Nine members of the West Grayson Retired School Personnel Association (WGRSPA) attended the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) Convention in Corpus Christi on April 15-17.
Those attending were Mary Nan Story, Wanda Dutton, Glenda Coulson, Sharon Lively, Carol Golden, Carol Pike, T. R. Fletcher, Doris Haney and Sue Barker.
Following the theme of a cruise adventure, “Embark on the USS Joy,” attendees were greeted on Monday evening with music by DJ Arnold Medina and served a variety of delicious hors d’oeuvres while being entertained with music from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
The convention opened with greetings from State Representative Todd Hunter from District 32, which includes Aransas, Calhoun, San Patricio and Nueces Counties.
Attendees were then introduced to keynote speakers, Eleanor “Ellie” Hamby and Sandy Hazelip, two octogenarians made famous by traveling around the world after turning 80 and losing their husbands.
Their presentation entitled “Around the World in 80 Days and Still on the Run” consisted of a slide show of the many countries they visited while taking unique routes and modes of transportation to achieve this feat.
These bold and entertaining ladies made all their own arrangements and challenged retirees to keep going and explore new adventures even in their golden years.
Day two of the conference began with greetings by Congressman Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa who represents the Corpus Christi area.
Attendees then broke into various educational sessions dealing with leadership, making meetings interesting, health and safety, cyber security, fraud prevention, travel opportunities, finding joy in wildlife and technology management.
Luncheon attendees “cruised” to New Orleans and were entertained by a Jazz Band featuring Eddie Olivares, a renowned saxophone player in the south Texas area.
Entertainment for dinner that evening was magician Chris Avallone, considered one of the top magicians in San Antonio. In addition, The Sugar Sisters, a group of semi-retired ladies with similar yet diverse backgrounds from the field of education provided additional musical entertainment.
Day three began with the meeting of the House of Delegates for the business portion of the convention. Brian Guthrie, executive director of Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) updated members on the financial status of the retirement fund, which is actuarially sound and in good financial shape.
Marcy Cann, outgoing TRTA president, reported attendance of 736. Following official business, officers for the biennium 2024-2026 were installed as follows: Ella Gauthier, president; Frana Patterson, 1st VP; Terri Navrkal, 2nd president; and Gary Schepf, secretary/treasurer.
A celebration luncheon with entertainment by Elvis impersonator, Bill Harris, brought the cruise back to the dock, but not before members heard from TRTA Executive Director, Tim Lee. Lee, who was celebrating his 20th year as director, thanked the members for the hard work done in getting Proposition 9 passed unanimously in the past legislative session. The dynamic speaker and passionate leader reminded retirees of the work ahead in obtaining future funding for TRS, for affordable health care and the continuation of a defined benefit retirement for public education employees.
West Grayson RSPA is the local TRTA chapter comprised of retirees from Whitesboro, Collinsville, S&S and Tioga school employees as well as retirees from other Texas districts living in the area. WGRSPA would like to encourage any TRS recipients living in the area to join. WGRSPA meets the first Tuesday of the month at La Hacienda Restaurant at 11:00 a.m. The final meeting of this school year will be May 7.
WGRSPA’s advocacy this past year was a successful campaign that enabled nearly all retirees to get a Cost of Living (COLA) raise, but work must continue to advocate for public education and those retirees coming in the future. Membership numbers matter when the group goes before the legislators to advocate for retiree benefits.
