Thursday, May 2, 2024
TRTA currently has more than 96,000 members statewide who continue to be involved in local public schools and in the well-being of their communities. These dedicated individuals have organized more than 240 local chapters throughout the state. In 2023, members of Gatesville’s local chapter (CRSP, or Coryell Retired School Personnel) have donated more than 83,968 volunteer hours. This number was up 14, 226 volunteer hours from the previous year’s total of 69,742 hours logged in for 2022.
Chairman of the Volunteer Service Committee, Debbie Grmela, explained that “many of our 108 members participated in this project of serving our community by volunteering at schools, hospitals, nursing homes, churches, public libraries, the Care Center, the Boys’ and Girls’ Club Resale Shop, museums, theaters, civic events, and various other sites.” The state Vice-President, Ella Gautier, explained, “These volunteer hours are equivalent to roughly $27 per hour in the private sector, which means that the Coryell County community has been saved roughly $2,267,136 because of the volunteer work of its retired school personnel.”
Top local volunteers included Lois Bartels, 4320 hours; Debbie Martin, 4320; Linda O’Brien, 4320; Nancy Ashcraft, 3965; Mary Anne Leib, 3365; Pat Aslin, 3265; Gary Kafer, 2525; Mary Kafer, 2525; Laura White, 2421; JoAnn Sugg, 2272; Barbara Considine, 1805; Sonja Tatro, 1805; Joy Cummings, 1565; Gail Johnson, 1565; Nancy Morgan, 1528; Jan Wynn, 1468; Marsha Lee, 1442; Corilea Dye, 1310; Fran Henshoher, 1142; and Yvonne Dutschmann, 1043.
“We are proud of our profession and even though we are retired, we still enjoy giving back to our community through volunteerism and we want to remain an active part of our community by serving on committees, boards, and councils that make policies and furnish services to local people,” said Gail Johnson, CRSP President.
District 12 President, JoAnn Sugg, added, “The Texas Retired Teachers Association promotes the community volunteer services program implemented by local units (like CRSP) throughout Texas. Statewide totals for 2023 are not yet available, but total hours donated across the state by retired school personnel in 2022 came to 4,929,301 hours, valued at around $133,091,127.”
