RETENTION

Three Chapter members, Mary Araya, Cece Dougherty, and Bob Wehrli attended a District 3 meeting chaired by Charlie Shannon , the District 3 Vice President. Many topics were discussed including Recruitment, Retention, Public Relations, Finance, and Membership Services. The Chapter has included most if not all of these in our plans. The importance of three of these concerns warrants a closer look. Membership Service, Recruitment and Retention are presently all under Membership which has served us well in the past. However; each one of these requires a great deal of time and devotion. So much so that together they are almost too much for one individual.

Both Mary Araya and Cece Dougherty have analyzed attendance records to determine who comes to meetings. Cece has the Phone Committee and gets information on the well being of members and their needs. Lee Sherman has followed up on M112’s andM114’s.

Lee Sherman has done a great job of keeping track of the membership as a whole and following up on members who have forgotten or questioned their dues. She calls these people or in some cases written to them. Lee has also done a great job with service for both members and non members. Lee has also recruited more members than anyone else in the Chapter and has signed up more members to Dues Withholding.

All three ladies will be asked to continue in their present positions and continue just as before. However, Cece Dougherty will be asked to assume the role of Retention Chairperson. Lee will be Membership/Recruitment Chairperson. Mary will continue to establish who attends meetings as part of her duties as Secretary.

The recognition of Retention as a separate function and our effort to collect data should contribute to the over all function of the Chapter.

WISE or Wisdom In Senior Education

Kent Ryan, Associate Vice President of the Daytona State College Foundation, will be speaking at the next AARP meeting at the Presbyterian church on Amsden road on Sept 8, at 10 a.m. The topic is the WISE program. WISE standing for Wisdom In Senior Education. The program has been discussed at least one of our earlier meeting, but the Board felt we need to take another look at the advantages of the program. Therefore, Kent Ryan will be our speaker for the October meeting. Since the program starts in September it might be advantageous to anyone who thought they might like to be involved in WISE to attend the AARP meeting. The AARP also provides a small lunch for $2.00.

REQUEST FOR TALENT

I have one request and one announcement.

Please reply if you have any special talents such as playing the piano, singing, story telling, dance, theater, a special skill as computer, photography, crafts or experiences as predicting weather, an interesting assignment over seas, or what ever. It is my guess that most of us have several of these talents, skills or experiences. Please at least share the description with me. Why? I am never sure what someone might ask me for. As an example, Ms. Carter, the Editor of the NARFE magazine ask me if we had any artists as members of the Chapter and would I share these names with her. Immediately I thought of Cece Dougherty and Trish Vevera. Let’s hope one or both can in some way assist Ms. Carter. If the Chapter has more artists and you know a name, please reply and call me at 441-9250.

Thanks to John Lowe’s efforts the Florida Federation has granted the Chapter $200 to help support the Senior Expo. on November 4and 5 of 2009 at the Daytona Ocean Center.

We are very pleased and honored with the trust that the Federation has expressed by supplying this grant to the Chapter. We have done an excellent job in the past and I am counting on a similar experience this year.

SOCIAL SECURITY

The Social Security Trustees have estimated that there will be no COLA increases for the next two years. Their estimate is based on the assumption that there will be no increase in the cost of living or inflation mostly because the cost of oil is less than 2008. This prediction will affect our Annuity as well.

***A posting on August 18, 2009 in our Chapter Blog : http://narfenewsletter.blogspot.com/

JULY INFLATION DECLINES 0.2 PERCENT

Aug 18, 2009

For purposes of calculating the next COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) the index is currently 2.3 percent below the 2008 third quarter average base index of 215.5. August consumer prices indices will be released on September 16, 2009…..

In spite of what the experts may say in Washington, locally the cost of electricity will be increasing which is our major source of energy. Gasoline might be less this year than two years ago, but it is on the rise. We will see an increase in our property taxes, plus the cost of trash pick up just went $132 to $197per year.

Our Health Care will surely increase for the year. Our Insurance premiums that we pay after taxes will increase again; plus the cost of Medicare Part B and Part D have increases in the works. Thankfully Part B premiums have a cap on them. Part B (coverage for doctor visits) can not increase more than the increase in the COLA which will be zero for the next two years. Therefore; we are somewhat protected on Part B. Part D (coverage for Drugs) has no cap. Again we as a group are lucky, if we followed the advice of NARFE by not signing up for Part D.

