National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association

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1 National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association VFC Notes-Spring 2009 Serving Current, Former & Retired Federal Civilian Employees- Spouses and Survivor Annuities President Bill Martin 1 st Vice President Carolyn Wilson 2 nd Vice President William Shackelford Secretary Robert H. Miller Treasurer Darlene Myer Rhodes FEDERATION PRESIDENT S MESSAGE 2009 VFC Convention First, I want to thank the Convention Delegates for electing me to serve as your Federation President for I am honored. After the opening ceremony, where the colors were presented by the Georgetown University Army ROTC Color Guard, the Star Spangled Banner beautifully sang acappella by Darlene Myer-Rhodes, the VFC Treasurer followed by her leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, the convention was dedicated to R. David Smith, VFC President April 2007 August Dave s death April 9, 2009, was a loss not only to his wonderful family, but also to the NARFE family. As a follow up to the convention, it was decided to initiate an annual tribute to Dave Dave & Norma Smith and a committee is in the process of developing the guidelines. All of the particulars will be announced later this year and the first award will be made at the 2010 VFC Convention. Congratulations to the Convention Committee coordinated by Carolyn Wilson, VFC 1 st Vice President and Co Chaired by Kathy Arpa, Area X Vice President, and Shirley Keyes, VFC Alzheimer s chair. All of the committee chairs worked diligently and the convention, while having a glitch here and there, seemed to be enjoyed and appreciated by all. Our speakers included Congressman Gerry Connolly, 11 th Congressional District who also donated $1,500 for a reception; Mark Keen, Managing Director, Bennett Financial Advisors, author of the Managing Money column for NARFE Magazine; and Kathleen M. McGettigan, Deputy Associate Director, Center for Retirement & Insurance Services, Office of Personnel Management. We were also honored to have the Region X Vice President Paul Carew who gave an informative talk on Unified Dues. Elected Officers Carolyn Wilson was reelected VFC 1 st Vice President, Bill Shackelford, was elected 2 nd Vice President, Bob Miller reelected Secretary, and Darlene Myer- Rhodes reelected Treasurer. The VFC also has two new Area Vice Presidents, Leslie Ravenell Area VIII (chapter 595) and Pierce Johnson Area IX (chapter 1270). The outgoing Area Vice Presidents were Don Shiffert Area VIII and Bill VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 1 Masterson Area IX and I would like to thank both for there years of service to the VFC and NARFE. I also want to thank Dick Giangerelli the outgoing VFC 2 nd Vice President. In addition to being an outstanding 2 nd VP, Dick has done a masterful job as acting Alzheimer s Chair and has agreed to continue until Shirley Keyes returns from Australia. Unified Dues There was considerable discussion on Unified Dues led by Paul Carew, Region X Vice President. National has proposed the Unified Dues structure which they feel will be a major benefit in our retention efforts. If passed, the dues a new member pays when they join will be the same in all the following years. Now, 2 nd year dues are increased by whatever amount each chapter has as their chapter dues. If it passes, all chapters will receive $9 dues except for those members on Dues Withholding where the chapter will receive $8. The chapters will also continue to be assessed $2 annually for VFC dues, except that if it does pass, I will propose that the VFC dues be reduced by at least $1. The VFC now receives $ % funds and the $2 assessment or a total of $4.90 per chapter members paying chapter dues. There is no assessment for Honorary Members if they don t pay chapter dues. By reducing the assessment to $1, the VFC will end up with only an additional $0.10 per member. There are plusses and minuses to this proposal and each member and chapter should study the proposal in an objective manner where hopefully, all will come to some rational decision, either for or against the proposal. As I understand, the referendum will take place this coming September. Committee Chairs The VFC has four new Committee Chairs: Frank Szumilo who is replacing Charlie Delaplane as National Legislation Chair, Constance and John Bails replacing Sue and Jim Righter as Co-Service Officers, Don Shiffert replacing Betty Warren as Constitution and Bylaws Committee Chair, and Janet Payne-Swann who was elected Nominating Committee Chair replacing Shirley Atkins who held that very important job for the last two conventions. My thanks go to those outgoing chairs for their unselfish dedication to the federation and to the wonderful folks who have agreed to take on the functions for the coming year. We must also say good bye and many thanks to

2 Deaver Carr of Chapter 180 who has been the VFC Chaplain under three or more VFC administrations. He will be missed, but is being replaced by Margaret Yowell, a member of Chapter 893. Finally, our thanks to Wilton Ward who assisted Dick Giangerelli and the VFC by working hard once again for the VFC Alzheimer s effort and the convention s Silent Auction supporting Alzheimer s research. He Silent Auction and the effort raised more than $2,050 for Alzheimer s Research. Thru everyone s efforts, last calendar year was very successful for the VFC. The Annual Report showed over $66,000 was raised last calendar year. Congratulations to all the chapters and members for their continuing support for this worthy cause. Future Plans The VFC is in the process of considering several training opportunities for First, we are working on having three for four training sessions this summer dedicated strictly to membership recruitment and retention. Committees have been formed for each. Then, early next year, the VFC is planning for three or four offerings of officer training. We will be keeping everyone apprised of our plans. William F. {Bill} Martin, VFC President VFC First Vice Presidents Report FIRST The 2009 VFC Convention in Reston, VA is now history. There were over 250 NARFE members and guests in attendance. Except for a couple of bumps, I feel that the convention was a success and everyone that attended went away with something to remember. I want to thank again all of the Chapter members in Areas IX and X that worked so hard to make the convention a success. As a result of the Convention, there are two new Area VP s that I will be working with, plus a new 2 nd VP. I look forward to working with Bill Martin, President of the VFC, and Bill Shackelford, the new 2 nd VP. The two new Area VP s are: In Area VIII, Leslie Ravenell, from the Colonial Beach Chapter and Area IX, Pierce Johnson, from the Woodbridge Chapter. As stated in previous editions of the VFC Notes, the lst VP works closely with the Area VP s in solving any problems that may arise in their areas. During the past few months, things have been running smoothly. The biggest challenge has been to get correct information to HQS, NARFE regarding the Chapter s web page and the 111 reports. Something else that we are working on is the NARFE Rapid Response Program. Dick Edwards has returned as the VFC E- mail Coordinator and he is working very hard to get correct