VOLUME 46 - NUMBER 2 VFC AREA IX FEBRUARY 2010

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NATIONAL ACTIVE AND RETIRED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION CHAPTER 893 SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA CHAPTER 893 SERVING OUR MEMBERS VOLUME 46 - NUMBER 2 VFC AREA IX FEBRUARY 2010 PRESIDENT Richard M.

1 NATIONAL ACTIVE AND RETIRED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION CHAPTER 893 SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA CHAPTER 893 SERVING OUR MEMBERS VOLUME 46 - NUMBER 2 VFC AREA IX FEBRUARY 2010 PRESIDENT Richard M. Gallagher rmgallagher@verizon.net VICE PRESIDENT Jim W. Delgado (703) jkadelg@yahoo.com SECRETARY Irene Mields (703) irenemields@aol.com TREASURER Michael M. Burns loganmckenze@cox.net MEMBERSHIP CHAIR Robert S. Drake robtsdrake@msn.com CHAPTER CHAPLAIN Margaret A. Yowell fitzhughlady@aol.com NEWSLETTER EDITOR Vincent P. McDonald vpmjam@aol.com PRESIDENT S PAGE Have you ever wondered how the snowplow operator knows exactly when you ve finished shoveling your driveway? I mean, he always comes around about an hour after you re done and plows you back in. By that time, you ve finally warmed up again and are ready to start the cocktail hour. I think VDOT does this on purpose! And by the way, why do we call it a driveway when all you use it for is parking? By the time you read this we will have had the Annual Holiday Luncheon. Sharon Bulova was our speaker and she updated us on what s going on in the county. It was informative and all had a good time. However, the turnout was a bit disappointing. With 1,800 members we should be able to get better attendance. We may need to revisit our approach to next year s event. In the personnel area, Mike Zwicke resigned as our Alzheimer s Chair. He did an outstanding job raising more than $10,000 during 2009 and he deserves a round of applause from all of us for his efforts. However, until we can find a replacement we will be reducing our fund raising efforts temporarily. In this connection, the Board voted to discontinue the 50/50 drawing. We may still have drawings at chapter meetings, but not on a chapter-wide basis. Interested in leading the Alzheimer s Committee? If so, please contact me. I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Irene Mields as our new secretary. We are grateful to her participation. Our thanks also go to Diane Hill for her service as secretary. We also need volunteers to help on the audit committee to review our books as part of the transfer to the new treasurer. You don t need to be a CPA to help on this. I did it last year, and believe me, it wasn t that difficult or time consuming. Please contact me. Finally, you can help us reduce chapter expenses by agreeing to receive the chapter newsletter electronically. I know this method is not for everyone, but please visit page 4 to see if it will work for you. DICK GALLAGHER

2 CHAPTER CALENDAR 2010 Wed, Feb 3 Chapter Executive Board Meeting, 1:30 pm, Braddock Hall, Kings Park Library Fri, Feb 5 Chapter Deadline for the March newsletter Wed, Feb 10 Chapter 893 Monthly Meeting, 1:00 pm (Registration and Social); 1:30 pm (Business Meeting); 2:15 pm (Program) Thu, Feb 25 Preview Performance of Chicago at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 8 pm Fri, Feb 26 Fairfax County Senior Citizens Council, at 10:00 am, Lincolnia Senior Center. The program is So What is Intercultural Communication. Apr VFC Annual Convention, Virginia Beach (3 nights) (see details inside) THE LUNCH BUNCH The King's Buffet at Kingstowne Center Drive, Alexandria, VA, is our lunch venue at 11:30 am, Wednesday, February 10. The mainly Chinese menu is tempting, there is something for everyone, and it s easy to get there. Coming from Springfield on the Franconia-Springfield Pkwy, it is the last left entrance to the Kingstowne Shopping Center before you reach the Van Dorn intersection. King s Buffet is situated between Taco Bell and Burger King - a narrow, but a roomy restaurant. Contact us now at (703) or eleanore@cox.net. ELEANOR & AL ERICKSON Aug 29 Sep 2 NARFE National Convention, Grand Rapids, MI (5 nights) READ THIS NEWSLETTER ON LINE! Go to Try it! You ll like it! WEATHER CANCELLATION POLICY In the event of inclement weather, scheduled Chapter 893 activities are cancelled when the Fairfax County schools are closed. LITTLE THEATRE OF ALEXANDRIA The next preview performance at The Little Theatre of Alexandria will be CHICAGO on Thursday, February 25, at 8:00 pm. It s the 1920s again in wild and wooly Windy City. Come enjoy the music of Broadway s longest running revival and the inspiration for the Academy Award-winning movie CHICAGO. Tickets are available through Barbara Kohl at (703) Help stamp out no-shows by notifying me by phone before noon on the performance date if you are unable to attend. FX COUNTY SR CITIZENS COUNCIL BARBARA KOHL The Council meets at the Lincolnia Senior Center on Friday, February 26, at 10:00 AM. The topic is So What is Intercultural Communication? Contact Diane Hill at (703) for more information about the Council and this event. DIANE HILL Presidents Day, February 18 NARFE Springfield Chapter 893 Page 2 February 2010