In the end what is the result? You and I lose. We will have much less money to work with next year and most likely the year after. We lose on the COLA; cost of energy, medical care, Property taxes, trash pick up and most things that were “out sourced”. We won on Medicare Part B and if we follow advice of NARFE on Part D. The losses seem to our weigh the small gains.

CECE DOUGHERTY said...

YOU PAINT A GLOOMY PICTURE AND iT'S TRUE WE WILL ALL HAVE TO ECONOMIZE, HOWEVER, WE MUST ALSO COUNT OUR BLESSINGS. DUE TO OUR AGE, WE PROBABLY HAVE A MORTGAGE-FREE HOME. WE HAVE THE BEST MEDICAL COVERAGE SO WE HAVEN'T GONE BANKRUPT AND WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT LOSING OUR JOBS. WE HAVE TO PRAY CONDITIONS DON'T GET WORSE. WE WILL ALL SURVIVE.

U.S. Census: supplied by John Lowe

With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data. The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

** If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.

** Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, it will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.

Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, they will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit www.bbb.org.

SINGLE DUES

Benjamin J. Pappa Jr.

FL. Federation Past President

BEN WROTE:

This referendum will have a major affect on NARFE, that is why each of you needs to take the time to assess the value of what the referendum will do.

Each Chapter member needs to find out from your Chapter President or Secretary as to when this referendum will be discussed, and when the vote will be taken and make plans to attend both of the meetings.

Each member needs to approach this issue with an open mind, and consider what is best for the association, not as a personal agenda item. Questions need to be asked and answered, questions of both a positive and negative approach. Questions such as:

If this referendum is adopted;

1 - How will this affect future recruitment of new members, will it make it easer or more difficult?

2 – How will this affect the retention of our current members?

3 – Will this provide National, Federation and each Chapter with the funds needed to accomplish the tasks entrusted to them, or;

4 – Will this place an undo hardship on the individual member because of the increase in annual dues to about 65% of our membership, an average increase of about $2.00 to $5.00 per year?

5 – Will this have a major affect on those chapters that have dues of more then $9.00 with a loss in revenue, about 15% of our membership?

6 – What will the overall cost to national be to adjust the text on several forms and handouts that relate to National and Chapter dues?

7 – What will be the cost to reprogram the national computer system to adapt to this new dues structure?

8 – Does this referendum in its current text address a fair distribution of the National Dues, should it be distributed by dollars as stated in the current referendum, or should it be distributed to each part of NARFE, national, federation and chapter by a percentage of the total National Dues, thereby avoiding future problems should a need to increase dues sometime in the future ?

These are just a few of the question that need to be addressed, I am certain that you and other chapter members will have several others. It’s only when each chapter member has a better understanding of what this referendum may or may not do, that each member with an open mind will be able to vote yes or no based on what is best for NARFE as an Association to accomplish its goals of protecting the earned benefits of both the current and retired federal employee.

The survival of NARFE and its ability to accomplish its goals of the protection of our earned annuity and benefits such as our FEHBP are and should be the issue, not the personal agenda items of a few.

Over the years as both a member and leader within NARFE, I have learned that given the correct information, the membership will inject the proper and correct guidance to the leadership through either suggestive ideas or mandated policies and procedures through their vote.

Become involved, NARFE needs you, and you need NARFE !

See Ben's entire message in the RIGHT COLUMN just below

"ABOUT NARFE CHAPTER 2247".

Correspondence from Congressman Mica

Dear Mr. Wehrli:

Thank you for contacting me with regard to H.R. 1203, the Federal and Military Retiree Health Care Equity Act. It is good to hear from you and I appreciate the opportunity to respond.

Like you, I understand the benefits of having one's health insurance premiums paid on a "pre-tax basis". As you may know, H.R. 1203 would, amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow federal, civilian and military retirees to pay health insurance premiums on a pre-tax basis and to allow a deduction for Tricare supplemental premiums. As your Representative in Congress, it is important for me to hear your views. Please know that should H.R. 1203 come before the House, I will carefully consider your comments.

Thank you again for your correspondence and please do not hesitate to contact me again with this or any other issue of interest to you.

Cece Dougherty said...

I'm glad Rep. Mica read your letter and answered it. Too often a form letter is returned covering a similar subject but not quite what you wrote about.