e- mail addresses for all VFC members furnished to HQS NARFE. In this time of uncertainness with what the President of the United States and Congress is going to do regarding the future of the Federal employee, both active and retired, correct s are essential to make you aware of votes that will be coming up that impact on you as a Federal employee. Please if you haven t given your correct address to Dick, do so as soon as possible by sending it to dick@vanarfe.org or vanarfe@aol.com. Please look for Dick s article in this newsletter. I always enjoy attending Chapter or Area meetings. In April I attended the Area VIII meeting in Fredericksburg. It was a very successful meeting with lots of questions and answers. The big item on every one s mind is unified dues. Each chapter VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 2 must understand this referendum and decide how your Chapter will vote later this year. In April, Dick Gingerelli, Bob Miller (VFC Secretary), and I responded to a request from Kaiser Permanente to have a booth at the US Patent Office Health Fair in Alexandria. We passed out a lot of information and talked with a lot of current Federal employees. Our biggest satisfaction out of this was the members of NARFE that came by and gave us a thumbs up and telling us to keep up the good work! Hopefully, we will get some new members because a lot of interest was shown.barbara Nugent, Preretirement Seminar Coordinator, her husband, Dennis, and members from the Midlothian and South of the James Chapters had an exhibition table at the Chesterfield TRIAD Senior Day. Jack McMurchy, Area III VP, Barbara and Dennis and members of Petersburg Chapter will have a table at the Petersburg TRIAD Senior Day mid-may. I have coordinated both of these Senior Days and appreciate the help of everyone who is or has participated. This is a great way to get the NARFE name out. Each Chapter should see if there is a TRIAD event happening in your area and participate! Of course, I have to mention attending the Celebration of Life for Dave Smith. It was a beautiful service. I will miss him very much, he was my mentor. Now it is time to get started on the 2010 Convention which will be held in Virginia Beach, VA, April 25-28, The first committee meeting is going to be held June 3 rd. Mark your calendar, this will be special! CAROLYN WILSON, VFC 1 st VP VFC Second Vice Presidents Report First, I want to express my thanks to Jack McMurchy for the nomination, Gaston Gianni for the second and to all who voted me to the position of VFC 2nd VP at our recent 2009 VFC Convention. I appreciate the honor and hope to serve all VFC / NARFE members in an exceptional manner. The duties of the 2nd Vice-President are to provide oversight to six VFC committees; Alzheimer s, Membership, Public Relations, Service, National Legislation and State Legislation. As most of you know there have been some changes to the Chair positions for four of these committees. Shirley Keyes has been asked to switch over and chair the Alzheimer's Committee. Dennis Martin from Springfield Chapter 893 has been re-appointed to serve as the VFC Membership Chair. Everyone is aware of the tremendous job that Sue and Jim Righter have done as the Service Committee Co-Chairmen. Unfortunately, the VFC will not continue to have the benefit of their services in the future. The new Co-Chairmen, Connie and John Bails, bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the committee and will continue the legacy that Sue and Jim created to insure that members, families and survivors have all the information necessary to obtain/retain their annuities, health and life insurance benefits as well as to advise next of kin concerning survivor benefits. For a number of years, National Legislation Committee has been led by Charles Delaplane. Unfortunately, Charlie has elected to step down. The new Chairman will be Frank Szumilo, who also serves

3 as President of Falls Church Chapter 401. I want to reassure ou that the focus of this committee and its service to VFC members will not change. Lucky for the VFC (and me), Pat Taylor and Bill Schmidt will continue as the Chairs of the Public Relations and State Legislation Committees, respectively. I look forward to working with each of these Program Chairs (new and veteran) during the next year. Each of these Chairmen have prepared the reports, which follow, relative to their specific responsibilities and activities. In addition, with the activities of all of these committees as well as NARFE and the VFC, I hope to instill an attitude that we have got to be creative and innovative, "think outside the box" and stop saying "but we have never done that before". I have asked Richard Dick Giangerelli to continue as the VFC representative on the Northern Virginia Aging Network (NVAN). This group includes representatives of all of the Northern Virginia County governments and many senior organizations in Northern Virginia. Continuing with Dick s previous efforts, the VFC is working closely with this group to have a stronger voice on issues relative to seniors before the Commonwealth of Virginia Legislature. For the recent convention, I enjoyed working on both the Advertising/Sales and Program Book Committees and thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with other Committee members and the current Executive Board. I hope that we made the 2009 NARFE VFC Convention both useful and a memorable experience! In addition to the position of 2nd VP, I will continue to serve as the President of the NARFE Fairfax Chapter 737. William Shackelford, 2 nd Vice President NATIONAL LEGISLATION REPORT For my final VFC Notes submission, I think I should start by noting that Virginia did somewhat poorly in terms of NARFE-PAC contributions during the 110 th Congress. And we ve started even worse for the 111 th. State-wide, during the January - March 2009 quarter Virginians contributed $4,448, compared to $6,536 in the same quarter of This year there were 116 contributions in the first quarter, versus 181 contributions in the same quarter of I do hope Area Vice Presidents and Chapter officers will remind members of NARFE-PAC in Chapter meetings. Judy Park used to call NARFE-PAC the federal retirees defense fund, and that is an apt description. It helps us, both by bringing Congressional attention to our current issues, and reminding our House and Senate members how federal employees who served their country depend on federal retirement benefits to live. We all need to support NARFE-PAC, and I hope the generosity of Virginians will produce excellent results in this 111 th Congress. Otherwise, new bills have expanded the measures now in Congress which relate to NARFE s Legislative Program. Bills to repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision have been introduced in both houses, although we have yet to see reform bills for either of those measures. Given the expense of repeal, currently estimated at about $80 billion over 10 years, less-expensive reform measures would seem to have the better chance. Premium Conversion bills have also been introduced in both houses, but neither Premium Conversion nor GPO/WEP repeal have co-sponsorship by Virginia s full Congressional delegation. Both Senators support Premium Conversion VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 3 Senator Webb introduced it, and Senator