NARFE membership dues provide less than 70 percent of the

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1 Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association Volume 2, Number 1 January 2014 The Role of Fundraising in the Advancement of NARFE s Mission By Richard G. Thissen, National Treasurer NARFE membership dues provide less than 70 percent of the operating funds necessary to conduct NARFE s mission. Consequently, the Association must generate funds through other means, such as gifts, bequests, affinity partner contributions, donations and fundraising. As your National Treasurer, I want to assure all NARFE members that absolutely no dues monies are used to support the Association s fundraising programs. NARFE notepads, note cards, calendars and holiday cards which are produced and mailed by professional vendors with successful track records generate positive net income for the NARFE treasury. In 2012, we raised $2.2 million gross and netted $1.5 million after expenses. In 2013, we are on track to generate even more income! (As of November, we have raised nearly $2.5 million.) Some members raise the question: Why do we have follow-up mailings? This is a standard practice in successful fundraisers. In our specific case, the follow-up ensures that the premium provided in the original mailing (calendar, cards or notepad) arrived and is in good condition. Moreover, approximately half of the contributions to NARFE are made in response to these follow-up mailings. As you can see, these programs are important to the efficient and effective conduct of the NARFE mission. We thank all of you for your generous contributions. NARFE is the envy of many associations for its fundraising success, made possible by its supportive members. New Year s Resolution Revisit Your Chapter s Potential By Elaine Hughes, National Secretary The new year has arrived, and many of us have once again made our resolutions for In vowing to make 2014 a better year, let s remember NARFE and the chapters that have kept our Association viable over the years. Keeping NARFE chapters active has become increasingly more difficult as technology moves at the speed of light. Active federal employees and recent retirees prefer to communicate online. Sometimes this over- In this issue National Officers Columns Treasurer...1 Secretary...1 Legislative Update... 3 More from NARFE... 6 NARFE in the News... 7 NARFE Meeting Minutes National Executive Board, November

2 shadows the face-to-face gatherings that once were so necessary. With that said, I would like you to consider a few points* when assessing the vitality of your chapter: Display the best qualitites of a chapter leader: (1) Inspire others; (2) stay connected and be accessible; (3) be responsive; and (4) recognize when assistance is needed. Shape chapter culture (dynamics): (1) Recognize the makeup of the membership; and (2) turn resistance to change into a welcoming challenge. Identify volunteers: (1) Approach potential volunteers; (2) provide guidance; and (3) capitalize on members expertise, experience and knowledge. Maximize communications: (1) Communicating is a top priority; (2) always stay in touch with leaders/ members (information is power); and (3) take advantage of technology in choosing the best way to communicate. Empower members: (1) Encourage members to be active; (2) remind members to stay informed; and (3) spend time discussing issues at meetings. Realize the importance of mentoring: (1) Leadership succession and making successful transitions are important; and (2) invest time and energy in educating new leaders. Encourage leadership team work: (1) Teamwork is critical to success; and (2) teamwork inspires participants. Know where you want the chapter to go: (1) Evaluate needs; (2) remember the importance of membership prospecting, recruiting and retention; (3) create a simple plan of action; (4) set attainable goals; and (5) obtain agreement from members. Assume legislative responsibilities (This is central to NARFE s mission!): (1) promote NARFE s legislative agenda; (2) stay current with the issues; (3) contact members of Congress and their senior aides and develop relationships with them; (4) say thank you and stay in touch with congressional allies; and (5) build relationships with those who are resistant to our cause. Other Suggestions: Hold coffee gatherings Members can meet regularly and informally to discuss NARFE issues and stay informed. Share leadership responsibilities Two members may share one position, which lessens the burden of responsibility. Consider holding joint chapter meetings Periodically join with another chapter or two that are located in the same congressional district. Mentor a chapter in need Active chapters may be able to step in and assist inactive chapters or those that are at risk of closing. Schedule meetings when it s convenient Meeting schedules should conform to the needs and desires of a particular chapter. Perhaps a monthly meeting is no longer necessary. Gauge the desires of chapter members and create a schedule that is best suited to them. These are just a few suggestions that may assist in revitalizing your chapter, if warranted. While NARFE faces many challenges now and in the future, chapters are important in linking the present to our future. Many thanks to Betty Lucero-Turner, former Region VII vice president, for her contributions to the article. *See the newly revised F-10: Chapter and Federation Operations Manual for more on this subject. 2 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