AUGUST 22, 2009 1:07 PM

VICTOR DEAN RECOGNIZED for HIS SERVICE

Victor Dean, a member of the Ormond Chapter 2247, was recognizes by the Council on Aging for his volunteer work with the Meals on Wheels program. Victor is now in his ninth year as a volunteer. He delivers 6 to 13 meals every Tuesday; plus filling in where needed in the program. Not only does Victor deliver the meals, but he may be the only contact some of these people have with the outside world. On one such occasion Victor recognized one person as having problem keeping up with things. Victor communicated the problems to the COA and additional services were provided.

In Volusia County 300 volunteers serve 300,000 meals every week. Lee Sherman, who has been recognized both by the Chapter and NARFE Nation for her service to the community also drives for the COA Meals on Wheels program.

We would like to congratulate Victor Dean for his service, but we would expect no less from a Federal retiree. All Retirees have served the public with devotion and dedication.

VOTING BY BALLOT

The Chapter had two occasions where we voted with a ballot this summer. This was something new for the chapter. In the past, the issues were fairly simple and just called for a voice vote or a show of hands. I expect we will have to vote again by ballot this fall on the issue single dues. NARFE National Headquarters is requiring that every one vote. It shouldn’t be a problem for our Chapter since we have gone through the process twice already.

That brings me to the point. Every successful operation requires planning and people to carry it out. The accompanying photos include some of the people who were instrumental in the voting process.

CHAPTER MEETING PLACE

The question of where the Chapter will meet on the third Monday of the month has been finally settled. The River Grille Restaurant at 950 N. US Highway1in Ormond was selected at the Fed Lunch on August 17, 2009. The River Grille received 19 votes out of 39 or 48% while Morrision Buffet, the Olive garden and the Elks Lodge received 6 votes each or 15%. In the end there was no question which Restaurant was the first choice of the members.

Four members send their preference in prior to the meeting and those votes would have been counted if the vote had been close, but that wasn’t the case. It should be mentioned that many other restaurants were considered, but they didn’t meet all the requirements of a meeting with 40 members plus audio. The ability to hear and see the speaker was high on the list of requirements.

In the past, we have used two table arrangements. The first being long tables with the members sitting at right angles to the speaker. The other is more informal with six or eight at a table like the Christmas Party and the speaker is at one end of the room. The latter allows for better discussions between members at any one table, but still allows fair visibility of the speaker and hearing is usually good. I suggest we use the informal arrangement for the September meeting.

There is also a second official meeting of the Chapter every second Monday of the month at the Ormond Library. All members are invited to this meeting which is held in room #4 at 10:00a.m. Some of the activities of this meeting include producing the Newsletter, committee reports, and preparation of actions for approval by the members.

JULY INFLATION DECLINES 0.2 PERCENT

GEMS, AUGUST 17, 2009

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) decreased 0.2 percent in July 2009 according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). Released on August 14^th, the CPI-W for July is 210.526. For purposes of calculating the next COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) the index is currently 2.3 percent below the 2008 third quarter average base index of 215.5. August consumer prices indices will be released on September 16, 2009.

Benefits awarded under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) to individuals who left the workforce due to work-related injuries or illnesses are adjusted according to each calendar year’s percentage change in the CPI-W and payable in the following year’s month of April. July’s index is 2.8 percent higher than the December 2008 base of 204.813.

CPI-W		Monthly % Change	% Toward Next COLA
Oct.	212.2	-1.3	-1.5
Nov.	207.3	-2.3	-3.8
Dec.	204.8	-1.2	-5.0
Jan.	205.7	0.4	-4.5
Feb.	206.7	0.5	-4.1
March	207.2	0.2	-3.8
April	207.9	0.3	-3.5
May	208.8	0.4	-3.1
June	210.9	1.1	-2.1
July	210.5	-0.2	-2.3

HEALTH CARE BILL / HR 3200

Here are two widely respected Fact Check websites which could answer many of the questions being raised. The first is www.factcheck.org, which is part of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, at the University of Pennsylvania. The second is www.politifact.com, a project of the St. Petersburg Times.

For members who would like to further examine all of the proposals, I would recommend The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). KFF has an accurate, nonpartisan analysis of the major health care reform bills in a side-by-side comparison website at http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm. The Kaiser Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.

To read the House bill, members can go to www.thomas.gov

and click on the link for HR 3200 on the home page.

Please, check these sources out and send a comment back to me as to whether you found the sources accurate and informative as well as in agreement with your own believes. You can comment directly within the Blog or by e-mail, if you have trouble with the Blog entry.

