Friday, December 5, 2014

Retired Educators Celebrate Christmas with Paul Murphy

Our Moore County Retired Educational
Personnel held a festive and informative
meeting on Wednesday, December 3.

The Central Office was decked out for the season.

Sandi Keyser provided tasty holiday snacks.

Sandi called us to order with a wonderful
new bell that caught her eye.  Jingle, jingle.

Ken and Chipper played Christmas music
as members gathered and filled their plates.

Sandi led us through an abbreviated agenda,
settled several administrative matters, shared
information, and reminded all to turn in their
volunteer hours.  Raffle items and door prizes
were handed out to some delighted winners.


Here's a sample of her classy prizes!

With business behind us, it was time for
the big treat of the day: a wonderful time of
Christmas keyboard music by Moore County
maestro Paul Murphy.

Paul's music ranged over the entire spectrum
of holiday favorites, from light-hearted to
dream-like to inspirational.

His music drew in several school employees
from their offices for a much-needed break.
A special moment was when Anita Alpenfels
and Paul blended for an impromptu duet.

A brief video of their performance may be
available on Facebook.  Search Ken Loyd.

The meeting adjourned for the holidays with
everyone's spirits lifted and ready for what
would surely be a happy and busy Christmas.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Retired Teachers Will Gather for Christmas Celebration

Moore County's Retired School Personnel
will be gathering for the last meeting of 2014 and
a Christmas celebration at the Central Office
Board Room on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 10:00 a.m.


There will be a few business items of
importance presented by President
Sandi Keyser. Volunteer hour sheets
may be turned in at this meeting or 
mailed in by early January.  

And YES, there will be music.  Ken Loyd
will play holiday tunes as we gather and
Dr. Paul Murphy will provide entertainment
during the social time following the brief meeting.

At Thanksgiving, I know all of us retired
teachers are glad we'll have more than a
two week break at Christmas.  But this
poem by one teacher may make you smile
as it conjures up holiday memories.

Hope to see many of you at the
December 3 meeting!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Friday, October 10, 2014

A Grand Kickoff

The first 2014-2015 meeting of Moore County Retired School Personnel was held Wednesday, October 8 at the Moore County Schools Board Room.

President Sandi Keyser introduced Superintendent Dr. Robert "Bob" Grimesey, who has been at the helm of Moore County Schools since July 1.  Dr. Grimesey spent the first portion of our meeting seeking to capsulize his vision.  He said that we need to strike a balance between the federal and state "fetish" of testing and the creativity and autonomy that are needed in every classroom.



He had this group of retirees hooked when, by chance, he referenced Dr. Madeline Hunter, who had a powerful influence over most Moore County teachers in the late 1970's to early 1980's.  No doubt, her influence lives on.



He spoke of the celebration in three area staff convocations in a manner akin to revival.  He found a sympathetic audience as he spoke passionately of a desire to recapture or recreate a sense of family in our school system.  Having served 31 years in Virginia, Dr. Grimesey assured us he still "some ammunition in his chamber" and intends to finish his career here.  After hearing a taste of his wisdom and enthusiasm, we are hoping his stay will be a long one.



In the business portion of our meeting that followed, Sandi had to keep up a quick pace to cover our agenda.  We had the usual reports, a memorial service for Brownie Parish, and set up school liaisons for information sharing. We accepted delegates for our March State Convention, went over community participation survey and report sheets, and passed out an array of helpful NCRSP documents.  These included, in part, our mission and purpose statement, new regional maps, lists of our local officers and committee chairs, and our Moore County calendar.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, December 3, at 10:00 in the Moore County Schools Board Room.  The program will include Christmas safety and a Christmas party with entertainment.  Members are reminded to pass the word to other retirees who may wish to join our "merry band."

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Moore County RSP: October Meeting Kicks Off Realignment as Region 6A




On Wednesday, October 8, 2014, Moore County Retired School Personnel will conduct our first meeting of this school year.  We will meet at 10:00 a.m. in the Moore County Schools board room.