Warner was an original co-sponsor - but neither Senator has signed on to GPO/WEP repeal. In the House, GPO/WEP repeal still lacks sponsorship from Reps. Scott, Perriello, Goodlatte, and Cantor, and Premium Conversion still needs sponsorship from Reps. Nye, Scott, Perriello, Cantor, and Boucher. Reps. Nye and Perriello are new to the delegation, but Scott (D-3 rd ), Goodlatte (R-6 th ), Boucher (D-9 th ), and Cantor (R-6 th ) all co-sponsored both measures in the last Congress. I hope NARFE members in those districts will e- mail or write them to ask that they cosponsor our bills once again. The GPO/WEP repeal bills are H.R. 235 and S. 484, sponsored by Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-CA) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) respectively; the House Premium Conversion bill is H.R. 1203, sponsored by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Otherwise, a current bill, H.R it has passed the House and is under consideration in the Senate - would improve aspects of retirement for current federal employees. The bill would add a Roth IRA component to the TSP and make enrollment in the TSP the default option on employment. That is, new employees would have to opt out if they don t want TSP enrollment, rather than opt in, as current rules require. The bill would also allow FERS employees sick leave credit toward retirement on the same basis that CSRS employees have known, and allow FERS employees who leave the Government for a time, and withdraw retirement contributions, to recapture service credit toward retirement on reemployment and repayment of contributions. Charles Delaplane STATE LEGISLATION REPORT Your State Legislation Team is back for one more year. Both Carroll and I will be continuing; with myself as State Legislation Chair, and Carroll Graham as State Legislation Representative. Our efforts in 2009 have met with some success in the General Assembly even during a year when cutting budgets was necessary. Now we will focus on the future. To a certain extent the future is now. By mid June the political parties will have selected their candidates for the Governor, the Lt Governor, the Attorney General and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates. Every candidate will want to get your vote; this is your best opportunity to have an influence on state policy for the future. Legislation while drafted in December is conceived during the summer and especially during election campaigns. This is a great opportunity to participate in a campaign. You will have the most influence if your representative knows you personally. At the Delegate level candidates are much closer to worker bees. All campaigns have an acute shortage of two things; volunteers and funds. While the best way for NARFE VFC members to influence the political process is to get out and work in a campaign, the next best thing is to make cash donations either to individual candidates or through the VFC Political fund. Our VFC fund is underfunded, and will provide little to work with during the fall election cycle. Please encourage your chapter members to participate. A political donation will not buy a members

4 support for specific issues, but it will permit the donor to be remembered, and to have an opportunity to make the case for an issue, and the additional funds will permit NARFE friends to get their message out more effectively. There are over 7million citizens in the Commonwealth, we have about 20,000 members in the Virginia chapters. We need to make up the difference in enthusiasm and with targeted donations to supportive candidates. Your chapter member s efforts are needed. You will make a difference. The VFC Political Fund donation forms can be found on the VFC web site, or by contacting either Carroll or I. We can expect many of the same issues in the 2010 session as were considered in the 2009 session. The budget will be tight, because the revenues from personal income taxes will be down. It remains to be seen just how fast the economic recovery will take place, but all signs point to a weak employment picture for another 12 months. There will be those who see a decrease in revenue as a reason for a tax increase to preserve the state services. Our challenge will be to preserve the existing senior s tax deduction from further erosion. Certainly the issue of ease of voting will be a concern. Either early voting or unrestricted absentee voting will be issues to reappear in the General Assembly. With the reduction in assessments for Real estate the surging cost of real estate taxes has slowed, as has the drive to curtail them. As real estate values stabilize and recover this issue will return. Considerations will be made to find an additional source of funding for localities to remove the annual painful budget process. It remains to be seen just how open and transparent the State budget process will be. Virginia will not be immune from the attempts around the nation to use the 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution to reserve more autonomy to the state. Two constitutional amendments were passed this last session and must be passed again during the 2010 session before being subject to ratification by the voters during the 2010 general election. Both amendments provide for property tax exemptions; one for disabled veterans, and the other for elderly and disabled citizens. Please feel free to contact either of us for assistance with state legislation issues. Bill Schmidt, State Legislative Chair MEMBERSHIP REPORT My thanks to Shirley Keyes for stepping into the breach and taking over the VFC Membership Chair while I took a sabbatical. Her efforts are appreciated and I look forward to working with her in her new role as Alzheimer s Chair. At the VFC Convention, I lead a Membership Meeting attended by Chapter Membership Chairs from around the Commonwealth. Unlike other years, where I had an agenda, I opened this year s meeting up to roundtable discussion of issues by those in attendance. This was a particularly useful venue as the NARFE Vice President, Joe Beaudoin, was in attendance and could hear and address the concerns of the members. Overall I considered it one of the more successful VFC Conference Membership meetings I have chaired. Some specific issues identified were: 1. All agreed that retention was the biggest issue facing Membership Chairmen. VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 4 2. Difficulty in tracking members when they move to another chapter area. a. Need to be notified when a member has moved into a Chapter s area of responsibility. b. Need easier access to where Chapters are located/assigned Zip Codes so that Membership Chairs can notify Chapters of a member s move. 3. Need actions directed at younger Federal employees. a. Such special meetings as Happy Hours. b. Articles on healthy living, etc., for active employees. 4. Continue to have difficulties with National membership database. It needs to be redesigned. 5. National needs to get a software license for Chapter Newsletter publication. 