TYLER, TEXAS

SEPTEMBER 16-17, 2009

September 16, 2009

The Wednesday morning meeting was called to order at 9:04 AM by the President of the co-host Chapter 344 Dr. James Novy. Invocation was presented by Linda Richards of co-host Chapter 801. The Presentation of Colors was led by the Korean War Veterans of East Texas Chapter 286. Pledge of Allegiance was led by Frances Grimes. The National Anthem was sung by Rosie Harman and accompanied by Gary Blevins of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church.

Henry Bell III of the Tyler Visitors Bureau welcomed us to Tyler and pointed out that Tyler is the Rose Capital of the country and encouraged a visit to the Rose Gardens.

Special guests were introduced by James Novy and the gavel was presented to Jerry Hatfield, Region VI Vice President.

The keynote speaker was Joseph Beaudoin, National Vice President, who spoke about the structure of the NARFE organization and its staff. He stressed that each staff member is there to help us. He went on to say that legislative issues and recruiting are not the major problems with NARFE. Lack of effective communication all across the board is the problem. Everyone is responsible for contacting his Congressmen and contacting potential members. NARFE is likened to an insurance policy. You pay a little money up front and you know it is there when you need it.

The Federation Reports were presented next. Jerry spoke on behalf of the Republic of Panama. He pointed out that Panama needs NARFE even more than the rest of us. They have no representation in Congress. The expense of the trip prevented the Federation President from attending.

Joseph Landry of Louisiana uses incentives for recruiting and dues withholding. 24% of their members are on dues withholding. He is working to develop a Federation Newsletter.

Winston Wolfe from Arkansas stresses retention of our present benefits to his members. They have training officers who hold seminars around the state to show support and recruit new officers.

Charles Stanphill of Oklahoma uses incentives for retention as well as recruiting members. The M-112 report has very important information and stresses that each chapter use it for effective retention. NARFE was successful in the State Legislature to get the CSRS retirement pay exempted from State income tax.

Rodney Smith from Texas is encouraging dues withholding and congressional visits. Their large state is divided into districts where meetings are held and he feels the greatest communication takes place there.

Jerry Hatfield gave his Region VI Report and overview. Our region is losing members at about the same ratio as nationally. He stressed that notices will be sent to new eligible retirees and former members.

There were announcements and door prizes before adjourning for lunch.

After lunch we reconvened at 1:00 PM. Dr. John Thomas of Texas spoke of Making Easy Contacts with Congress. It is easy to call, write or email our Congressmen. Everyone is responsible for doing that. He pointed out that sometimes all it takes is asking your representative to cosponsor a bill. They get busy and sometimes forget to cosponsor a bill they have signed onto before.

James Crowder of Oklahoma spoke about legislative issues at the State level. Like National level legislation, it takes persistence and constant contact. He is a very visible person at the Capitol and meets with everyone who can help us in our mission.

Joseph Beaudoin then spoke on Retention Secrets You Can Use with a Power Point presentation. We must continue telling members and potential members what advantages NARFE provides them. Not only do we fight for legislation of importance, but we provide Service Officers, NARFE PAC, support Alzheimer’s research, scholarship awards, disaster aid, pre-retirement seminars and other member perks, and provide newsletters and websites with information of importance to retired Federal employees.

After a coffee break and door prizes, the seminar continued with a panel discussion and questions about retention.

The Wednesday sessions ended for the day at 4:20 PM.

The evening meal, A Mexican Night Buffet, was provided by the seminar committee as part of the registration fee.

September 17, 2009

The Thursday morning session was called to order at 9:03 AM by Jerry Hatfield and a moment of silence was observed. Announcements were made which included an accounting of the numbers present. They included: 127 total participants, 75 from Texas, 32 from Oklahoma, 8 from Louisiana, 10 from Arkansas, and 2 from the National Office.

The Chapter Management Team led by Marshall Richards of Texas was called to the head table. Rubie Hokanson of Oklahoma spoke about the President’s duties. Nancy Maria Denn of Arkansas spoke on Service Officer duties. Fred Ratcliff of Texas spoke about chapter organization and officer responsibility. Joseph Beaudoin spoke about how to get programs, and encouraged speakers of interest and novel ideas to make the meeting fun, such as door prizes and awards.

Nancy Stanphill from Oklahoma spoke about Website Management. Computer use is up sharply and we need to take advantage of this form of communication. She gave resources and program names of value to help in this endeavor.

After a coffee break, the Federation Management Team led by Jerome Smith from Texas presented its sessions. Jerome made some opening remarks about likenesses and differences in our Federations present at this meeting. Jeff Vaughan of Oklahoma spoke about the Federation President’s duties. Bobbie Guillory from Louisiana spoke about the Vice President’s duties. Nancy Stanphill of Oklahoma listed the duties of the Federation Secretary and Treasurer. Jerome finished the discussion with other officer’s duties.

After a lunch break, we came to order again at 1:15 PM. Hinda Gibbs of Arkansas gave an update on Alzheimer’s Research developments. She listed an interesting account of what Alzheimer’s IS and what it ISN’T. Progress is being made on early detection of the signs of the disease and new medications are helping delay the worst effects from it. Research is showing that certain genes seem to point to the likelihood of developing the disease.

Noemi Galvan of Texas spoke on the NARFE Scholarship selection process. Louisiana had five applicants, Oklahoma had eight, Arkansas had six, and Texas had 33. Six winners were selected with one alternate. Each state had at least one winner, with 3 winners from Texas and the alternate from Texas. Permission was granted later in the seminar to announce the winners from our Region. Those winners will be listed on the NARFE website soon and will be published in the NARFE Magazine.

The 2010 Convention dates for our Region were announced and the Presidents of those Federations gave an invitation to all to attend. Panama’s convention is on March 20, 2010, Oklahoma’s convention is on April 15-17, 2010 in Tulsa, and Arkansas’ convention is May 13-15 in North Little Rock. The other Federations meet for a convention every other year and will not meet in 2010.

Questions were then allowed to be addressed to the Federation Presidents. A discussion of the upcoming referendum was allowed with questions and answers. Most confusion about the process was cleared up. The referendum vote will close on December 8, 2009 and the count will begin by an independent firm.

Closing remarks were made by Jerry Hatfield and other announcements ended the Seminar at 4:00 PM.

Rose bushes donated by Tyler Rose Nursery were available for pickup. The closing Banquet featured Prime Rib, vegetables, potato, and Key Lime pie. The entertainment was provided by "Pick’N Grass" who played Blue Grass Music.

Submitted by

Nancy Stanphill

Oklahoma Federation Secretary

Appointed Seminar Secretary