Due to realignment , we are no longer District 8.  We are now Region 6A, along with Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Richmond, Robeson, and Scotland Counties.  Our President and former District 8 President Sandi Keyser will serve as a Co-Director for Region 6, along with Rosalyn Sampson, former District 10 President.

Sandi Keyser reports that the changes have been very successful on the Regional and State Levels, and that she and other leaders are looking forward to meeting new challenges in our local unit.

Other meetings this year will be as follows:
December 3, 2014
February 11, 2015
April 8, 2015

Make plans now to attend all of these meetings.




Monday, May 26, 2014

Big Changes Underway for NCRSP: Called June Meeting announced



Moore County NCRSP President Sandi Keyser has announced a special called meeting of our local unit for 10:00 a.m. on June 23.  The location will be the MCS Board Room at the Administration Building.

The purpose of the meeting will be to elect officers for the coming year, rather than waiting for the first meeting of the 2014-2015 year.  This will aid in the transition that NCRSP locals are  undergoing statewide which will reformulate current districts into new regions.  Many large regions, including Moore County's, will be split into two sub-regions.  Both Cumberland and Robeson Counties will be aligned with us in the new structure.

Please make every effort to attend this special meeting, both for the election and to hear important updates from President Keyser.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Spring Meetings Yield an Abundance of Information

Here is a brief report on both our final
local meeting of the 2013-2014 year and the
 District 8 meeting which followed soon after.
President Sandi Keyser welcomes us to the meeting
at Table on the Green.

State NCRSP President John Hoffman is our honored
guest today.

President Hoffman reviews our over-arching goals
of increasing membership and ensuring benefits.
He discussed our legislative agenda, including supporting
active teachers in the "Decline to Sign" effort and
other moves to protect and strengthen the teaching
profession in North Carolina.


Vivian Kelly led a moving memorial for several
long-time educators in Moore County, notably
Philip McMillan and Robert E. Lee.

Other highlights were the announcement that we
had once again achieved Gold Star status for our
district portfolio and that Celine Bullock of Union Pines
High School will receive this year's scholarship.
Even better, by the end of the district meeting, we had
surpassed our goal for the $750 scholarship.
District 8 Meeting
Leaders from throughout District 8 gather at West
End Methodist Church for annual meeting and
legislative update.

Gene Griffith, our legislative chair welcomes us
and introduces our guests from the legislature.

Rep. Pat Hurley states that she hopes to make amends
for some damage done to educators during the last
budget session.  She said that many things were part
of the budget that were never submitted as a bill, and
thus no input from most legislators was sought.

Members listen intently, as we are concerned not only
for retiree benefits, but for the health and survival of
the teaching profession that we hold so dear.

Rep. Ken Goodman of Richmond County is married
to a school superintendent, and is aware of some unwise
legislation that passed last year.  While acknowledging
budget constraints, he is hopeful some changes will be
made during the short session, which begins May 15.
One of our members, in an incisive observation, suggested
that the best thing the legislature could do would be to
repeal everything they did last year!

In other news, both Randolph and Moore County
units earned the coveted Gold Star award at state
convention.  If Moore County wins it for a third
year we will achieve Platinum status.

District President Sandi Keyser guided us through
a full agenda, next introducing state vice-president
Terry Mitchell. 


Terry explained in detail the reasons NCRSP must
convert from districts to regions beginning July 1, 2014.
For Moore County, this means a realignment including
counties all the way to New Hanover.  There is a
possibility that our new Region 6 will be split into A and B.

Joan Bass, our state Legislative Report Chair
reviewed  several pertinent items and reminded us
of the varied ways we can participate in electing
friends of education.

Pam Deardorf, our legislative lobbyist, spoke
passionately about the critical state of things in
the legislature and the need for grassroots input.

We all left our meeting feeling a sense of
urgency in our role as advocates for the 
profession we love, and better equipped to
play and active role in the important days ahead.