6. Need a location on VANARFE Web site for exchanging ideas, problems, etc. 7. Chapters need to think about communicating with members. With respect to membership numbers, the VFC membership for this year, although slightly down, the losses are showing signs of moderating. Sounds like Mr. Bernanke doesn t it? Additional signs of encouragement are the number of members with dues withholding continues to increase, and, more significantly, the number of reinstatements is running 50% ahead of this time last year. It looks like the hard work of the members is paying off and maybe we re seeing one or two green shoots? Dennis Martin, Membership Chair PUBLIC RELATIONS REPORT Now that I m starting my third term as your VFC PR Chair my learning curve is leveling out, but there s always more to learn and certainly more to share with you. With tightening budgets everywhere, VFC is certainly no different so remember that there may be matching funds available for some of your projects (i.e. advertising special meetings and events which serve as membership recruitment opportunities). Go to the VFC website ( to find detailed instructions on how to file for these funds. Also on the VFC site you ll find chapter newsletters that have been posted. These newsletters may provide new ideas for programs, projects, or they can be terrific examples of just what a chapter newsletter can provide. You ll also find Area III s newsletter which contains input from all the chapters in their area. By combining input from all the chapters into one newsletter, there is a significant savings which is especially important for smaller chapters with limited funds. If you have questions on the matching funds procedure, please contact me at mspat1942@aol.com or President Bill Martin at narfe2065@hughes.net. Another quick reminder is that if your chapter or area is interested in ordering handouts (i.e. letter openers, notepads, bags, etc.) please let me know so that we might place an order for several chapters. Buying in volume is definitely beneficial since we can get a better price per unit. With the assistance of our webmasters, Stan Palen and Sid Sachs, we re still trying to update the information on each chapter s link on the VFC webpage. Please verify

5 that someone in your chapter is authorized to perform this task regularly. When a potential member goes to your site, you definitely want the contact information to be correct! We are also working on getting more members to submit their addresses under our Rapid Response Team project. Dick Edwards, Net Coordinator, has stepped up to tackle this task and can be contacted at dick@vanarfe.org if you need more information. And remember, keep your mailing address AND your address up to date!! If you don t, you may miss some very important messages from the VFC and/or NARFE Headquarters. Dennis Martin has returned as VFC Membership Chair, and he and I have been discussing ways not only to recruit new members but to RETAIN members. Hopefully we ll come up with some new and successful ideas to achieve this goal. I m also working on more ways to get the NARFE/VFC name out to folks! This isn t an easy task so I m trying to be innovative! One of the ideas being considered for recruitment is making a video featuring Marie Collins, who is the number one recruiter in Virginia and the number four recruited in the nation. Marie, Membership Chair for Chapter 682, Peninsula, has the knack of convincing potential members to JOIN!! I d like to make a video which displays Marie s approach to recruiting that can be used as a training tool for all membership chairs actually for all of us to use as a guide when talking to perspective members. I hope to have more information on this project available in a few weeks. The 2009 convention was a terrific opportunity to meet members from the entire state and to exchange ideas. Now it s time to start working on the 2010 convention which will be held in Virginia Beach next spring. Mark your calendars early so you can plan to join other members in a beautiful hotel/conference venue right on the beach! Every suite will have a view of the water! I d like to close by giving you one question to ask potential members: Where can you get a lobbyist to work for you for under $50 per year?? Join NARFE and find out!!!!! Pat Taylor, PR Chair mspat1942@aol.com anyone that needs it. When information that is there needs to be made public, I can move it easily. Our web host has very reasonable rates and is based in the US. I have a logo for the company near the bottom of the links on the left. If you know anyone that would like a reasonable web page, please tell them to click on that link to investigate the costs and sign up for a web page. The VFC gets a nice rebate for each web site that is signed up this way. They provide plenty of on line help to set up your page. You do not need to be a member to sign up for a site. Stan Palen, stan@vanarfe.org AREA I REPORT During this reporting period, Area I was pretty quiet. I attended the VFC 2009 Convention in Reston Virginia, 1-3 May 2009 and was reelected Area Vice President during the Area I caucus. I hope I have been a good supporter of the area l chapters and that I can continue to be an advocate for them. In March, Chapter 682 held a night meeting at a local retirement community to try to entice active employees to attend and participate in NARFE. They had eight active employees attend and two that joined (one for three years!). In April, I presented the Distinguished Service Award from NARFE to Charles Jones, Chapter 682 s Service Officer for many years. Charlie was not able to attend the Chapter s Holiday luncheon last December, when Joe Beaudoin, NARFE Vice President, was scheduled to make the presentation. Bill Martin, our illustrious Federation President, visited both Chapter 685 (Williamsburg) and chapter 682 (Peninsula) in May. Both chapters were delighted to have him participate in their chapter meetings and truly appreciated his report on the May convention. The number of non-renewals in all chapters seems to be slowing down which is welcome news. Sharon H. Rose, sharonhrose@hotmail.com THE VFC WEB PAGE The address for the VFC web page is It is regularly updated. You should check it out and let your members know of this valuable asset. If you find errors, please let me know at stan@vanarfe.org. If you see items that should be added to the web page, me with the information or topic. Each chapter has it s own web page. You can reach your chapter s web page by going to the VFC web page, on links on the left side, click on chapters, click on your chapter number, zip code, or your area. We have lots of space to expand your chapter s page. We have room for pictures, current events etc. The direct link to your chapter is Just substitute you re your chapter number. Quite a few chapters have their newsletters on the web site. The chapter number shows up on the left for about a month after it is up. For a week or so after the newsletter is first posted, New shows up in red next to the chapter number. Two areas also have newsletters. Some folks have asked for a member exchange area. I have it set up. Files or web pages can be stored there. The area is protected by a user name and password that I can supply to VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 5 AREA II REPORT We are grateful and happy to see the good turn-out of our members at chapter meetings. Most chapters are in the process of rewriting their Chapter By-laws. Area II members were well represented at the 2009 VFC Convention. The members are excited and have started planning for the 2010 VFC Convention at the Virginia Beach Resort and Conference Center in Virginia Beach. The chapters have good programs and luncheon meetings. Chapter 66 is planning an evening meeting to accommodate working employees. They participated in a lunch and learn meeting at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Local Union Meeting. At this meeting, NARFE played a major role in defining the benefit of programs that NARFE protects and promotes. NARFE brochures and membership applications were distributed. The Union members were receptive. This was the first time many in attendance had heard of NARFE. NARFE has long been considered as one of the best kept secrets in the federal establishment. We must do a better job in recruitment. The members are trying