3 Legislative Update By Jessica Klement, Legislative Director, and Christopher Farrell, Legislative Representative 2014 COLA Is 1.5 Percent On October 30, after some delay due to the partial government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the September consumer price indices allowing for the calculation of the 2014 COLA. The cost-of-living adjustment will be 1.5 percent in each of the three federally administered retirement systems Social Security, military retirement and the federal civil service. Because the amount is under 2 percent, it will apply to both federal civil service systems, Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees Retirement System. The COLA was effective December 1, 2013, and will be reflected in January 2014 annuity payments. Persons not retired for the full year receive a prorated COLA based on the number of months during which they were retired. Some recent history of COLAs is shown in the table on the right. Date CSRS FERS 12/01/04 2.7% 2.0% 12/01/05 4.1% 3.1% 12/01/06 3.3% 2.3% 12/01/07 2.3% 2.0% 12/01/08 5.8% 4.8% 12/01/09 0.0% 0.0% 12/01/10 0.0% 0.0% 12/01/11 3.6% 2.6% 12/01/12 1.7% 1.7% 12/01/13 1.5% 1.5% For those employees covered by the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA), the COLA is based on the percentage change in the CPI-W during the calendar year. December 2013 consumer price news will be reported on January 16, This data point will allow for the calculation of the FECA COLA. Coverage will be available on the NARFE Legislative Hotline. Congressional Testimony NARFE congressional testimony is available to all on the public side of the Association s website. The testimonies including five in 2013 and others going back to 2007 are listed in reverse chronological order. Whenever new testimony is posted, a link is provided on the Legislative Hotline. NARFE letters to Congress are also posted. Cosponsor Counts and Listings Each month, narfe magazine s NARFE Bill Tracker shows important pending legislation, including the number of cosponsors. NARFE s Legislative Action Center s Issues and Legislation module can display the cosponsor status for an entire state delegation. At left is a sample displaying the six-member Kentucky House delegation status on H.R. 1795, a bill to repeal both the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). This information could be included in a federation newsletter. (To view the screen shot, click here.) Voting Record Is Best Yardstick Voting records are far more important than a legislator s mere cosponsorship of a bill. In fact, members can be removed as cosponsors and even vote against a bill they have cosponsored. The November NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

4 issue of narfe magazine displayed the voting record of NARFE champion Rep. Frank Wolf, R-VA. That display is repeated here. (The link to displaying your own congressional delegations voting record is Using a ZIP code, newsletter editors can capture and display the voting record of the representative and senators elected to serve chapter members. This serves as a fine complement to a listing of congressional contact information in your newsletter. The October 2012 narfe magazine s coverage of How They Voted: The 112th Congress is posted for members as a.pdf file. The Association s Legislative Action Center allows members to view a Scorecard showing how each representative voted on seven floor votes during 2013 and how each senator voted on three roll calls in Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA 10th District) 17th term Republican from Virginia 10th District. Advocacy Gap For the third consecutive issue, the table on the next page updates vital and highly proprietary data on the elements of the Federal Family, and NARFE members and advocacy. Federal retiree and employee counts are repeated from previous quarterlies. October counts of U.S. Postal Service employees replaces the total of retirees and employees. Next, there are updated counts of NARFE membership and NARFE members with a listed address (GEMS) and the number of NARFE chapter and federation officers with an address. NARFE membership by state is down, but GEMS counts are up. Most importantly, this table shows there is still a huge advocacy gap between the number of members urged by President Beaudoin to send messages and those who do. The verdict is still out as to whether current and future federal retirees facing threats to both income security and health security will survive the advocacy gap. The link to NARFE Legislative Action Alerts is OPM Provides Employment Counts by State, by Agency The Office of Personnel Management now has June 2013 employment counts by state, territory and foreign country available on its Fedscope website. State counts by cabinet-level agencies and large, medium and small independent agencies are also available. Governing magazine also hosts a subset of these counts showing active-duty military and civilian counts. To obtain state-by-state counts of activeduty and civilian employees of the Defense Department as an Excel spreadsheet, send an request to cfarrell@narfe.org with Military Counts in the subject line. Finding Congressional District Offices Visiting congressional offices is NARFE s not-so-secret weapon. NARFE s Legislative Action Center provides congressional office listings that include district and state offices for representatives and senators. CongressMerge.com goes a step further and provides links to Google Maps for these must-visit offices. To find your representative s listing via a ZIP code search, go to onlinedb/index.htm. 4 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