3 PROGRAM NOTES FEBRUARY. Completed in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial is visited by millions of people every year. Who is not moved by the majestic statue of our 16th President and the noble words of his Gettysburg Address? But there are secrets to be told about the Lincoln Memorial! How many visitors notice the misspelled word or misinterpret the meaning of the statue's hands? Do they notice how Lincoln seems to gaze at them as they approach the top step? Some of the memorial s secrets are in plain view, but overlooked. Others are in locations closed to the general public and can only be seen with the help of a National Park Service ranger. Join us as Jason Martz, Park Ranger, National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Capital Region, unveils the Secrets of the Lincoln Memorial. Now you can wow your out-of-town guests when you take them to see the sights in Washington, DC! FEBRUARY CHAPTER MEETING Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Time: 1:00 pm Place: The American Legion Post Amherst Avenue Springfield, VA Program: Secrets of the Lincoln Memorial Getting There: The American Legion Post 176 is located on Amherst Avenue just north of Kay Jennings Springfield Toyota at the corner of Amherst Avenue and Springfield Boulevard. Parking is available at the entrance. MARGARET YOWELL ALZHEIMER S REPORT The chapter-wide Alzheimer's 50/50 Program concluded at the Holiday Luncheon on January 13, John Novak won the final drawing for $ This exhausted the accumulated funds. In addition to the final chapter-wide drawing, there was the traditional Alzheimer s 50/50 Drawing from donations at the Holiday Luncheon. Vin McDonald was the lucky winner of $ Please consider volunteering to serve as the Alzheimer s Chairperson so that we can resume our support of this worthy cause. There are four committee members to assist you. NARFE CHAPTER 893 BUDGET CY 2010 (Approved December 9, 2009) OPERATING INCOME $ 16, % OPERATING EXPENSES: Administrative $ 150 1% Standing Committees 90 1% Other Committees 340 2% Conventions 2,910 18% Fixed Costs 4,425 28% Newsletter 8,010 50% TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES 15, % NET INCOME $ 95 ====== If you have any questions, contact Joan McDonald at or JoanAnneMcDonald@aol.com. NARFE Springfield Chapter 893 Page 3 February 2010

MEMBERSHIP WELCOME NEW MEMBERS (20) DECEMBER 2009* Ronald Alf Judith L. Baker Terry Bowers William G. Boyce Richard Cheslock Marlene T. Evans Lorey Goerlinger Stephen Guback Ronald R. Heilig Robert E.

4 MEMBERSHIP WELCOME NEW MEMBERS (20) DECEMBER 2009* Ronald Alf Judith L. Baker Terry Bowers William G. Boyce Richard Cheslock Marlene T. Evans Lorey Goerlinger Stephen Guback Ronald R. Heilig Robert E. Herman Mary Nephew Jimmy L. Pate Joyce M. Schulte Elizabeth P. Seals Jim Skalecky James Talley Stephen J. Turchen Jan B. Vanderstaay Tom Williams William F. Zapf *New, Reinstatements, Transfers-in WHERE WE STAND. Our membership at January 9, 2010, was 1,808, same as last month. Overall, we are showing a slow but steady increase directly attributable to the follow-ups made and letters sent to members in arrears. This process is working well and our Area Directors are doing a great job! Recruiting remains our weak point. We need outreach to get new members. This takes volunteers and effort. One of my goals for 2010 is to emphasize recruitment. CONDOLENCES. We offer our condolences to the families of: Roger J. Cunningham, Walter A. Katacinsky, Robert Marx, George Wagner, and Francis W. (Bill) Soderholm. Bill was a long-time member of Chapter 893; he and his wife Donna were very active in chapter affairs over the years. GET YOUR NEWSLETTER VIA Improvements in our membership data base management permit us to provide the chapter newsletter electronically to members in a timely and cost-effective manner. We ask that you consider receiving the newsletter on-line. If you decide to do so, you would get a monthly e- mail notification that the newsletter was available. It would provide a link so that with one click you have your newsletter! You can read it online, print it, or save it to your computer for later reading or printing. It costs about $5.00 per member annually to print, and then mail the newsletter via the U.S Postal Service. We trust that among our 1,808 members there are many who would accept electronic delivery if we made it easy for them. There would be a substantial savings that will help keep our chapter dues stable. We have tested the process and it is fully operational and ready to go. If you select the electronic option and change your mind no problem we ll change you back! SUPPORT OUR FRIENDS These merchants provided door prizes for our recent Holiday Luncheon. Patronize them and thank them for their support: Want to see what the newsletter looks like on-line? Good! Go to to see for yourself. Then if you are interested, call me at (703) or at RobtSDrake@msn.com to make the arrangement. BOB DRAKE Paradiso Ristorante Italiano Wal-Mart Kingstowne Giant Springfield Outback Steakhouse Spgfld SPRINGFIELD MALL Vornado Realty Silver Diner Virginia Art Expo Lee High School Madrigals at Our Holiday Luncheon NARFE Springfield Chapter 893 Page 4 February 2010

