Core Purpose: To enhance and protect the benefits of retired educators.

Celebrating 75 Years
Bill Ruehmann, Director Area 1

Area I Report: July - October, 2004 (Continued)           Page 2

5.    After about 8 Board Meetings and as many revisions the Board finally passed
       a new set of Bylaws and Standing Rules that will be voted on at the Spring Con-
       vention. Considerable concern was express at the Board Meeting about how to
       educate the delegates about the provisions of these documents so that they can
       vote intelligently on them in May of 05. It was recommended that delegates with
       alternates should be nominated and elected by the end of January. This should
       be followed by a full day workshop of delegates in each Area by the middle of
       April. (This was the plan discussed at the meeting of the Presidents at the Area I
       Workshop on Sept. 24. It will be more fully outline by the Division Presidents
       within our Area between now and the first of January. Already, each Division
       President has been sent a generic 1 page form. With a litttle revision it can be
       used by each division as an insert in the next Division newsletter or distributed at
       the Division¹s next general luncheon meeting.) .

6.   On legislation, the Board voted to endorse Proposition 72 on the ballot in the
       November 2 election. Information about this proposition is posted on the Area I
       Web. The bill to have an elected retiree on the CalSTRS Board was vetoed by
       GovernorSchwarzenegger. Litigation on the half billion dollar nonpayment
       to our retirement is still in court but may be settled by the first of the year.

7.   Members are reminded that the maximum emergency payment for a CRTA member
       has been raised from $5000 to $10,000 per member. Also, the deadline for enrolling
       in MedicarePart A expires in 2006..
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At the Area I Fall Meeting the featured presentation was a 2 and 1/2 hour workshop on Leadership by Angela Aschbrenner, an internationally known expert on the topic. She received rave reviews. One person wrote that it was the best pre- sentation or workshop that she has attended in 8 years of participation in CRTA. In addition, at the general meeting Lenore Shively, State Chair of the Resources Services Committee did a quick overview of that Committee functions and goals for the year , Ken Hewitt, State CRTA Legislation Chair, did his usual excellent report on Legislation and Janet Mobley, Web Master for Marin and Solano Counties, made an excellent half-hour power point presentation that showed the audience what was currently available on our Area I Web Site. When I asked the group, ³How many would be interested in attending an Area Workshop on accessing the web?², about 25 hands went up. We may make it the focus of our Spring Area 1 workshop.
During the last hour of the Fall Workshop the group broke down into subgroups based on offices such as Division Presidents and President-elects, Legislation and Insurance, Communications and Newsletter Editors, and Resource Services. In all it was an excellent Fall Area 1 Workshop We learned much. The footlights are on and we are much better prepared to perform our various responsibilities..