5 State # Retirees # Actives USPS FT/PT NARFE GEMS Ofc w GEMS eactivists emessages AL 58,890 41,744 8,647 4,447 1, ,479 AK 7,714 12,457 1, AZ 54,265 41,858 9,273 4,289 1, ,473 AR 25,075 14,475 5,375 2, ,450 CA 213, ,514 63,804 20,352 6, ,493 24,015 CO 49,139 40,213 10,491 5,240 2, ,099 CT 14,741 8,815 8,178 1, ,463 DE 9,450 3,360 1,991 1, ,739 DC 43,776 42,341 4,822 1, FL 167,381 90,677 33,619 14,153 4, ,008 18,159 GA 83,961 79,209 17,105 6,241 2, ,394 HI 24,724 25,575 2,311 2, ,885 ID 14,566 8,759 2,531 1, ,136 IL 68,691 49,065 29,434 6,338 1, ,101 IN 36,771 24,527 12,063 3, ,345 IA 20,970 9,074 7,642 3, ,602 KS 24,647 17,597 6,582 3,710 1, ,960 KY 33,527 25,586 7,794 2, ,983 LA 26,982 21,335 7,860 2, ,508 ME 13,956 10,869 3,369 1, ,709 MD 158, ,148 12,565 16,437 5, ,879 14,473 MA 42,848 28,887 16,250 4,543 1, ,770 MI 44,006 30,263 20,917 4,493 1, ,274 MN 28,781 18,174 12,657 4,094 1, ,551 MS 25,496 19,308 4,862 1, ,082 MO 54,249 37,062 14,887 4,979 1, ,456 MT 12,852 10,249 2, ,223 NE 13,444 11,030 4,651 1, ,340 NV 22,491 12,384 4,241 1, ,358 NH 12,316 4,656 3,077 1, ,362 NJ 54,575 26,305 21,980 6,100 1, ,740 NM 27,941 25,720 3,159 2, ,718 NY 95,411 67,517 43,881 8,918 2, ,826 NC 73,591 45,270 17,890 5,508 1, ,194 ND 6,430 6,375 1,824 1, OH 75,036 52,312 23,491 7,071 1, ,927 OK 48,255 39,218 6,589 3, ,205 OR 33,351 20,098 6,672 3, ,157 Panama 8, , PA 108,305 67,019 28,610 12,864 3, ,142 9,667 Phl. 2, PR/VI 12,032 11, RI 8,240 7,377 2,635 1, SC 43,747 22,679 7,312 2, ,588 SD 10,253 8,697 2,115 1, ,021 TN 46,310 28,711 11,961 3,211 1, ,702 TX 168, ,708 40,250 9,689 3, ,279 13,858 UT 34,937 28,342 4,754 1, ,295 VT 4,439 4,754 1, VA 142, ,591 15,354 16,611 6, ,119 16,991 WA 66,021 57,473 11,825 6,505 2, ,393 WV 17,868 16,090 3,880 1, ,084 WI 26,971 16,205 11,895 3, ,006 WY 5,734 5,811 1, Guam 2,590 2, e ,887 11, TOTALS 2,546,555 2,096, , ,787 82,409 5,539 27, ,287 5 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

6 >> More from NARFE Join a Committee for the National Convention And Be Part of the Action An integral part of conducting a national convention is the committee work done before and during the convention. From considering resolutions to taking floor votes, committee members make the convention work. Any delegate interested in serving on a committee should go to the National Convention page of the NARFE website. Click on Convention Committee Assignment Request Form (under the Convention Materials heading) to complete and file electronically. After you complete the form, click submit, and it will automatically be sent to Headquarters, the chapter president, federation president and the appropriate regional vice president. This form can also be printed and mailed. (FYI: The second page of this document contains a table explaining the various National Convention Committees and their members duties.) Anyone wishing to have a paper form mailed to him/her can contact Linda Parsons (lparsons@narfe.org) at Headquarters. The deadline to submit the Request for Committee Assignment Form is March 1. Remember to include your NARFE chapter and/or federation responsibilities. If you click on the form name under the Convention Material banner it can be printed and mailed. A short explanation of committee work is also available there. Chapter presidents, federation presidents and regional vice presidents will have the opportunity to submit comments when they receive the notification of submission. Once the committees are selected, each committee member will receive instructions on the committee work and information on when and where to report at the convention. Committees that consider resolutions will begin work two or three months prior to the start of the convention. Committee members will receive a per diem for each day they meet prior to the start of the convention. The per diem Important information: is meant to offset the additional expenses incurred by committee members early arrival. Annual Service Officer Award Reminder Committee members must be delegates or delegates-at-large to the convention. Deadline for submission of the request form is March 1, Candidates for a national office or regional vice president office will not be assigned to the Credentials or Ballot & Teller committees. Please direct any questions to Linda Parsons (lparsons@narfe.org) at The Call Letter for the Annual Service Officer of the Year Awards went out to local, state and regional officers in November. The letter instructs the chapter presidents to forward their nominations to their federation president, who will make the selection for that federation and forward it to the regional VP. Please send the names of the federation winners and the original nomination write-up of the regional winners to NARFE in care of David Snell, director, Federal Benefits Service Department, no later than January 30, Should you have any questions, please contact David Snell at dsnell@narfe.org or call NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

