Douglas and Ozark Counties Retired Teachers and Other School Personnel met Tuesday, March 08, 2011 for lunch at the Highway House Café in Ava. Those present were Betty Moore, Norma Stillings, Terri Hall, Geraldine Gray, Roberta Long, Marie Bristol, Barbara Roberts, Ida Mae Huse, Lena Pierce, and guest Richard Lorenz.
Marie Bristol called the meeting to order. Norma Stillings gave the invocation. The minutes and treasurer’s report were accepted with no corrections.
Lena Pierce called attention to the RTA scholarship guidelines that limit a scholarship to $100. With the increased cost of books and others expenses, $100 does not go very far. Norma Stillings moved to increase the amount offered to $200 per scholarship. Betty Moore seconded the motion. In the discussion it was noted that the RTA has given multiple scholarships in the past. One year five scholarships were given. The number of scholarships given depends upon the number of applications received and the amount of money in the scholarship fund. The money for scholarships comes from dues, gifts, and memorial donations. The motion carried.
The RTA scholarship fund received $80 donations to the scholarship fund in memory of Dorothy Siler, former Ava Industrial Arts teacher.
Richard Lorenz gave a slide presentation of pictures of old school buildings some still standing and some in a state of collapse that can be found in Douglas and Ozark Counties. Some of the retirees had attended school in some of those old buildings and some had taught in some of those old schools. Some of them have been converted into church buildings and some have been converted into homes. There are some that might be preserved either on site or moved to another location if there were funds to do so.
Ida Mae Huse reported on the happenings surrounding Legislative Days in Jefferson City last month. Even though snow limited the attendance from Region 10 there was still a good number of attendees. They had cordial visits with their representatives discussing matters of importance to retirees. Representatives will listen when persons from their district come in and state their views. They spoke in opposition to HB 409 which would change the Public school retirement system from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan which would seriously jeopardize the retirement system for future retirees.
Marie Bristol reported that Community Service chair Doris Morrison had asked retirees to save pop tabs again this year. These will be collected later in the year.
Several RTA members will be making a trip to Jefferson City next week to attend the MRTA Spring Leadership Conference.
The next meeting of the Douglas and Ozark Counties RTA will be April 12 at 12:00 Noon at the Highway House Café in Ava. MRTA Region 10 Vice President, Barbara Self, will be the guest speaker.