6 to do a better job in spreading the word to those potential members who are apt to respond to your inquiry about joining with, NARFE. The White Paper on Referendum on NARFE Dues has generated a cadre of member interest throughout the chapters. The members are split about fifty-fifty pro/con. All are awaiting more information on this issue. The Newsletter is being reworked to include more substance information instead of a bulletin type Newsletter. During my chapter visits, the members expressed a positive response to this change. We will be soliciting members to keep their addresses current specifically the address to support legislative Rapid Response request. The chapters will soon be dark and there will be no business during the months of July and August. Betty Warren Area II VP AREA III REPORT The chapters of Area 3 include 28 Petersburg, 60 Richmond, South of the James, 1472 Colonial Heights, 1510 Imperial Plaza, 1727 Tuckahoe, and 2265 Midlothian. Membership dropped slightly overall, with modest gains in the Chs 1727 and 2265, no change in 28, and the largest losses in 60 and 1510 (primarily due to deaths). Reinstatement of dropped members has increased. Several chapters combined to recruit at area TRIAD meetings. Members of the 2265,1510 and 1472 chapters handed out NARFE materials to about 30 individuals attending the Chesterfield TRIAD May 6 th and plans were underway for Ch 28 and 1472 members to hand out materials at the Petersburg TRIAD, May 21 st. Attendance of area delegates was lower at the VFC Convention (May 1 st -3 rd ). Still all chapters had delegates attending (except Chs 28 and 1727 whose members who were represented by proxies and the two Delegates at Large from the area). Carolyn Wilson (Ch 1472) was elected VFC 1 st vice president (VP) and in the Area 3 caucus, I was reelected Area VP, Barbara Nugent (Ch 1472) was elected to her first term on the VFC Nominating Committee and Marv Hecker (Ch 2265) was elected as the Alternate. Our thanks go to Jim Bradley (Ch 2265) who served on the Nominating Committee for 2 years. Barbara Nugent was also reappointed VFC Pre-Retirement Coordinator and the Congressional District Liaison for Congressman Randy Forbes. Barry Corson (Ch 2265) was appointed Congressional District Liaison for Congressman Eric Cantor, and Carroll Graham (Ch 1727) continues as the VFC State Legislative Representative. I also continued on the VFC Constitution & Bylaws Committee for my third and final year. (Carolyn Wilson and I both attended the board meetings held before the start and after the adjournment of VFC Convention ). After the convention, I reappointed all the Area 3 coordinators. They include Larry Garelick Public Relations/Area newsletter (Ch 60), Bettye Thornton Membership (Ch 1510), Carroll Graham State Legislation (Ch 1727), and James Bradley Service r, Barry Corson Nat l Legislation, and Marv Hecker Alzheimer s (all from Ch 2265) The first Area Council of Chapter meeting will be held in July the week after the VFC Board Meeting. Area chapter members continue giving generously to Alzheimer s research. Both Chs 28 and 1472 conducted highly successful auctions, and Ch 1510 is busily preparing for their July VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 6 Trading Post during which they sell baked items and specialty goods for Alzheimer s. Other chapters are planning various fund raising events. It is yet known how much money has been received for Alzheimer s research in memory of the late VFC past president, Dave Smith; but it is expected to be a considerable amount. The varied program speakers included Tracey Means of Clearpoint Financial Solutions discussing elements of credit counseling (Ch 28), a song, dance and yodeling performance by Blair Carter (Ch 60), Rev. Maude Pittman describing things to know about reverse mortgages (Ch 1137), Randy Green, (AAA) on driving skills for seniors and Sarah Boyd, Ukrops, on living a longer and healthier life (Ch 1472), VFC President, Bill Martin on recent events and the NARFE Dues Referendum (to both Chs 1727 and 2265), Jill Dynia of Life Screening on symptoms, and warning signs of strokes (Ch 2265), and Charles Delaplane on National Legislation (2265). Ch 60 held their annual Memorial Service at Skipsworth Methodist Church May 18th. Most chapters are planning spring luncheons at local restaurants in June. Chapter 2265 holds their outdoor picnic in the fall. The new presidents have nearly finished their committee chair appointments and are making progress updating their VFC websites. Chs 28, 60, 1510, and 2265 are current. The other websites are continuing updates as appointments are made. My chapter visit to Ch 2265 in March ended the cycle. I will begin my visits at Ch 1472 and 1510 in June. Only Chs 1137 and 2265 hold meetings in July and August). I will continue providing information on the NARFE Dues Referendum and will attend the June State Legislative Meeting in Richmond to develop the draft state legislative plan. Jack W. McMurchy, Area III VP AREA IV REPORT Greetings and best wishes to all members of NARFE, VFC Area IV. Norma and I expected to enjoy the nice temperate conditions we were experiencing naturally everything went south and we ended up being sick with allergies, hayfever, suspected pneumonia and respiratory problems. Took about six weeks for us to recover. Things are looking good now and hope to stay well now. Area IV had representation at the VFC 2009 Convention - but Norma and I were not able to attend. Churchland Chapter 1293 is undergoing some officer and chair position changes. F-7 Report will be made to update current status. For all chapters in Area IV - 990N E card has been processed with the IRS. Confirmation memo from the IRS to be sent within 5 to 10 days. Joseph D. Lee, Area IV V.P. AREA VI REPORT Six persons, four members and two guests, attended the most recent State Convention. Most in our area have difficulty seeing the value of their participation in this event. Other reasons given included heavy traffic in the

