Lockard. Joe felt that it was a good choice as he is very experienced and mature.
The SUAA Foundation reported that they would provide assistance to chapters to set up a Survivor’s Assistance Program. It was discussed that the chapters may contribute to the foundation at a rate of $25 per deceased member.
Treasurer's Report: John Engstrom reported that the Audit for last year had been completed and the report will be in the upcoming newsletter. The checking account balance as of October 15, 2007 is $5,588.23. The Association currently has two CD’s, one valued at approximately $8,908.37, and the other at $5,879.23. The first one was cashed in before the last meeting, and it has been renewed at the same rate as before. Effective interest rate on both CD’s is 5.1%.
Motion was made by Irene Rubin to approve the Treasurer’s report as submitted and it was seconded by Joe Koch. Motion carried.
Membership: Gary Gresholdt reported that we will be sending out letters to recent retirees who have not yet joined the association. There have been problems with the renewals being sent out to people that pay annually. The communication between SUAA and the association has not been good. However, Gary feels that we have things straightened out, and will keep on top of our list to make sure we do not lose members.
Holiday Party: Marge Rey announced the annual holiday party will be held on Wednesday, December 5, 2007. The deadline for signing up for the luncheon will be November 26. The cost is $18.00 for members and $20 for guests. After that date, there will be an additional 20% cost for the meal. Lee Ann will send out the invitations at the end of October.
Events: Another successful coffee hour was held at Barnes and Noble on September 25th, with 20 people attending. There was a shuttle service offered from Oak Crest, but no one took advantage of it. The Credit Union has since informed us that they will pay for any future coffee hours we have, we just need to notify them ahead of time.
Benefits: Bob Wheeler reported that the campus parking office will not be sending out renewal forms to the annuitants, but will be mailing out the stickers. If you need an application, you will need to call the Campus Parking office. Bob suggested that we put a copy of the application on our website.
Bob has looked into the idea of providing assistance to survivors of annuitants. He looked at the ISU website and they currently offer a program of this nature. Bob asked the Board if they would like him to look into this further. Irene Rubin agreed that this is a very important need and feels that we should definitely look into at this time. The whole Board agreed. Bob feels that HRS does not have the manpower to devote to this worthy purpose, but will check with them. Joe thought that the SUAA Foundation would be able to help us get a program started and help with training. Bob will look into it further and get back to us with a report at the next meeting.
Bob reported that the University Benefits Committee will be meeting on Thursday, October 25 at 10:00 a.m in Faraday West 300. Steve Cunningham will be coming to talk about SURS and the Pension System. This is an open meeting.
Legislative: Joe did not have any news to report at this time.
NIUAA Political Action: Irene reported that the Senate passed legislation to increase the tobacco tax with the idea that some 70% of the additional funds raised would go directly towards making up the deficit in the state pension fund. It went to the House with a time deadline that if not picked up and acted upon would die. Every time it was close to dying, it was picked up again. The Governor said he would sign the bill if it passed both houses. There is no guarantee at this point that the pension would be funded with these monies even if it does pass.
Linda Brookhart was not aware of this issue when Irene spoke with her. Irene is concerned that we are not using this opportunity to let the legislature know that we are behind this. The lobbyist suggested that we propose our own legislation.
SUAA Action: Alan Voelker reported on the fundraising for the committee. The quota for 2006 was set at $100,000. This was arrived at by taking the total membership of 12,000 times $10 per person, and parceled out per chapter. Last year, we exceeded this amount. The estimated amount for next year is $150,000. At the Annual Meeting, the Chapters that exceeded their fundraising goal were given a certificate and a thank you, and anyone that has contributed $50 or more will receive a pin from the SUAA office. For 2007, chapters will do their own fundraising campaign. If they need assistance, SUAA is willing to help out. As far as the budget, SUAA is handling all the record keeping, and also sending out the letters for the chapters. October 29th is the next meeting to review action plans, if anyone has any suggestions, please forward them on to Alan.
Intergenerational Project: Benetta Stearns reported that V.O.I.C.E.S. held a volunteer fair at NIU the end of September, and another is being held at Kishwaukee College. There will be an orientation celebration on Tuesday, October 23rd. An email regarding this event will go out soon.
The meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Ann Henry, Interim Secretary (on behalf of Pat Sauter)
Wednesday, January 9, 2007
Rm. 178 Human Resources Building
President Joe Vaughn called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
Members Present: Scott Banish, John Engstrom, Gary Gresholdt, Jerry Halverson, Steve Johnson, Joe Koch, Linda Schwarz, Marge Rey, Bob Rosemier, Irene Rubin, Joe Vaughn, Bob Wheeler
Committee Chairs in Attendance: Alan Voelker
University Liasion: Lee Ann Henry
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the October 17, 2007 meeting were presented for approval. A correction was made to the Benefits report in the second paragraph, first sentence, changing “U of I” to “ISU”, and in fourth line, changing “NIU” to “HRS”. A motion was made by Bob Wheeler to approve the corrected minutes and was seconded by Linda Schwarz. Motion carried.
Approval of Agenda: Joe Vaughn submitted the agenda with two additions. The first is the additional of the Intergenerational Report by Benetta Stearns, and under New Business a request from Herb Rubin. A motion was made by Irene Rubin to approve the agenda and was seconded by Joe Koch. Motion carried.
Announcements: Joe announced that the Wellness Fair is scheduled for March 26. No date has yet been set for the Benefits Choice Fair. The spring SUAA meeting is scheduled for March 11 at SIU.
Joe read a letter from Pat Sauter announcing her resignation from the board and as secretary because of physical limitations. A motion to accept her resignation was made by Joe Vaughn and seconded by Gary Gresholdt. Motion carried.