7 Announcing the 2014 NARFE Scholarship Program The 2014 NARFE Scholarship Program will run February 1 through April 25. A copy of the official application will appear in the February issue of narfe magazine. Beginning February 1, members and nonmembers also will be able to access the application on the NARFE website by clicking on the scholarship program graphic in the carousel on the Association s Home Page. (If you are already logged in, click on Special Programs at the left of the screen.) Applicants must be high school seniors who plan to attend an accredited college in the fall/winter of the award year and who are the children, grandchildren or great grandchildren of current (living) NARFE members. More information can be found on the NARFE website by downloading a copy of the F-105 brochure A Guide to NARFE s Annual Scholarship Awards Program ; or contact the National Vice President s office for a copy at natvp@narfe.org. Sixty scholarships of $1,000 each will be awarded during the month of August. The NARFE Scholarship Program relies on the generosity of donors. To make a tax-deductible contribution, checks must be made payable to NARFE-FEEA Scholarship Fund and mailed to NARFE Scholarship Awards, c/o FEEA, Suite 300, 3333 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood, CO You also can use the donation coupon that appears every month in narfe magazine. To donate online, log in to the NARFE website, click on Special Programs / Scholarship Program and then click on the link under To Donate. Photo Contest Deadline Extended NARFE is extending the photo contest deadline for the 2015 NARFE Calendar until March 15. Contest rules can be found at Log in as a member first, click on Special Programs at left, then click on Photo Contest Calendar. NARFE in the News Over the past few years, NARFE has enhanced its media outreach and, as a result, has seen an increase in media presence at both the national and local levels. These results grew from efforts to increase awareness of the contributions of federal employees to our nation, refute inaccurate perceptions about federal pay and benefits, and voice our opposition to proposals to cut the benefits of active and retired federal employees. Each issue of NARFE Insider will feature a selection of summaries of major media coverage, as well as local news coverage generated by chapters and federations. National Coverage NARFE National President Joseph A. Beaudoin was quoted in The Washington Post on December 10 with his reaction to the bipartisan federal budget deal reached by the Budget Conference Committee. In the column by Joe Davidson, titled, Budget deal protects current feds, while new workers will pay more toward retirement, Beaudoin said: This deal continues with the dangerous precedent set by Congress last year in taking from future federal employees to pay for bad policies and deficit reduction now. This drain on our nation s federal workforce must end. The federal government may never be the employer with the greatest pay and benefits, but it certainly shouldn t be the employer of last resort either, and that s where we re headed. In a December 4 article on Federal News Radio s website, Michael O Connell wrote that a new bill the Provide for the Common Defense Act would cancel sequestration spending entirely for the Department of Defense and several other security-related agencies in fiscal years 2014 and To offset this change and reduce the deficit by $200 billion over the next decade, reforms to entitlement programs some of which would negatively impact current and retired federal workers would 7 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

8 need to be made. In the article, O Connell references NARFE President Joseph Beaudoin s remarks made at the time of President Obama s release of his 2014 budget in April 2013 and in a letter to members of Congress in December 2012: Don t be fooled by economists and politicians who claim that switching to the Chained CPI formula for Social Security benefits, retirement annuities and disability insurance is painless, he said. While the short-term reduction in benefits may be modest, the longterm reduction will be substantial. Even though Congress voted to reimburse federal workers for pay lost during the government shutdown this past fall, federal workers are frustrated, anxious and growing tired of being pawns in a never-ending political struggle over government funding, reported the Associated Press in an October 7 article: U.S. government work is losing cachet for some. A spokesperson for NARFE is quoted in the piece, saying: Many workers are retiring prematurely because they worry about furloughs, the pay freeze and looming increases in retirement contributions. These departures are creating a brain drain that is sapping the government of institutional knowledge needed for medical breakthroughs, combatting foodborne illnesses or even securing borders. On Mike Causey s November 