7 Northern Virginia area and high cost of attendance. We are beginning now to build participation for the 2010 Convention at Virginia Beach. All Chapters now have active officers and members. Two Chapters have added membership committees and have developed recruitment and retention plans. We continue to encourage Dues Withholding for all members. One Chapter is pushing the idea that all spouses who have survivor benefits should be active members. There is a fairly large number of such spouses in all our Chapters. All Chapters are involved in discussion with regard to the up coming unified dues referendum. One Chapter recently voted to support the standardized dues of $ Chapter newsletters have published articles on the matter. We are using Regional Vice President Paul Carew s presentation to the VFC/NARFE Convention as a tool in helping Chapters understand the need for and effort behind the up-coming September vote. Chapter 1134 had to find a new meeting place when the regular site went out of business almost over night. They will now meet at the Bull and Bones Brewhaus and Grill in the South Main Shopping Center in Blacksburg. Roanoke Chapter 111 continues to meet in Logan s Roadhouse. They have experienced an increase in member attendance due primarily to improved parking and building access for the handicapped. Two of our Chapters take a break over the summer. One of them (111) starts back with a social in August. Chapter 1134 has a social instead of a regular meeting in July. Delwyn Dyer, Area VI VP AREA VII REPORT The new Shenandoah County Chapter 2358 has nearly doubled its membership from 13, when chartered in January, to 24. Fortunately, the chapter now has 61% of its members listing their addresses. An Area VII meeting is scheduled for June 4 in Harrisonburg to concentrate on membership and state legislation. We expect the attendance of five members, which includes the membership chair and state legislation chair, from each of the six chapters. Mr. Beverly Fleming of the Shenandoah County Chapter has been named the new 6 th Congressional District Liaison replacing Alfred Lilliendahl of the Harrisonburg Chapter. The Harrisonburg Chapter 164 held its annual live Alzheimer s auction in February and raised over $1200 of which half was contributed to the local Alzheimer s Association. This is usually the best attended meeting because of the entertaining way the auctioneer gets the attendees involved. All Area VII chapters were represented at the Virginia Federation of Chapters State Convention except one. That absence was due to illness after registering. Luther Santiful, Area VII VP AREA VIII REPORT As the new Vice President of Area VIII, I am still getting to know the 7 chapters in Area VIII and they are still getting to know me. So, first of all, I would like to tell everyone a little bit about myself. I retired from the Department of Defense (Air Force) on 3 January 2008 after 32 years of federal service. Ten days later I attended my first NARFE meeting and VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 7 joined Chapter 595, Colonial Beach. As I began reading the NARFE Magazine and attending the monthly meetings, I became aware of the many important legislative issues that affect us and I decided I wanted to do more with NARFE. In November 2008, I was contacted by the Chapter nominating committee and asked to serve as Vice President of Chapter 595. In December 2008 Bill Martin came to our monthly meeting and I was installed. Then in March 2009 I attended the National Legislative Training Conference in Crystal City, VA and really got an education on all that NARFE is doing. Finally, I went to Reston for the VFC Convention. During our caucus meeting, it was with regret that we all learned that Don Shiffert was not able to run for reelection. Thanks again Don for everything you have done for Area VIII! By the way, all seven chapters of Area VIII were represented at the Convention. So here I am your new Vice President. I can t speak about the past so here is what s coming up in some of our Area VIII Chapters: On 6 June Chapter 595 will conduct its annual YARD SALE and BAKE SALE, a major fund raising activity at the Methodist Church. Colonial Beach is just 33 miles east of Fredericksburg. So if you are free that weekend, why don t you come down and find some bargains. Colonial Beach also has two miles of sandy beach and other fun things to do! The guest speaker at the Louisa Chapter 2065 June meeting will be Linda Salisbury, author of children s books. That sounds really interesting. Finally, congratulations to the Falls Run Chapter, They will celebrate their 5 th anniversary on 4 June with a luncheon at the Cannon Ridge Golf Club. The guest speaker will be Ed Jones, Editor of the Free Lance Star Newspaper. I am really looking forward to meeting everyone at the luncheon. Leslie Ravenell, Area VIII VP AREA IX REPORT I was elected as the Area IX Vice President at the recent VFC Convention. I want to take this opportunity to thank Bill Masterson for his many years of devoted service as the Area IX Vice President for the past five years. As a chapter president, I always knew whom to call when I had a question or when we performed the installation of officers. And as many of you know, his wife, Jan, served as the un-official tour director for many events for NARFE members in the Virginia area. Thanks, Bill (and Jan) for the two-fer! We had a successful convention in Reston, although we were not able to lure as many active civil servants as we had hoped. Areas IX and X worked well together as a team, and I am looking forward to more of the same in the future. This is really only natural, since Area IX and Area X form the Caucus of Chapters in Northern Virginia. From Area IX, Virginia Swain served as the Ballots and Tellers Chair, Gaston Gianni and I served as the Hospitality Suite Co-Chairmen and Joan MacDonald served as the Credentials Chair. At the last moment, Kathy Arpa from Area X stepped in to relieve her Convention Co-Chair Shirley Keyes, who got stuck in Australia!! Of the 266 who registered to attend the convention, Area IX had 70 registrants. A big thank you to all (workers and attendees)

8 from these two Areas for a memorable convention. We all look forward to next April in Virginia Beach. We had a very worthwhile legislative training conference in Northern Virginia in March attended by many members from Area IX. Many got the opportunity to visit their Congressmen, some got to visit our Virginia Senator s staff members, and a few even got their photos in the monthly NARFE magazine!!! We all learned just how talented our legislative staff at NARFE Headquarters really is. This is a STRONG endorsement for attending this session two years from now again. This conference is certainly for more than just the chapter legislative chairs!!! If one checks the Membership statistics sent out by VFC Membership Chair, Dennis Martin, one would see that within Area IX, two chapters actually gained members since end of last year (Manassas and Annandale) and one chapter only lost one (Woodbridge). But if one totals across all six chapters in Area IX, we have lost 39 members. This continues to be an area for emphasis. And if we look at the Dues Withholding stats, only Areas VI and X have a better improved percentage than Area IX. In Dennis words, The losses seem to be moderating. I am very pleased that all Area IX chapters (except one) have a newsletter on the VFC website < And all Area IX chapters have a write-up of their chapter information on the website. In an effort to promote greater cross- pollination and communication, I would encourage chapter presidents to surf other chapters information on this website. In an attempt at Best Business Practices, if you see something better from another chapter, use it for your own there should be NO pride of authorship!!! The NARFE Falls Church Chapter 401 will be observing its 55th anniversary at its Chapter Meeting on June 10, As the new kid on the block, I hate to admit that I don t know