5 NATIONAL LEGISLATION As you might expect, relatively little happened in Congress in late December and early January. The Senate s health care bill passed just before Christmas with the 60 votes required by lock-step Republican minority opposition, and by the time you read this, Senate and House conferees should be meeting. I don t know whether Republican filibustering can kill whatever comes out of the conference, but what is certain is that there will be much horse-trading between House and Senate over the two different versions of the bill to help Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) maintain his 60-vote bloc of fractious Democrats. Also, the Senate failed to act on H.R Under current law, Social Security beneficiaries are exempt from paying any increase in Medicare B premiums in years without a COLA, and H.R would have included federal retirees who do not receive Social Security in that exemption. But unanimous consent was withheld when Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus asked to put it on the Senate s calendar. Consequently many of us are seeing a notinsignificant increase - $14.10 monthly, or about 15 percent in Medicare B premiums while Social Security recipients are seeing zero increase in theirs. While the House bill technically is still alive, I doubt it will now be acted on, because OPM is already into benefit payments for 2010, and Congress won t want the complexity of trying to change the rules retroactively. Sharon Bulova, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and Dick Gallagher, Chapter President at Holiday Luncheon Finally, NARFE National has recently been concerned by a bill introduced by Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg (R-NH). At our December chapter meeting I reported on their bill, S.2853, which would establish a Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action. National has been concerned for two reasons: (1) reports were that Conrad might withhold a vote for the essential increase in the debt limit unless S.2853 was attached to it, and (2) recommendations for cutting federal outlays, including entitlements, would reportedly be proposed for a Congressional fast-track procedure similar to the BRAC process that is now causing so much concern in the Springfield/Alexandria area. Attachment of the bill to must-pass legislation apparently did not happen because a short-term debt limit-increase did get passed without it, but the issue may come up again, when a more permanent debt limit-increase is needed. Both Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner have co-sponsored the Conrad/Gregg bill, but you may want to contact their offices to express your concern/opposition to a fast-track commission proposal, Senator Webb s office is at , and Senator Warner s is at They may be ed through their web sites, webb.senate.gov, and warner.senate.gov. Let them hear from you! CHARLES DELAPLANE INTERSERVICE COUNCIL OF SPRINGFIELD The speaker at our last Interservice Council meeting was from the Enhanced Code Enforcement Strike Team of the Fairfax County Government. Their function is to cite persons or companies that are violating zoning, building and safety ordinances. This includes everything from uncut grass to unauthorized construction, to overcrowding per dwelling, and unregistered boarding houses. Since its inception in 2007, the team has issued 9,867 notices of violation. Most have been corrected. However, 153 ended in civil cases and 145 ended in criminal cases. Do you have a complaint in this regard? You can call in a complaint at (703) or at The complainant s identity is protected. You can also file a complaint or view complaints filed against a particular property by going to to click on Complaints and Concerns and then follow the instructions. BERNARD HANNAN NARFE Springfield Chapter 893 Page 5 February 2010