29 Your Turn show on Federal News Radio, the host asked NARFE s Director of Federal Benefits Service David Snell what the drawbacks may be for federal retirees who are considering switching to Blue Cross Basic and Medicare from Blue Cross Standard option once they turn age 65. Snell replied: We have always advised retirees who make the decision to enroll in Medicare Part B to use the Open Season and look for a plan that has lower premiums because the retiree will now have to pay an additional monthly premium for Part B; and since Medicare will be their primary insurer, there is no need to spend any more out-of-pocket for FEHBP plan premiums than necessary. The listener can save a lot of out-of-pocket expense by going to the BCBS Basic option. PRWeb reported that on November 21, 2013, Sen. Kay Hagan, D-NC, and the PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation for the Advancement of Public Health hosted an educational briefing at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, DC. Among the speakers were Acting Surgeon General RADM Boris Lushniak and freelance writer David Tobenkin, who is a regular contributor to narfe magazine. At the forum, Tobenkin discussed the cover story he wrote in the October 2013 issue of narfe magazine. Titled The Curious Case of the Commissioned Corps: Uniformed but Unarmed Health Advocates Take Fire on Benefits, he compared the work, benefits and compensation of the approximately 6,700 Corps members versus those of civilian fed counterparts who perform similar work. In a November 14 Federal Times article by Sean Reilly, NARFE was mentioned as one of the more than half-dozen organizations that took part in a protest against the Chained CPI outside the White House. The article s focus was on the Congressional Budget Office s recently released report that the government could save $280 billion over the next decade by reducing the size of the federal workforce, spending less on federal pay raises and pensions, and moving from the CPI-W to a Chained CPI. NARFE s Director of Legislation Jessica Klement was quoted in a Government Executive article on November 7 titled Groups Fear Federal Pensions Are at Risk in Budget Talks by Kellie Lunney. Klement anticipates that federal workers will have to contribute more to their pensions in coming years. Common knowledge would certainly put this on the table, said Klement. I don t see how something like this isn t part of the [budget] conference unless we have some very, very vocal opponents. At this point, we have no reason to believe that cuts to the federal community are off the table. Local Coverage On November 25, Terry Brandenburg, the president of NARFE Gulf Coast Chapter 0209, wrote a letter to the editor of The Sun Herald of Biloxi, MS, about the potential perils for retired feds in a congressional budget deal. While he supports the House and Senate negotiators efforts to finalize a budget and avoid another round of sequester-related budget cuts, Brandenburg is concerned that the terms of such a compromise might result in extended pay freezes, cuts in take-home pay and hikes in feds contributions to their retirement accounts. Dozens of other NARFE officers and members across the country successfully submitted similar, customized letters to their local newspapers. On December 12, WGMD Radio, 92.7 FM, in Rehoboth Beach, DE, posted a message on its Twitter site mentioning that the members of Coastal Sussex Chapter 1690 distributed gifts at three area nursing facilities. 8 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

9 NARFE National Executive Board Meeting Minutes November 19-21, 2013 NARFE Headquarters, Alexandria, VA Tuesday, November 19, 2013 Call to Order Moment of Silence Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Presentation of the Agenda Present: National Officers President Joseph A. Beaudoin Vice President Paul H. Carew Secretary Elaine C. Hughes Treasurer Richard G. Thissen Regional Vice Presidents Region I Arthur Pike Region II Evelyn Kirby Region III Donald Stewart Region IV Paul E. Johnson Region V Carol R. Ek Region VI Jerome S. Smith Region VII Frank Impinna Region VIII Helen L. Zajac Region IX Lanny G. Ross Region X William F. Martin Staff National Executive Board (NEB) Executive Assistant Marian Uffen NARFE Parliamentarian Paul Lamb Director Budget & Finance Tayo Coker-Polson Director of Legislation Jessica Klement Guests FL Federation President Ken Thomas 2013 Bylaws Committee Chair Bill Shackelford VFC Alzheimer s Chair Donna Shackelford MD Federation President Dan McGrath MD Federation Past President Richard Strombotne DC Federation Secretary Jacquelyn Lowe National President (NP) Beaudoin called the meeting to order. The meeting began with introduction of the guests and presentation of agenda by NP Beaudoin. National Treasurer (NT) Thissen/Director Budget & Finance Coker-Polson presented the 2014 budget overview (budget on file). ACTION ITEM #1: Future budget executive summaries will include explanation of all items that directly or indirectly affect the budget (NT/Coker-Polson). After a discussion and Q&A, the following motion was presented: Motion # : SUBJECT: 2014 Budget. Motion made by NT Thissen and seconded by National Vice President (NVP) Carew that the 2014 budget be approved as presented. Motion