the Area IX chapters or their presidents as well as I would like (except for Chapter 1270)! But, I intend to change that in the next several months. Stand by! Pierce Johnson, Area IX Vice President AREA X REPORT During the Caucus Meeting at the 2009 VFC Convention in Reston, Virginia, I was elected as Area X Vice President (AVP). I spent the last nine months working on the 2009 VFC Convention Committee serving as the Program Book Chair and the Entertainment Chair. In February, I was appointed Co-Chair of the Convention while Shirley Keyes was out of the country. The 2009 Convention was a success with more than 250 attendees which included 80 registrants from Area X and lead delegates from our seven chapters. Bill Shackelford, President of Chapter 737 (Fairfax) was elected VFC 2 nd Vice President. Chapter members from Area X worked closely with Area IX on the 2009 Convention Committee. Committee members from Area X were: Bonnie Franklin, Nancy Palmerino, and Barbara Allen from Chapter 7; Bill and Donna Shackelford, Chapter 737; Kathy Arpa, Shirley Keyes and Margaret Murphy, Chapter 1116; Bill Boning, Richard Giangerelli, Sue Righter, and Shirley Vaughn, Chapter 1241; and Judy Willis and Bill Armstrong, Chapter In addition to the members on the Convention Committee, many members in Area X served as greeters and/or worked at the registration desk and helped at the stuffing party or VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 8 behind the scenes. Area X members also donated items for the Silent Auction which helped raise over $2,500 for the Alzheimer s Fund. Chapter 737 (Fairfax), Chapter 1116 (Vienna-Oakton) and Chapter 1241 (Dulles) sold over $500 in ads for the convention and each chapter received a check for 10% of their sales. At our Caucus Meeting, we discussed the NARFE Rapid Response Team and NARFE s single dues referendum. Bill Boning of Chapter 1241 (Dulles) was selected as the representative for Area X on the nominating committee with Elsie Cunningham of Chapter 7 (Arlington) as the alternate. I introduced Connie and John Bails from Chapter 737 (Fairfax) who are the new Service Officers for the VFC. Before we adjourned, all members introduced themselves and I presented two door prizes: a gift card for Panera Bread and a NARFE tote bag. Since my last report, I visited three chapters. In April, I attended a meeting at the Alpine Restaurant with Judy Willis and Jeanette Pelton and members of Chapter 1665-Metro Northern Virginia. In May, I attended a meeting at the Dock Restaurant in Leesburg with Matt Prisutti and members of Chapter Esther Trask, President of the Loudoun Chapter of AARP, was the guest speaker. Matt also discussed plans for their 40 th anniversary celebration which will be held later this year. This chapter continues to grow as indicated on the latest membership report while most other chapters in Area X have lost members this year. Also in May, I attended a meeting with Rich Raybold and members of Chapter 489-McLean-Great Falls Chapter where Sarah Holstine was the guest speaker. Later that day I attended my home chapter s meeting where Senator Chap Peterson gave a report on the latest legislation news from Richmond. In March, I attended the excellent National Legislative Training at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Crystal City.. The Virginia Delegation visited Virginia Senator s staff members on Capitol Hill. Since the Training, many chapters have invited the National legislative staff to their chapter meetings. I strongly encourage chapters to send members to the next Legislative Training in Area X members will meet for a luncheon meeting on May 20 to help develop the draft of the 2010 State Legislation Plan. The Convention Committee will hold a post convention meeting on May 27 th to wrap up the 2009 VFC Convention report. Kathy Arpa, Area X Vice President Area X Caucus Meeting Photo

9 ALZHEIMER S CHAIR (ACTING) Shirley Keyes, the VFC Alzheimer s Chair for 2009/2010, continues to be overwhelmed by family medical issues and has indicated that she will probably not be able to assume the responsibility for the VFC Alzheimer s Chair until August or September of Therefore, I will continue as the Acting Chair until she can assume the responsibility. And I will continue to send out reports of contributions on a quarterly basis. Yet, even with this confusion, contributions continue to come in from the Chapters. Also, Wilton Ward continues to provide assistance whenever and wherever needed. At the 2009 VFC Convention, Wilton ran the 50 / 50 raffle, the Alzheimer s Silent Auction, and the Alzheimer s meeting, though he said that this would be his final appearance. Wilton has certainly been a major player for Alzheimer s and deservers our thanks. The 2009 VFC Convention provided an additional boost in funding for Alzheimer s Research. A total of 50 items were contributed for the Silent Auction and resulted in $2,019 for Alzheimer s Research. An additional $376 was collected for Alzheimer s Research from the 50 / 50 raffle. These funds, together with the numerous checks submitted in April and May in memory of R. David Smith, have pushed the annual contributions received as of mid-may 2009 higher than the amount received by the end of May If this trend continues, Virginia will again lead the other States in annual contributions for Alzheimer s Research. TIME IS MOVING FAST The clock is clipping along and, before you know it, September will be here and all our chapters will have received their referendum ballots for the vote on NARFE dues. This is a very important issue and, I believe, critical for the future of NARFE in terms of membership recruitment and retention. It is my hope that the proposed referendum will be discussed thoroughly by all our members before the ballots are returned in December. Remember, this is a vote by chapters, not individual members, so please attend your chapter meetings when the dues referendum is discussed, listen carefully to the proposal, and make your voices heard. Beyond the important issue of NARFE dues, it is time to begin planning for NARFE Grass-Roots Advocacy Month, formerly known as Lobby Month. The intent of Advocacy Month is to use the congressional summer recess of August through Labor Day to visit every member of congress and press for our legislative agenda. While it is sometimes difficult to plan visits with our legislators in Washington due to their hectic schedules, the summer recess offers a better opportunity to personally update them on the issues and concerns important to NARFE members. It goes without saying that interfacing with our legislators this year is critical. The President and Congress have called for sacrifice and responsibility as they deal with the worst recession since the Great Depression coupled with a trillion or more dollar budget deficit. Entitlements are under the microscope and civil service benefits probably will be affected. That is why it is imperative that we ask our lawmakers if we can count on them to protect the benefits of men and women who have dedicated their careers to public service, often times at personal and financial sacrifice. In the very near future, more detailed information for NARFE Grass-Roots Advocacy Month will be forwarded to federation and chapter presidents. But now is not too soon to begin this effort. Paul Carew, Region X Vice-President 2009 AREA X CAUCUS MEETING PHOTOS Current Alzheimer s research is beginning to show some very encouraging results. Drugs are being tested which appear to slow down the effects of Alzheimer s. Other drugs are being tested that appear to cleanse the brain of the blockages that result in Alzheimer s. Diets and exercise are also being evaluated for Alzheimer s prevention. Hopefully, within the next couple of years we will see a decrease in the occurrence of Alzheimer s. But, until then, we must continue provide needed funds for research. Richard Giangerelli, Alzheimer s Chair (Acting) VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 9