6 2010 NARFE VFC Convention When: April (Sunday Wednesday) at the Virginia Beach Hotel and Conference Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Registration and Banquet Fees: Full registration fee, including the banquet, is $45. Registration without the banquet is $15 ($20 after March 2). The banquet alone is $35. You make your own convention and banquet reservations. The Convention Registration and Banquet Form is available at and at our chapter meetings. Submit it with your check directly to the address provided on the form. You must register by March 2, 2010, for your name to appear in the Convention Program Book. Hotel Reservations: The Virginia Beach Hotel and Conference Center is located at 2800 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, VA, Call (toll free) and ask for the NARFE/VFC Convention room rate of $109 (Single or Double) plus tax. Make your hotel registration by March 28, 2010, to ensure getting the convention rate. A credit card will hold your reservation. Free parking and all rooms are suites. Chapter 893 Coordinator: Jim Delgado is our point of contact for tracking Chapter 893 attendance at the VFC Convention. Please inform him at jkadelg@yahoo.com or (703) when you have made your reservation or if you need additional information. HAVE A HEART AND BE A VFC ANGEL! SHOW YOUR CHAPTER 893 SPIRIT SUPPORT THE 2010 VFC CONVENTION You can show your support for the 2010 VFC Convention without even attending! Be a booster angel and have your name published in the Convention Program Book with other Chapter 893 members. Just complete and clip the coupon below. There are five categories of Convention Supporters: Super Angel, Angel, Cheerleader, Booster, and Supporter. Make your check payable to 2010 NARFE/VFC Convention and mail the coupon and check to the address provided on the coupon. Contributions must be received by February 20, 2010, to guarantee publication in the Convention Program Book. clip here _ 2010 NARFE/VFC CONVENTION SUPPORTER CHECK THE SELECTED CATEGORY; MAKE YOUR CHECK PAYABLE TO 2010 NARFE/VFC CONVENTION; PRINT YOUR NAME AS YOU WANT IT TO APPEAR IN THE PROGRAM BOOK, AND MAIL TO: ELIZABETH OSBORN AT 8619 CLYDESDALE ROAD, SPRINGFIELD, VA YOUR CONTRIBUTION MUST BE RECEIVED BY FEBRUARY 20, 2010, TO GUARANTEE PUBLICATION IN THE PROGRAM BOOK. SUPER ANGEL ($25) ANGEL ($15) CHEERLEADER ($10) BOOSTER ($5) SUPPORTER ($1) PRINT NAME CLEARLY: AMOUNT: $ NARFE Springfield Chapter 893 Page 6 February 2010

7 NARFE SPRINGFIELD CHAPTER 893 January 6, 2010 OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD Officers (Voting) Richard M. Gallagher, President Jim W. Delgado, Vice President Irene Mields Michael M. Burns, Treasurer Chapter Directors (Voting) TBA (A) (2011) Craig R. Goral (B) (2011) Bernard J. Bretz (C) (2010) Jesse Hill (D) (2010) Lillian C. Levy (E) (2012) Charles K. McPherson (F) (2012) Doris Lama (A/L) (2011) Earl Levy (A/L) (2012) Bernard F. Hannan (A/L) (2010) Acting Immediate Past President (Voting) Sharon Forrest Standing Committees (Voting) Alzheimer s TBA Membership/PR Robert S. Drake RobtSDrake@msn.com National Legislation Charles T. Delaplane cdelaplane@verizon.net Service Thomas E. Branagan Thomas_branagan@hotmail.com State Legislation Jay Holmes jay.holmes@cox.net Other Committees and Appointees Chaplain Margaret A. Yowell fitzhughlady@aol.com Correspondence Elizabeth C. Osborn Osbornre@verizon.net Historian Robert H. Osborn Osbornre@verizon.net Net Coordinator Tony Welch AFWelch@aol.com Newsletter Editor Vincent P. McDonald vpmjam@aol.com Program Margaret A. Yowell fitzhughlady@aol.com Registration Doris Lama dmlama@yahoo.com Resolutions James R. Wamsley jawamsley@comcast.net Volunteer Coordinator Jim W. Delgado jkadelg@yahoo.com Webmaster Sidney A. Sachs sidneysachs@juno.com Special Event Committees Picnic June 2, 2010 TBA RETAIN THIS PAGE Holiday Luncheon January 13, 2010 Dick Gallagher FOR FUTURE REFERENCE Social Coordinators Hospitality Norma A. Hughes nah.home@verizon.net Lunch Bunch Al and Eleanor Erickson eleanore@cox.net Theater Barbara Kohl nana2k@verizon.net Community Liaisons Fairfax Cnty Sr Council Diane M. Hill jdrewh@verizon.net Spgfld Inter-Svc Council Bernard F. Hannan bfhhimselfr@hotmail.com NARFE Springfield Chapter 893 Page 7 February 2010

8 NARFE Springfield Chapter 893 Non-Profit Org. P. O. Box U.S Postage West Springfield, VA Paid Merrifield, VA Permit No Chapter 893 Meeting, February 10, 2010 POSTMASTER The American Legion Post 176, Springfield, VA Please deliver by January 27, 2010 FEBRUARY CHAPTER MEETING SECRETS OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL Wednesday, February 10, 2010 (See page 3 for details) VFC CONVENTION 2010 April 25 28, 2010 Virginia Beach Hotel and Convention Center Virginia Beach, VA (See page 6 for details)

VOLUME 46 - NUMBER 6 VFC AREA IX SEPTEMBER 2010

NATIONAL ACTIVE AND RETIRED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION CHAPTER 893 SPRINGFIELD, VIRGINIA CHAPTER 893 SERVING OUR MEMBERS VOLUME 46 - NUMBER 6 VFC AREA IX SEPTEMBER 2010 PRESIDENT Richard M. Gallagher