unanimously passed. Director of Legislation Klement presented a State of the Union legislative briefing, which included accomplishments and current issues, and an update of resources and future plans for NARFE s grass-roots advocacy efforts. Two immediate legislative priorities are the budget committee outcome and postal reform. Other issues are Rep. Darrell Issa s, R-CA, FEHBP reform bill; premium conversion; Chained CPI; and legislation to eliminate the defined benefit of federal retirement. Grass-roots advocacy highlights included developing a long-term strategy with focus on (1) opening lines of communication; and (2) bringing federations to an enhanced level of activity by providing necessary resources. Contracting with M&R will continue, primarily to continue to build on the successful PR campaign strategies thus far. RVP Martin presented plaques/gifts to Director of Legislation Klement, Director of Membership Bridget Boel, Director of Federal Benefits David Snell, and IT Assistant Drusti Naik for outstanding contributions and assistance provided for the Region X seminar held in Pigeon Forge, TN, in September. 9 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

10 NP Beaudoin discussed video streaming for future national conventions. After a brief discussion, the following motion was presented: Motion # SUBJECT: Video streaming. Motion made by NT Thissen and seconded by RVP Johnson that NARFE initiate video streaming for our conventions : 2014: Limited streaming test; 2016: More robust test to include offsite locations and individuals; 2018: Anticipate conducting full streaming of the convention to include business and offsite session participation and voting. With a vote of 12 yeas and 1 nay, the motion passed. NP Beaudoin briefly discussed recommendations from a recent HQ salary study and the strategy for implementation. RVP Ross requested an update on the study of the redesign of the NARFE logo. National Secretary (NS) Hughes responded: In May 2013, discussions had indeed taken place with several key senior staff and an outside firm to examine appropriate options for branding and a redesign of NARFE s logo. It was decided at that time, however, a very clear and agreed-upon vision was necessary before proceeding since there is a significant cost and other factors associated with the project. It is also necessary to wait for the Future of NARFE (FON) committee s recommendations. NP Beaudoin reviewed the duties of the NARFE-Alzheimer s National Committee (composed of one member from each of the 10 regions) (report on file). Bylaws 2013 Committee Chair Shackelford presented an update of the 2013 Bylaws Comparison Committee. The purpose and responsibility of the committee are (1) Identify provisions within NARFE s bylaws that do not reflect requirements of the DC Statutes; and (2) Recommend changes necessary to ensure bylaws meet the requirements of the District of Columbia s statutes and adapt them to the degree allowed to the needs of NARFE (report on file). NS Hughes discussed briefly the enhanced federation/chapter bylaws review process. With assistance from NARFE s Parliamentarian Paul Lamb, the F-21 (Chapter Constitution/Bylaws) is being revised, with additional guidance provided to assist federations and chapters. ACTION ITEM #2: NS Hughes to forward to RVPs to review upon completion. RVP Ross discussed finder s fee for active federal employee recruiters specifically in reference to the sixmonth free membership offer. He recommended should the member convert from free to paid, that the finder s fee be paid to the recruiter. After a discussion, the following motion was presented: Motion # SUBJECT: Recruiter Finder s Fee. Motion made by RVP Ross and seconded by RVP Smith that at the end of the special, six-month free membership, if the individual signs up to renew, the recruiter would be eligible for the finder s fee. The motion failed. RVP Zajac discussed the following three items: (1) Complaints received regarding enarfe meeting member needs. Briefly discussed with the conclusion that specific issues were addressed. (2) General Store providing giveaway items for local events. Currently being discussed with the General Store vendor. (3) Complaint received regarding GEMS messaging font size. The capability exists for members to independently adjust the font size as appropriate. The meeting adjourned. 10 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

11 Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Call to Order Moment of Silence Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Present: National Officers President Joseph A. Beaudoin Vice President Paul H. Carew Secretary Elaine C. Hughes Treasurer Richard G. Thissen Regional Vice Presidents Region I Arthur Pike Region II Evelyn Kirby Region III Donald Stewart Region IV Paul E. Johnson Region V Carol R. Ek Region VI Jerome S. Smith Region VII Frank Impinna Region VIII Helen L. Zajac Region IX Lanny G. Ross Region X William F. Martin Staff National Executive Board (NEB) Executive Assistant Marian Uffen Director of Membership Bridget Boel Director of Legislation Jessica Klement Grassroots Program Manager Sarah Weissman NARFE Parliamentarian Paul Lamb Guests FL Federation President Ken Thomas DC Federation Secretary Jacquelyn Lowe MD Federation