EXECUTIVE BOARD

NARFE, Chapter 2247

Ormond Beach, FL

Minutes of Meeting of Executive Board

Monday, August 10, 2009

Present: Bob Wehrli who presided, John Lowe, Cece Dougherty, Mary Ann Whitaker, Marguerite Hiemenz, June Griffin, and Mary Araya

Upcoming issues discussed and agreed upon for action by the membership:

1. Proposed Changes to by-laws -

Article VIII - Voting and Elections

As is:

Section 3. The Nominating Committee shall present an approved slate of officers at the November meeting for election and installation at the Annual Meeting in January. Nominations may be made from the floor.

As revised:

Section 3: The Nominating Committee shall present an approved slate of officers at the April meeting for election and installation at the Annual Meeting in May. Nominations may be made from the floor.

Article VI - Nominating and Membership

Section 2: (As revised:) Nominating, Membership and Internal Auditing

2. Charlie Shannon is calling a meeting of chapter presidents at the Woodland Towers in Deland on Wednesday, August 26 from 12:30 to 2:30 for informal discussion on current topics relevant to our membership: health care, single dues, etc. Cece Dougherty, Bob Wehrli and Mary Araya will attend this meeting.

3. John Lowe completed forms for the chapter to apply for grant monies from the federation to assist with the cost of recruitment activities, in particular to prepare for and man a booth at the Senior Expo at the Ocean Center on November 4th and 5th. Bob Wehrli signed and expedited the grant request.

4. Cece volunteered to make copies of the Chapter newsletter at the Office Depot each month. Since this was one of Bob’s lest favorite chores, the news has made him ecstatic… He thanked Cece profusely.

5. The list of speakers was reviewed. It was suggested by Bob that, as part of our recruitment effort at the local post office, a union official be invited to speak at one of our meetings. The rationale would be to show the postal union that as their efforts are to ensure present benefits of postal workers, NARFE works hard to ensure retirement benefits of government workers.

6. Cece did extensive research to compile a list of Chapter 2247 members’ e-mail addresses. This update will result in more members receiving the monthly newsletter by e-mail and lessening the cost of monthly mailings.

7. The issue of the single dues referendum will be taken up at the September meeting of members. A national vote is to take place in December.

8. President Bob Wehrli has readied a voting form for members to use at the informal group meeting at the Olive Garden on Monday, August 17th. This vote will determine where our chapter will meet for its regular monthly meetings.

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

At the last Executive Board Meeting on August 10^th; it was mentioned that Carl Persis would be conducting a Budget meeting that very night. I was unable to attend that meeting, but because of my interest in the subject at least two persons reported on the meeting. The enclosed comments are from one of these persons.

From: cgleichmann@earthlink.net
To: cpersis@co.volusia.fl.us
CC: aweeks2306@aol.com
Sent: 8/11/2009 11:08:25 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Last Nights Meeting

Good morning!

I wanted to take a minute and thank you for your participation last night. The information you distributed was useful in helping us understand the county budgeting process.

I did leave in frustration that it’s business as usual at Volusia County . I do not believe you can do business as usual today. I have had to make major adjustments in both my personal and business expense budgets over the last 12 months. I would expect you to do that as well in your business. A 2.7% reduction in projected budget is a joke compared to what private industry and individuals have had to deal with over the last 12 months. Our unemployment rate is over 10% in Volusia County and Florida is one of the two largest foreclosure states in the country. I don’t see business “as usual” for a long time to come.

When you look at the proposed tax hike plus things like doubling the cost of license tags, permits and other paid for services I can see that the county still has no issue in trying to improve their revenue stream at the tax payer’s expense.

That being said, I ask you to take a fresh look at the budget and champion an effort to reduce your expenses and our taxes. I see inefficiencies in county operation everyday just driving around the peninsular. Here are a couple of examples:

1. The county moves a backhoe with two trucks, 5 people and drives the backhoe to the job in a caravan at 15 mph. A private contractor uses two men and a trailer.

2. There were 4 workers and a supervisor painting a line in the street by hand,

3. Stop up a Hi Bridge and see how many county people and trucks are hanging around.

4. The road and bridge people repaired a pot hole at our corner by throwing some aggregate in the hole, raking it out and driving away. It lasted a day. The county used 2 trucks and 4 men for a repair that lasted 24 hours.