10 TEN THINGS THE VIRGINIA FEDERATION OF CHAPTERS (VFC) DOES FOR YOU 1. REPRESENTS federal retirees/employees within the state. NARFE/VFC is the only organization lobbying for our earned rights/retiree benefits at the state level. Bear in mind that no U.S. Congress or Virginia General Assembly can be relied upon to treat us fairly or with concern...vfc has to take the initiative. 2. PROVIDES a unified voice in Richmond when dealing with the governor and the General Assembly and educates state legislators and local officials about concerns of federal retirees/employees. It helps state legislators refine proposed bills affecting us all. 3. PROMOTES the objectives of NARFE throughout Virginia. The VFC is the logical organization to set specific and attainable goals for the chapters to support within the state, in accomplishing the objectives of National Headquarters. VFC speaks for all Virginia members on National NARFE policy issues. 4. FACILITATES effective group action to accomplish common objectives. By establishing a viable political base at the grassroots level, it channels member efforts so as to avoid personal agendas, narrow political viewpoints and pet peeves. 5. TRAINS local NARFE chapter officers, committee chairs and area coordinators in order to provide top quality leadership skills for the furtherance of common goals. 6. COMMUNICATES with members and the public-at-large about issues of concern to federal retirees/employees. VFC provides a larger voice than that of any single chapter. 7. MAINTAINS a state political fund (VFC State Political Account) to support political candidates who share NARFE s and VFC s legislative goals. 8. MOBILIZES volunteer resources existing in chapters in ongoing support of causes vital to NARFE members. Advocates NARFE s national legislative agenda and the VFC s state Legislative agenda. 9. ADVISES chapters on effective ways of carrying out various functions such as membership, services, and public relations benefiting federal retiree/employees. VFC has the unique capability through its area vice presidents to monitor chapter activities and provide assistance when needed. 10. SERVES as a vehicle for the exchange of ideas among members about programs/actions of benefit to federal retirees/employees through its annual convention, the VANARFE VFC official network, the VFC web site, and the VFC Notes (the VFC newsletter). VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 10

11 Contact Information Virginia Members of Congress As of May 20, 2009 Member of Congress Washington Office* Local Office 1 Local Office 2 Honorable Mark Warner United States Senate (Plus an office in Abingdon) B40C Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Ph Fax Commonwealth Centre Pkwy Suite 401 Midlothian, VA Ph W. Main St. Suite 4900 Norfolk, VA Ph Fax at web form: warner.senate.gov, then click on Senator Warner. Honorable Jim Webb United States Senate (Plus offices in Arlington, Norton, & Roanoke 144 Russell Senate Office Bldg Ph Fax E. Franklin St. Richmond, VA Ph Fax at web form: webb.senate.gov, then click on Contact Senator Webb on line Honorable Rob Wittman Representative 1 st District (Plus an office in Tappahannock) 1318 Longworth House Office Bldg Ph Fax B George Washington Hwy Yorktown, VA Ph Fax at wittman.house.gov, then click on Contact Honorable Glenn Nye 116 Cannon House Office Representative 2 nd Bldg District Ph Central Park Ave, Suite 120 Virginia Beach, VA Ph Fax Plank Rd., Suite 203 Fredericksburg, VA Ph Fax Euclid Rd, Suite E None as of report date Virginia Beach, VA Ph Fax Fax at nye.house.gov, then click on Contact Me, then under Help with a problem click on me Honorable Robert Bobby Scott Representative 3 rd District 1201 Longworth House Office Bldg Ph Fax N. 2 nd St., Suite 401 Richmond, VA Ph Fax Washington Ave. Suite 1010 Newport News, VA Ph Fax at bobbyscott.house.gov, click on Contact, then Contact Bobby Scott, then Bobby Scott Honorable Randy Forbes Representative 4 th District (Plus an office in Emporia) 2438 Rayburn House Office Bldg Ph Fax Independence Pkwy Suite 104 Chesapeake, VA Ph Fax at forbes.house.gov, then click on Contact, then click on Honorable Tom Perriello 1520 Longworth House Representative 5 th Office Bldg District Ph Boulevard, Suite B Colonial Heights, VA Ph Fax South First St. Charlottesville, VA Ph Fax Fax perriello.house.gov, click on Contact Me, then under Help with a problem click on me Honorable Robert Goodlatte Representative 6 th District (Plus offices in Harrisonburg and Staunton) 2240 Rayburn House Office Bldg Ph Fax Franklin Rd., S.E. Suite 540 Roanoke, VA Ph Fax at then click on Contact, then click on Bob Honorable Eric Cantor Representative 7 th District 329 Cannon House Office Bldg Ph Fax Dominion Blvd. Suite 110 Glen Allen, VA Ph Fax Craghead St., Suite 102 Danville, VA Ph. (not available on 2/14/09) Fax 916 Main St., Suite 300 Lynchburg, VA Ph Fax Madison Rd., # 207 Culpeper, VA Ph Fax at cantor.house.gov, click on Contact Us, then click on Write your Representative Service *All Senate offices are Washington, D.C All House offices are Washington, D.C VFC/National Legislation/FSzumilo, May 20, 2009 (NOTE: Continued on Reverse) VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE 11

12 VFC-NARFE Return Service Requested Virginia Federation of Chapters NARFE 294 Tyler Point Lane Bumpass VA If you receive this and are no longer on the board of either a chapter or the Federation, please give to the board Member who replaced you. Postal Service (Time Value) Please Deliver By June 1, 2009 (Continued ) Contact Information Virginia Members of Congress As of May 20, 2009 Member of Congress Washington Office* Local Office 1 Local Office 2 Honorable James P. Moran None as of report date Representative 8 th District 2239 Rayburn House Office Bldg. Ph Fax N. Fairfax St. Alexandria, VA Ph Fax at moran.house.gov, then click on Contact, then on Contact Honorable Rick Boucher 2187 Rayburn House Office Representative 9 th District Bldg. (Plus an office in Big Stone Ph Gap) Fax East Main St. Abingdon, VA Ph at then click on Click here to Congressman Boucher Honorable Frank Wolf Representative 10 th District 241 Cannon House Office Bldg. Ph Fax at wolf.house.gov, then click on Me. Honorable Gerry E. Connolly 327 Cannon House Office Representative 11 th District Bldg. Ph Fax Park Center Rd. Suite 130 Herndon, VA Ph , or in State Fax Annandale Rd. Suite 103 Annandale, VA Ph Fax VFC NOTES SPRING 2009 PAGE North Washington Pulaski, VA Ph N. Cameron St. Winchester, VA Ph , or in State Fax None as of report date at connolly.house.gov, then click on Contact Me *All Senate offices are Washington, D.C All House offices are Washington, D.C VFC/National Legislation/FSzumilo, May 20, 2009