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.

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.

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.

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.

Yes, it's that time again.  Back to School

for kids means time for Moore County's

Retired Educators to gather once again.

Ken and Chipper are there to provide

music as members gather and converse.

President Sandi Keyser has worked long

hours this summer to prepare for another

full agenda.  She has a wonderful program

planned for us and much information to share.

Sandi goes over some FYI matters as members

sign in and settle in for our meeting.

Our guest speaker was Detective Don

Shingleton of the Moore County Sheriff's

Department.  His topic was "Protecting

Yourself from Property Theft and

Identity Theft."

Detective Shingleton's presentation was most

interesting and revealing.

He reviewed home security concerns and

gave many practical tips that made us all feel

 a little better prepared by the end of his talk.

During our business session Sandi had a

lengthy agenda.  Here are a few highlights:

• Moore County's NCAE President, Debbie Kelly reminds us to "Wear Red for Ed"
• Moral Monday would meet at the Southern Pines Park on September 9 to hear Rev. William Barber and other speakers detail the challenges presented by recent legislative actions.
• Sandi reviewed local unit goals and went over legislative and health plan changes that affect us as retirees.
• We were awarded  money for our Goldstar notebook for the past year.  (Many thanks to Sandi and all who labored to help her assemble this)

 As is customary, the meeting ended with 

drawings for our scholarship raffle and 

Sandi's always-fun door prizes.

And we're just as excited as

 kids when our number is drawn!

Our next meeting will also be at

the Moore County Schools Board

Room on November 12, 2013 at

10:00 a.m.  Dr. Aaron Spence will

speak to us about the system's plans

for the year and School Bond issues.

Please invite a retired educator to attend

and join our "merry band."

Retired Teachers Gear Up for Fall

Moore County's Retired School Personnel will hold their first meeting Tuesday, September 3 at 10:00 at the Moore County Schools boardroom.  As retirees, the day after Labor Day is somewhat bittersweet for many retirees.  Though we are thankful to rest from our many years of labor, our hearts are still with the countless children and educators who are going through the familiar fall ritual of "Back to School."

For retirees, gathering with fellow educators is uplifting.  Fall is a great time to engage in activities like volunteering in a school, church, or local agency; advocating for those educators still on the front lines (Moral Monday, anyone?); or mentoring a young person or teacher (grandchildren and great grandchildren included).

President Sandi Keyser has an informative session planned for us as always.  And never have we needed to be more vigilant regarding our retirement benefits and health care.  So come join us.  A followup blog will be posted shortly after our meeting.

District 8 Meeting and April Meeting Highlights

Officers and interested members of District 8

of NCRSP held their annual spring meeting at

West End Methodist Church.  Sandi Keyser, who

made all the arrangements gave us a hearty welcome.

Gene Griffith, our Legislative Chair, introduced

N.C. Representative Deb McManess.  Her credentials

as a 10 year Board of Education member from Siler

City speak well for her.  It's no surprise she is a strong

advocate for teachers: she is the granddaughter,

daughter, and mother of teachers.

Rep. McManess is on the same wave length

as educators.  She recognized that our number

one goal in school remains to make students

lifelong learners.  Nothing less will prepare

citizens for a constantly changing economic

and social landscape in America.

Some of her key points:

• Teacher salaries cannot remain at 48th in the nation.  She had recently spoken with a teacher who was now earning the same salary as 17 years ago (this followed recent freezes, furloughs, and loss of bonuses).
• The inequities of merit pay will lead to morale issues.  She cited the experience of her own daughter, whose system is piloting such a plan-- with discouraging results.
• The legislature itself is need of education regarding education issues and needs.  "They have no clue," she said.  

Pam Deardoff, NCRSP's lobbyist, followed with an equally

informative session, covering items that impact our retirement

system and the State Health Plan.  She urged us to be aware of

the real danger of losing our nationally acclaimed defined benefits plan.

The remainder of the meeting included a

memorial program, volunteer and Gold

Star recognition, officer nominations for

2013-2015, and of course, Sandi's world-

renowned gifts and door prizes!

*********

Just a few days later, Moore County's unit

of NCRSP held our spring social meeting at

the Table on the Green Restaurant.

Sandi Keyser welcomed our group, then

introduced our guest speaker, Dr. Lorna

Clack.  During her many years as an educator

she had been a teacher, principal, central

office supervisor, and board of education member.

In each of those roles, her advocacy for children

has always been paramount.  That advocacy extends

to schools and educators as well.

We all enjoyed Dr. Clack's anecdotes filled with

wit and wisdom in equal measure.  

She highlighted the amazing technological changes 

for the studentsof today by noting, 

"they won't know what 16 mm or 33 rpm mean."

Here are some things she said she learned after

 moving from the classroom to the central office:

• Not everyone who nods their head and says "yes" means it.
• 99.44% of teachers are doing a fine job.
• Talking to adults is harder than talking to children.
• You must build on success one step at a time.  Educational change is complex and can't be done all at once.
• Believe in people, trust them, and most of all-- be happy yourself-- it's an internal thing that is in your hands.

As she reviewed her own career, she tossed

out pearls of wisdom:

• Every teacher should have a good chair!
• Fundraisers have no place in schools.
• Treat everyone with integrity and respect-- they'll never forget it.
• Because everyone has been to school, everybody knows exactly how a school should be run!

Dr. Clack volunteers in school every week.  And just as important, she calls or writes a legislator every day.  We were delighted to hear her say that when we reconvene in the fall she will be joining our group.  She will even take responsibility for publicizing NCRSP meetings AND legislative issues in The Pilot.

Following Dr. Clack's remarks, there were still more highlights.  We received a very gracious letter of gratitude from one of our scholarship recipients.

Thomasina Murphy, our historian, shared our award-winning Gold Star scrapbook, which she, Sandi, and other members had spent untold hours compiling.

As we wrapped up our business for another year

and got ready to enjoy a fabulous meal, some of

Dr. Clack's words of inspiration were still on our

minds, and should spur us to redouble our efforts

of advocacy:

"Education is the most powerful weapon to change

the world, along with abiding faith in God."