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the commitment continues. . . More exposure to active DSEA members So many people say that they did not know DSEA-Retired existed. We changed that this year by having informational tables at the three DSEA Member Benefit Fairs in the fall, at the Winter Advocacy Retreat (WAR), the Educational Support Professionals Conference in the fall, the DSEA Representative Assembly, and even marching in the Labor Day parade with DSEA. We even sponsored a hole at the Chris Smith Future Teachers Scholarship Golf Tournament for the past two years. DSEA-Retired President Rich Phillips catches up with former Wm Penn High School colleague Linda Stigile. Retired group is anything but - Rich Phillips, DSEA-Retired President retengteacher05@comcast.net DSEA-Retired has not been sitting on its hands, but has made strides to strengthen the organization. The following information is taken from committee reports. F Our first afternoon of Presentations and Vendors Many informational sessions were presented about concerns of retired state employees, including sessions from Social Security, State of Delaware Office of Pensions, Collette Travel, DelaWELL, Medicare and State Insurance pro- grams. We also benefited from pre- sentations about special programs for seniors, including DART/SCAT senior ride programs, Senior Olympics, State of Delaware Division of Aging programs, etc. Plans are to repeat this event next year. www.dsea.org rom the committee reports presented at our Annual Meeting held on April 25, DSEA-Retired is the only Delaware retired state- employee organization affiliated with NEA, DSEA and NEA-Retired. Pre-Retirement Workshops These popular workshops were again held in each county providing active DSEA members and guests the opportunity to hear and ask questions of the State Office of Pensions, as well as find out infor- mation about DSEA-Retired. Membership grows to 1,123 DSEA-Retired membership has increased considerably over the past 5 years. Our total membership now stands at 1,123. Personal con- tacts were made by the Membership Committee to many members who either did not renew their member- ship or who were never members of the retired group. New and improved website If you haven't checked out www.dsea-r.orglately, do so now; thanks to the help of DSEA and Futurtech, we now have a better website updated regularly. There is more information for you to find answers, a working calendar, and a direct link to DSEA-Retired to con- tact us. Join us! DSEA-Retired member- ship is NOT automatic ing an application and submit- ting it to Debbie Weaver, DSEA- Retired Program Assistant, 136 E. Water Street, Dover, DE 19901. You can contact her for a mem- bership packet at the address above, email her at Debbie. Weaver@dsea. orgor call her at 302-734-5834 or toll-free at 866-734- 5834. Applications are also available I at www.dsea-r.orgor in the last issue of DSEA ACTION! You must also maintain your NEA/NEA-Retired membership in order to take advantage of the discounts, workshops and other programs you currently enjoy. Strong legislative committee and leadership Thanks to members of the (from left) Barbara Bordley, Rose Poole and Ernestine Collins were active in their Association's and still keep in touch. President's participation President Rich Phillips sits on the DSEA Executive Board, DSEA's Council of Presidents, Policy Review Task Force, and other com- mittees to represent the view of the retired group to DSEA. Phillips is also active with the Osher Lifelong Learning Center in Kent County. Having sat on the founding commit- tee for the past four years, he is now a liaison for the Council that runs the group. Budget is strong Thanks to your DSEA-Retired Treasurer, Shirley Redmond, our budget is strong, balanced, tight and growing. Legislative Committee and other retirees, we monitor the State Employee Benefits Committee meet- ings each month so we're on top of any changes in the benefits that we receive. The State Benefits Office invited us to a special meeting this year regarding a new benefit that will be introduced to the pensioners for the 2013 year. We have also lob- bied for a pension increase for the past two years: 2% last year and 1% for the 2012-2013 year. We have two DSEA-Retired members who cur- rently sit on the Pension Advisory Council to keep track of pension changes. www. dsea-r. org July 2012 DSEA ACTION! 13 f you are a DSEA member, you can become a DSEA- Retired member by complet-