Joe explained that the by-laws state that the secretary position has to be filled with a current board member. Linda Schwarz volunteered to finish out the year. At the Annual Meeting in June, nominations will be brought forth for a new secretary. A motion was made by John Engstrom to nominate Linda Schwarz to finish out the remaining term as Secretary. Marge Rey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Presentation by John Sentovich, Gift Planning Officer: John introduced himself to the board. He works with donors, alums, and friends of NIU to help them remember NIU in some sort of an estate gift.
Items of Business: Joe Vaughn asked for a motion to appoint Linda Schwarz and Bob Wheeler as members of the nominating committee to serve under Chair Jerry Halverson, and Bob Rosemier and Lee Ann Henry to serve on the Awards Committee under Chair Gary Gresholdt. A motion was made by Irene Rubin to these members to the respective committees. Marge Rey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Up for reelection to the Board are Gary Gresholdt, Joe Koch and Scott Banish. The board is made up of the elected officers, plus 8 elected members and the past president. The eight positions include four faculty and four staff members. Benetta Stearns will be nominated to the board this year, and we will need one faculty member. The secretary position needs to be filled from within the membership.
Treasurer's Report: John Engstrom reported that the checking account balance as of January 7, 2008 is $6,089.40. The Association currently has two CD’s, one valued at approximately $8,192.26, and the other at $5,948.08. He also reported on the financials of the 2007 Holiday Party. Total receipts totaled $3,412.40. Disbursements totaled $3,728.09, leaving a net cost to the association of $315.69.
John told the board that he has received a form that needs to be submitted to the IRS, which he has sent down to SUAA to take care of.
A motion was made by Bob Wheeler and seconded by Joe Koch to accept the Treasurer’s report as submitted. Motion carried.
Membership: Gary Gresholdt reported that the current membership is at 1,751 members, an increase of 70 members from last year. We will be sending out letters to recent retirees that have not yet joined the association. The Wellness Fair and the Benefits Fair have been great opportunities to pick up new members by having them sign up for a free gift.
Communications Report: Charlie Larson was unable to attend the meeting due to medical issues. He is currently working on getting the next issue of “The Annuitant” to printing for mailing in February.
Events: Steve Johnson gave a report on all the upcoming events that he has planned for the New Year, including a trip to the Lyric Opera, and more coffee klatch gatherings. He asked the members if they had any ideas for more possible trips, to let him know. All events will be posted on our website.
Holiday Party: Marge Rey reported that we had 190 members sign up for the party, with 16 no-shows. It was a great success. This year they decided to recycle the nametags for next year, to save time and money. There was some question on the shuttle; some members were confused by where it was picking people up. She suggested we put the information on the shuttle on the top part of the invitation that they keep. It would also be helpful, to possibly put some signage on the van to identify it. Marge thanked Lee Ann, Benetta and Joe for all their help. Joe commented that he heard very positive feedback, and that the food was very good. Joe also commended Marge and Bennetta for their great work. Steve Johnson also said that he was very pleased with the comments made by President Peters. The price of the dinner will go up next year, and the date has been reserved for next year on December 3, 2008.
Benefits: Bob Wheeler reported that he was finally able to get in touch with someone at ISU regarding their Survivor Advocacy Program. Their program is about 12 years old, with six volunteers. They were able to get names from HRS at first, but now with a new staff on board, it seems that due to the privacy issues, they are not able to get names of survivors from their human resource department. The have found other ways to get the information out to the survivors, including going through the obituaries in the local papers. They are also holding small group workshops for couples when a death is imminent. SURS does have a program to train volunteers on the information they need to pass along.
Scott Banish asked if our HRS department contacted surviving spouses. Bob spoke with Dennis Davito, from the NIU Human Resource department regarding how things are handled here on campus. He told Bob that at the present time, HRS contacts the survivors, except those on the self-managed plan, and works with them on the benefits they are due. The Board decided that at this time, since this is being handled by HRS, that there is no reason to start our own Survivor program. The board will continue to monitor the situation, and if the need arises, will go ahead and organize a committee to take this on. Bob Wheeler will give Bob Rosemier information on the HRS survivor program to post on our website.
Legislative: Joe did not have any news to report at this time. He did mention that the US Congress has passed a bill that says if you are eligible for Medicare your employer no longer has to provide insurance for you after the age of 65.
NIUAA Political Action: Irene said she had been working on her article for the next newsletter regarding Gasby 45, on the requirements to fully fund retired employee health benefits.
SUAAction: Alan was not able to attend the last SUAAction meeting; however, he was able to get the information of what took place. They approved a letter to the president’s of the university chapters. It is an outline of what is to be included in the fund-raising letter that will be sent out to our members by SUAAction. The letter will be signed by Irene Rubin, as Professor Emeritus.
In the letter, Bob Rosemier would like the word "joined" to be changed to "support". Another possibility for an addition to the letter could be "For Volunteer Opportunities at the local level contact Irene Rubin."
Intergenerational Project: Benetta Stearns was not able to attend the meeting for a report.
New Business: Joe Koch and Lee Ann Henry presented some samples of a new design for The Annuitant, and for the letterhead and envelopes. A new colored version with some changes was voted and agreed upon. The February newsletter will have the new design.
A request came from Herb Rubin regarding a school referendum, and how this can affect those on a fixed income. He would like to be able to either send this to our members or post it on our website.
It is a concern of the board that it might be construed that they are taking a position on something unrelated to what the annuitants stand for. After much discussion, it was decided that we would not allow others to use our email list or our website for information that is not directly related to our pensions and insurance. The annuitants should not be taking any positions on any issues. It was the consensus of the board to not post this information on our website.
The meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Ann Henry, University Liason