President Dan McGrath MD Federation Past President Richard Strombotne CA Federation Past President Lea Zajac 2013 Bylaws Committee Chair Bill Shackelford VFC Alzheimer s Chair Donna Shackelford NP Beaudoin called the meeting to order. NS Hughes and Director of Membership Boel presented a Membership Marketing Update and 2014 Strategic Plan (posted on the NARFE website as well as a membership marketing overview fact sheet). Important strategies were highlighted with emphasis on an aggressive plan to: Prospect, Cultivate, Recruit, Engage, Renew, Convert and Reinstate members. One important note is that the membership decline has slowed based on comparative analysis of the 2012 and 2013 numbers. Current membership analysis and findings were presented with emphasis on: Advertising (prospecting/cultivating/conversion efforts); Recruitment with emphasis on enarfe vs. local chapter, the Shutdown Central/Feds in Crisis free membership offer campaign, and the OPM mailings; Reinstatements are currently at 44.5 percent. Retention remains at 92 percent despite very high and increasing reported and unreported deaths; And finally, a review of the 2014 Membership Marketing Strategic Plan, which is designed to be aggressive, highly targeted, focused and built on recent successes. RVP Ross requested that RVPs be informed when forms/brochures are revised. ACTION ITEM #3: NS Hughes to ensure that RVPs are made aware of updated forms/brochures. Saundra Rebholz, who is retiring from Marsh Insurance, delivered a few farewell remarks. She has worked with NARFE for the past 34 years. Director of Federal Benefits Service Snell presented an update on Open Season, which ends on December 9. He and his staff are attending and speaking at many NARFE functions, which include chapter meetings, a Senior Health Insurance Program volunteers function, and Open Season Forums hosted by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-MD. Other topics discussed were the Affordable Care Act and form 1099-R, which will be mailed unless otherwise indicated; new OPM Services Online feature provides FEGLI value to retirees; an update on retirement processing backlog (60 days); the retirement of Debra Creeger; and developing a Chapter Service Officer training video, scheduled for early December. 11 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

12 He reported that the new Director of OPM, Katherine Archuleta, is in place and has been in contact with NP Beaudoin. The call letter for Service Officer award nominations will be sent in January 2014 as recommended by the RVPs. Director of Legislation Klement discussed the future of call-in days, which is in question because of the very low participation by NARFE members. Though the recommendation is to discontinue the call-in days, the legislative staff will continue to evaluate the situation. HR Director Parsons discussed the proposal to introduce an online interactive Committee Assignment Request Form for the 2014 national convention. After a lengthy discussion, it was decided that the online process needed further evaluation. The RVPs were given an opportunity to draw for regional convention seating at the 2014 convention. Acting IT Director Hidayat presented a brief overview of the IT Department s planning strategy including national convention online registration, voting and video streaming (planning, design and development); membership record module (MRM); and webhosting software for federations and chapters. Maryland Federation President McGrath spoke in support of the proposed Maryland bylaw/standing rule resolution, which was submitted as an agenda item to be discussed by the NEB. He specifically stressed the need to move the proposed resolution to referendum. RVP Ross presented an update of the convention site selection committee discussions. Based on Board decisions regarding video streaming for the 2018 national convention, a revised list of cities/hotels will be developed. There remain only four cities in contention, and the number of rooms required has decreased from 700 to 600. A spreadsheet and final report will be provided at the next NEB meeting. Several weeks prior to the NEB meeting, NP Beaudoin requested each NEB member to develop goals and objectives for 2014 to be discussed at the NEB meeting (all reports on file). All summarized their goals and objectives. The meeting adjourned. Thursday, November 21, 2013 Call to Order Moment of Silence Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Present: National Officers President Joseph A. Beaudoin Vice President Paul H. Carew Secretary Elaine C. Hughes Treasurer Richard G. Thissen Regional Vice Presidents Region I Arthur Pike Region II Evelyn Kirby Region III Donald Stewart Region IV Paul E. Johnson Region V Carol R. Ek Region VI Jerome S. Smith Region VII Frank Impinna Region VIII Helen L. Zajac Region IX Lanny G. Ross Region X William F. Martin Staff National Executive Board (NEB) Executive Assistant Marian Uffen NARFE Parliamentarian Paul Lamb Guests FON Committee Co-Chair Bill Shackelford FL Federation President Ken Thomas Arlette Thomas NP Beaudoin called the meeting to order. Old Business: NS Hughes announced, for the record, the unanimous yea votes for the NP to appoint a Future of NARFE Committee (FON). 12 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