I would challenge the county to look at a budget driven off of a flat (08) tax rate rather than a flat revenue number. Every department needs to participate. Let’s look at improving efficiencies and becoming more productive rather than just making cuts. It is a challenge that every business has had to face in the last year. Volusia needs to step up to the real issues out there!

Best Regards,

Chuck Gleichmann

3300 John Anderson Dr

Ormond Beach FL 32176

SEARCH ENGINE

A Google search engine has been added to our narfenewsletter for your convenience. The search tool has been added to the column on the Right and just above Topics of Interest.

To see how it works put in River Grille and click Search. See what you get. You should receive several responses to which you can click on and get the whole article. Let me know how you like it.

I also tried to get a calendar on, but didn't succeed on that one. I want an application to join NARFE, but that will take more work.

Keep looking. I continue to search for changes to make the site better.

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING JULY 20-23,2009

Information supplied by BOB HARRELL

1. The possibility of establishing a Retention Chair Position is to be investigated by the Secretary and Treasurer to add a retention function to the F-7 and updating publications reflecting the retention duties.
2. A discussion was held concerning the availability of insurance benefits information to be given to attendees at Health Fairs. A study will be performed to determine the possibility of including this information on the Web Site to allow chapters access for reproduction.
3. The discussion on the Dues Withholding Application was placed on hold until the November 2009 NEB meeting.
4. Blogs and Face Book: The NEB does not support Blogs. With the amount of erroneous information being circulated on the internet, the only reasonable Blog Site would require a gatekeeper to ensure the appropriateness of the comments appearing on the net. Face Book is a personal social networking internet procedure and the NEB is not opposed to members using it as a means to promote greater awareness of NARFE.
5. GEM Messages: The inability of determining the sender of same. GEM messages sent by Headquarters always indicate that it is sent by Headquarters. Regional Vice Presidents and Federation Presidents are responsible for ensuring that their GEM messages are consistent with the requirements and identification of the sender.
6. Timeliness: The timeliness of making record changes submitted by a chapter or federation was a great concern from the presidents. One reason for the delays is that the reports are being sent to the wrong office. NARFE will review the procedures for making changes to member records to ensure timely processing. Information will be disseminated to the chapters and federations in the near future covering address for submitting changes/updates.
7. Bob Wehrli said...

   I have to take exception to #4 where NEB does not support Blogs. I fear that the members of the NEB may not understand Blogs or how the Blog Posting and Comment system works.
   The NEB in #5 admits that the GEM system has an “inability of determining the sender”. They seem to be transferring the problems of GEM onto a different and more advanced system of interaction. A Blog identifies all participants and has a built in Gate Keeper as well. Therefore; the Blog over comes the objection of the GEM message.
   Not stated, but implied is WEB sites are favored. WEB sites are stagnant compared to the Blog that is up to date and changing with time. You see what is new, but you can also look back if necessary.
   Both systems have their place in a fully integrated communication system

AUGUST NEWSLETTER

National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association

ORMOND BEACH, FL., CHAPTER 2247

NEXT FED LUNCH: AUGUST 17, 2009, 11:30 A.M

OLIVE GARDEN Restaurant

880 S. ATLANTIC AV. Ormond Beach

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Our next Fed Lunch will be as important as the previous two, because we will be voting on our future business meeting place for the year. As you eat and talk please think about the following: the room has to accept an audio system; have seating for at least 40 people in a semi-private room, be central to the membership, and provide reasonably priced lunches.

The three restaurants to be considered are: the new Morrison Buffet in the Bellaire Plaza, the River Grille Restaurant on Rt. 1, and the Olive Garden on A1A.

NARFE MEETS WITH MICA’S STAFF

Ormond NARFE Chapter 2247 met with Mica’s staff on July 15, 2009 in the Ormond office. Bob Wehrli, President of the Ormond Chapter, presided over the meeting and introduced each member to Mr. Richard Harkey who was standing in for the Congressman. Then Bob read a letter to the group in which he asked Mr. Harkey to convey to the Congressman. The letter addressed three issues: Government Pension Offset (GPO), Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), and Premium Conversion. Bob thanked the congressman for Cosigning H.S.235 that would eliminate both the Government Pension offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) on or about March 24, 2010.

However, the Bill has to get out of Committee if it is to receive a vote. To that end Bob requested; that the Congressman urges Chairman Rangel of the House Committee on Ways and Means to take Action and allow the Bill to come before the entire House for a vote.