Monday, April 7, 2014

April Meetings for Local and District NCRSP



Dates to Remember for Moore County NCRSP:

Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Moore County's Local Unit Meeting at 11:00 at the Table on the Green Restaurant, Midland Country Club on Midland Road, Pinehurst.
This is our meeting and social gathering for the year.  We will have our meeting, order lunch from a special menu, hold a Raffle for the Scholarship Fund, have Door Prizes, and tentatively, our speaker will be our State President, John Hoffman.  Let's have a good turnout to support the restaurant and our speaker.

Monday, April 14, 2014
District 8 Members Annual Meeting.  This meeting will be a Legislative Round Table.
The meeting will be at West End United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall on Highway # 73 East, West End.  All legislators of each county unit in District 8 are invited as well as our lobbyists, Pam Dearforf and Lacy Presnell, and State Vice President, Terry Mitchell.  Please invite friends and neighbors to make this meeting a success.  Please come prepared to ask questions and share our concerns with our legislators. 
Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and the meeting will be from 10 until noon.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Moore's Retired Educators Get Some Healthy Tips

After a week's delay due to the big snowstorm
of 2014, our retired educators were eager to get
out and share some time together.  Our guest
speaker today was Karen Pilson of Nature's Own
health food store.  Her theme was how to eat
healthy, and she had a wealth of information for us.

Karen talked about paying attention to what we
eat and learning all we can about what foods and
ingredients are helpful or problematic.  She discussed
anti-inflammatory and gluten-free choices.  She told
several personal experiences from her teen years to
the present and how much she has learned during
this journey.  Karen encouraged us to eat seasonal
foods that are grown locally-- "the foods God gave us."
There are lots of things about Nature's Own to appeal
to us: all kinds of supplements and ingredients, a
wonderful juice bar, the acclaimed 195 restaurant,
Kitchen Sink Muffins, and the newest attraction, an
outdoor venue which often features live music.


President Sandi Keyser steadily worked
through a full agenda.  We welcomed new
member Cheryl Luc, who has had an interesting
teaching career abroad, and offers much to our group.
We confirmed delegates to the state convention.
It was agreed to postpone our Memorial Service
for seven dearly departed members of our unit
until the April meeting.
Sandi reported that our unit has once again
achieved the Gold Level.  We logged over 2,000
hours of volunteering both in education and other
community opportunities.
Our scholarship this year will be presented to an
eligible and deserving graduate of Pinecrest.
We collected donations for Backpack Pals and Sandi
said we may mail her a check to the American Red
Cross if we would like to assist with Typhoon Haiyan
Relief.  Ken Loyd shared a column he has written
expressing concern about the effect of legislative 
decisions on students, teachers, and public education.
Members encouraged him to share it with various
media outlets.


Sandi reminded us that our final local meeting
will be a social and luncheon at Table on the
Green, beginning at 11:00 on Tuesday, April 8.
Our scheduled speaker is State NCRSP President 
John Hoffman.
The following Monday, April 14, our annual
District Meeting will be held at West End
Methodist Church.  Registration will begin at
9:30 with the meeting from 10 to noon.
We expect our legislative lobbyists as well as
some area legislators to be present.

After our much awaited drawings for the scholarship
raffle and Sandi's door prizes, we adjourned to await
the spring that is surely coming.


Monday, February 3, 2014

Moore County NCRSP Winter Meeting postponed until February 17

Moore County's chapter of NCRSP will be meeting in the Moore County Schools boardroom at 10:00 on Monday, February 17, 2014. 
 This is a postponement of 
the meeting that was scheduled for the 11th,
 due to expected inclement weather.

We are all eager to see what's going on among our membership as we embark on this new year.  By Monday we should have made it through our second bout of winter weather, and in hopes of milder temperatures.

Our special program will be presented by Karen from 
Nature's Own in Southern Pines.
Karen will share with us about eating healthy and wisely.

Nature's Own

Aside from our own business, we are all aware of the difficult times for both educators and public education in North Carolina at this time.  
Plan now to attend, and perhaps invite a retired educator friend.