13 NT Thissen discussed the proposed travel policy in case of cancellations, accidents, and the need for travel and/or liability insurance. The policy will be stated in the Procedures Manual. Additionally, after a discussion concerning the official IRS mileage rate of $ per mile, the following motion was presented: Motion # SUBJECT: Change Mileage for POV Travel. Motion made by NT Thissen and seconded by RVP Martin that the policy manual be revised to indicate reimbursement rate for POV mileage be changed to $.040 per mile. *Amended Motion made by RVP Kirby and seconded by RVP Ross to change the mileage policy to $.045 per mile (not $.40), effective December 1, With a vote of 12 yeas and 1 nay, the amended motion passed. NT Thissen stated that not one cent of NARFE dues monies (including PAC) is used for fundraising and requested the RVPs to relay the message to respective federations and chapters. ACTION ITEM #4: NT Thissen to write an article for inclusion in narfe magazine and the NARFE Insider regarding the fundraiser policy. NS Hughes reported that the F-10 is in the final stages of revision and should be available soon. In light of the revisions, the following motion was presented. Motion # SUBJECT: Closing Chapter - Financial Disbursements Policy and Procedures Manual. Motion made by NS Hughes and seconded by NT Thissen that Financial Disbursements, page 11, be deleted from the Policy and Procedures Manual and that all chapter closing financial obligations follow the Section entitled Procedures for Closing a Local Chapter, Closing Financial Records, page 18 of the F-10. With a vote of 12 yeas and 1 nay, the motion passed. Unfinished Business: NS Hughes again addressed the decision to limit the number of brochures/materials for prospecting and recruiting activities, including the need to create additional ones. RVP Kirby suggested/encouraged discontinuing mailing copies of celebratory certificates to RVPs. NVP Carew addressed the use of QR codes by NARFE. He indicated that this technology is being used less because of security issues. As the technology evolves, the QR code will be replaced by safer and more savvy technology. RVP Ross reminded the Board that the Orientation Session is, once again, scheduled for Sunday, August 24, at the national convention. NT Thissen distributed the minutes of the Investment Committee meeting. While investments remain positive, re-alignment of funds may be considered in the near future to further maximize growth. He also distributed a report, Actuarial Valuation of the Life Membership Trust Fund as of May 1, 2013, prepared by Budget and Finance Director Tayo Coker-Polson. RVP Impinna inquired as to the status of the four membership-related action items, which were presented as a result of the NEB meeting in July. NS Hughes stated the four items appear in the latest edition of the Recruiting and Retention Journal. As stated in the R&R Journal, federations and chapters are encouraged to implement one or more of the three items listed, while the remaining item concerning Friends of NARFE may be considered by the FON Committee. RVP Johnson exhibited vests with the NARFE logo. These were designed by Sue Warner, a member of the Illinois Federation. The cost is $20. If interested, contact Sue Warner at or suewarner@juno.com. NP Beaudoin convened an Executive Session. Upon adjournment of the executive session, the following motion was announced: 13 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders

14 Motion # SUBJECT: Proposal to Move the MD/HI Resolutions to Referendum. Motion made by RVP Kirby and seconded by RVP Zajac that the NEB forward the MD/HI resolutions to the members as a referendum. The motion failed. With no further business, the meeting adjourned Elaine C. Hughes National Secretary **The next scheduled NEB meeting s date to be determined. NARFE Insider is posted on the website, The following members receive NARFE Insider for NARFE Leaders: Officer codes 1-Chapter President, 2-Chapter Vice President, 3-Chapter Secretary, 4-Chapter Treasurer, 5-Chapter Secretary/Treasurer, 6-Chapter Legislative Officer/National, 7-Chapter Membership Chair, 8-Chapter Public Relations, 9-Chapter Service Officer, 11-Chapter Editor, 12-Chapter Alzheimer s Chair, 13-Chapter NARFE-PAC Officer, 14-Chapter Financial Secretary, 15-Chapter Other, 16-Chapter Net Coordinator, 17-Chapter Legislative Officer/State, 20- Federation President, 21-Federation Executive Vice President, 22-Federation Vice President, 23-Federation Secretary, 24-Federation Treasurer, 25-Federation Secretary/Treasurer, 26-Federation Legislative Chair/National, 28-Federation Legislative Chair/State, 29- Federation PR, 31-Federation Service Officer, 33-Federation Membership Chair, 34-Federation Editor, 35-Federation Alzheimer s Chair, 36-Federation NARFE-PAC Coordinator, 37-Federation Immediate Past President, 38-Federation Other, 39-Federation Executive Committee, 40-Pre-Retirement Speaker, 41-Federation Net Coordinator, 42-FEEA Coordinator, 43-Federation Area Officer, 44-Regional Alzheimer s Coordinator, 45-Regional FEEA Coordinator, 49-Regional Vice President, 50-Immediate Past Regional Vice President, 51-National Officer, 52-Past National Officer 14 NARFE Insider Quarterly News for NARFE Leaders