In like manner Bob asked; the Congressman to Cosign H.R. 1203 which would allow Federal and Military Retirees to use pre-tax earnings to pay their share of the health insurance premiums. He further urged the Congressman to use all in his power to get H.R.1203 out of Committee and onto the House Floor for a positive vote.

Next, eleven members of the Ormond Chapter and one from the New Smyma Beach Chapter provided personalized information as to how the three issues involved them and affect their lives. The members who spoke were: Cece Dougherty, Karen Isaacs, Nick Calvano, John Lowe, Lee Sherman, Pat Berger, Marie Donahue, Geri Wehrli, Sue O’Brien, Don Wasson, and Rose Lauer. Several of these people also provided written material addressing the three issues.

Bob closed by thanking Mr. Harkey for his attention and questions that brought out additional information on the three issues.

Pictures were taken (of the group). The above was posted in the NARFE Chapter 2247 NEWSLETTER BLOG with pictures. Go to: http://narfenewsletter.blogspot.com/

NEWSLETTER WORKSHOP Mary Gaspary of the Ormond Library conducted a workshop on July 13, 2009 in the library on the use of the computer with our narfenewsletter. The workshop which was a hands-on session was attended by nine chapter members. We hope to have another workshop in the near future.

SENIOR EXPO @ OUTREACH

These two programs are an attempt to bring in new members to the chapter and make us better known in the greater Daytona area. Previously the Council on Aging supported the Chapter with the Senior Expo. This year we have to fund the project ourselves. The OutReach program is a new effort to include active Federal Employees.

HEALTH CARE

NARFE has taken NO position on the health care reform legislation currently receiving serious consideration in the House and the Senate. That’s because the status of the leading bills is extremely fluid and is subject to change. Neither the House nor the Senate bills would open the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to non-federal civilians nor would FEHBP be offered as the proposed public health care plan. More in depth analysis on the legislation will appear in the September NARFE magazine and will be sent to NARFE members by e-mail via GEMS.

Many NARFE members have contacted the Legislative Department regarding e-mail they have received which make various claims about the health care reform bills.

NARFE advises members to carefully scrutinize such messages because some of them in current circulation provide misleading or false information.

NARFE members who are interested in receiving accurate, nonpartisan analysis about the major health care reform bills, including the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Education (HELP) Committee and the House Tri-Committee proposals, visit the Kaiser Family Foundation side-by-side bill comparison web site at: http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm .

The Kaiser Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. ATTENDANCE and GOALS for the year

Mary Araya, our Secretary, who takes our attendance every month wanted to know who actually attends our regular business meetings on the third Monday of the month. She looked back over eighteen months from June of 2009 and examined 13 regular meetings.

We averaged 26% attendance per meeting, but we reached 33% several times during the test period. Fifty four members (47% of the membership) contributed to that record of 26% average attendance. A total of twenty five members had an attendance of 75%. Mary Araya and Marie Donahue had a perfect attendance record.

One has to wonder why the other 61 members didn’t attend at least one meeting over the eighteen month. The needs of that group will have to be examined. Some of these members physically can’t attend meetings. The Telephone committee reported a variety of reasons why some members can’t attend, but we should do something other than provide a newsletter to these members.

We have another 61 members on our e-mail list and 35 members (57%) of those members attended meetings. The e-mail member’s attendance of 57% is 10% better that the none-e-mail members. This result was expected.

The summer meetings took place on the same third Monday of the month, but were billed as more social than business. Twenty five members attended the first Fed Lunch and 35 plus 2 guests attended the second lunch. The officers were very pleased with these results. Last summer we averaged 15 members per lunch, but it is difficult comparing the two summers. The activities of the two summers were completely different.

CONCUSIONS @ GOALS

1. Our goal for attendance from September 2009 to May of 2010 should be 33% per meeting.
2. Thirty five members should reach an attendance of 75% for the nine months.
3. We should have a program in place to increase our service to those members who are home bound.
4. I don’t think we can increase the number of members who own computers, but I would like to increase the number members who use the Library computers to receive our narfenewsletter.
5. The number of members who use the Newsletter blog should increase to at least twenty five by May of 2010. Since we can handle only nine members in a workshop, we would have to provide two more workshops by May 2010.

