Retired teachers attend district workshop

Nine retired teachers from the local Coryell Chapter of CRSP (Coryell Retired School Personnel) attended a District 12 Fall Leadership Conference in Waco on Tuesday, Sept. 20. District 12 also includes chapters from Bell, Bosque, Falls, Freestone, Hamilton, Hill, Killeen, Lampasas, Limestone, Mills, Navarro, Waco-McLennan counties, and the city of Copperas Cove.

This year’s theme was “TRTA: Our Team Never Quits!” It was perhaps inspired by a statement from Phil Jackson, former professional basketball player, coach and executive, who said, “The strength of the team is each individual member; the strength of each member is the team!”

Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) advocates for improved benefits for all retirees and promotes the well-being of all its members. District 12 goals for the coming year are (1) to increase district membership by 5% or by 175 members; (2) to increase volunteer hours by members from 187,433 to 200,000 hours; (3) to donate 8,000 books to children ages 12 and under; and (4) to continue/add scholarship programs from each local chapter.

The Coryell chapter currently has 87 members. Although they are grateful for having gained some new members, they have also lost some the last few years. They would like to encourage retirees to join them. They regularly submit around 30,000 or more volunteer hours to District 12 yearly and donate around 1,700 to 2,400 children’s books yearly. They also give scholarships each year to two seniors planning to enter the field of education in college.

Among the seven District 12 officers this year, two are from the local Coryell Chapter: Jo Ann Sugg, District 12 President, and Mary Bruton, District 12 Historian. Gail Johnson is one of the 14 county presidents serving in District 12, representing Coryell County. The district is also well-represented on the State TRTA level by Earl Wall (Mills County), serving as chairman of the Organization Affairs Committee; Alicia Smith (Freestone County), serving on the State Legislative Committee; Shirley Bond (Bell County), serving on the State Membership Committee; and Jo Ann Sugg (Coryell County), serving on the Foundation Information and Silent Auction Committee.

A TRS update was given by Don Green, TRS Chief Financial Officer; K.J. Van Ackerin, a member of the TRS Investment Team; Beth Hallmark and Lori La Brie, TRS Ombuds. The guest speaker was Tim Lee, Executive Director of TRTA, who explained and updated many legislative proposals and activities for members.

After a break for lunch, members returned for a short business meeting which included reports from officers and committee chairmen, followed by results from silent auctions and door prizes. The meeting was then adjourned.