EXPRESS your opinion by signing up for a workshop to participate in the narfenewsletter; http://narfenewsletter.blogspot.com/ If you would like to be more involved please call Bob Wehrli at 386-441-9250 or e-mail; Rwehrli1@cfl.rr.com

HEALTH DEBATE

There is no debate! What we have are outright distortions and misinformation by those who oppose any change in the health system for profit. The misinformation covers a wide range of issues. As a patient you will have to receive approval from a Government employee to see your doctor or the distortion may state as fact that everyone over 85 will have to receive counseling on end-of life procedures. None of these claims are true or even near the truth. But they are being sent to us under the threat of if we don’t pass them on something terrible will happen to us. Some of our own members are being victimized by these messages. If you receive one of these messages which claim to be fact, do one of two things. Check the claim out on www.snopes.com (which is free) or ask one of the NARFE CHAPTER OFFICERS to check it out for you.

Please don’t circulate invalidated material. The rule in publishing use to be every fact had to be checked by two independent sources. Rules like that don’t exist today, but they should.

Bob Wehrli said...

HEALTH CARE DEBATE
Under any plan likely to emerge from Congress, the vast majority of Americans who are not old or poor will continue to buy health insurance from private companies, continue to get their health care from doctors in private practice and continue to be treated at privately owned hospitals.

The centerpiece of all the plans is a new health insurance exchange set up by the government where individuals, small businesses and eventually larger businesses will be able to purchase insurance from private insurers at lower rates than are now generally available under rules that require insurers to offer coverage to anyone regardless of health condition. Low-income workers buying insurance through the exchange -- along with their employers -- would be eligible for government subsidies. While the government will take a more active role in regulating the insurance market and increase its spending for health care, that hardly amounts to the kind of government-run system that critics conjure up when they trot out that oh-so-clever line about the Department of Motor Vehicles being in charge of your colonoscopy.
SOURCE: WASHINGTON POST

ATTENDANCE and GOALS

Mary Araya, our Secretary, who takes our attendance every month wanted to know who actually attends our regular business meetings on the third Monday of the month. She looked back over eighteen months from June of 2009 and examined 13 regular meetings.

We averaged 26% attendance per meeting, but we reached 33% several times during the test period. Fifty four members (47% of the membership) contributed to that record of 26% attendance. A total of 25members had an attendance of 75%. Mary Araya and Marie Donahue had a perfect attendance record.

One has to wonder why the other 61 members didn’t attend at least one meeting over the eighteen month. The needs of that group will have to be examined. Some of these members physically can’t attend meetings. The Telephone committee reported a variety of reasons why some members can’t attend, but we should do something other than provide a newsletter to these members.

We have another 61 members on our e-mail list and 35 members (57%) of those members attended meetings. The e-mail member’s attendance of 57% is 10% better that the none-mail members. This result was expected.

The summer meetings took place on the same third Monday of the month, but were billed as more social than business. Twenty five members attended the first Fed Lunch and 35 plus 2 guests attended the second lunch. The officers were very pleased with these results. Last summer we averaged 15 members per lunch, but it is difficult comparing the two summers. The activities of the two summers were completely different.

Conclusions:

Our goal for attendance from September 2009 to the following May should be 33% per meeting.

Thirty five members should reach an attendance of 75% for the nine months.

We should have a program in place to increase our service to those members who are home bound.

I don’t think we can increase the number of members who own computers, but I would like to increase the number members who use the Library computers.

The number of members who use the Newsletter blog should increase to least twenty five by May of 2010. Since we can handle only nine members in a workshop, we would have to provide two more workshops by May 2010.

HEALTH CARE

NARFE has taken NO position on the health care reform legislation currently receiving serious consideration in the House and the Senate. That’s because the status of the leading bills is extremely fluid and is subject to change. Neither the House nor the Senate bills would open the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to non-federal civilians nor would FEHBP be offered as the proposed public health care plan. More in depth analysis on the legislation will appear in the September NARFE magazine and will be sent to NARFE members by e-mail via GEMS.

Many NARFE members have contacted the Legislative Department regarding e-mail they have received which make various claims about the health care reform bills.

NARFE advises members to carefully scrutinize such messages because some of them in current circulation provide misleading or false information.

NARFE members who are interested in receiving accurate, nonpartisan analysis about the major health care reform bills, including the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Education (HELP) Committee and the House Tri-Committee proposals, visit the Kaiser Family Foundation side-by-side bill comparison web site at: http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm . The Kaiser Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.