From: LANNY ROSS [gems@narfe.org] Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 1:03 PM To: CAGLELS@COMCAST.NET Subject: Region IX V.P NEB Report Attachments: 20091223_155945November, 2009 NEB Meeting minutes.docm December, 2009 MEMO TO: Region IX Federation Officers, Chapter Presidents and Members of Region IX GEMS FROM: Lanny Ross, Region IX Vice President SUBJECT: Report on the NARFE National Executive Board (NEB) meeting held November 2-4, 2009 at the NARFE National Office in Alexandria, VA The National President selected me to be the Site Selection Chairman for finding the best city/hotel for the 2014 NARFE National Convention and I have been on traveling a lot since the November board meeting which has caused these minutes to be late. As I always state with my report, these are NOT the official minutes of the meetings, only my notes of what, to the best of my recollection, took place during the meetings of the NEB. The official minutes will be published after approval in a future magazine. PLEASE SHARE MY NOTES WITH YOUR CHAPTER OFFICERS/MEMBERS! Finance/Budget: The investment committee met with the account managers and obtained an updated status of the investment accounts. NARFE investments continue to improve from the February 2009 lows as follows: The General Operation Fund managed by Smith Barney increased by 26.4% for a net gain of 24% from the beginning of the year to the end of Sep, the Life Member Trust Fund also managed by Smith Barney increased by 28% for a net gain of 21% to the end of Sep and the Contingency Fund managed by Wachovia increased 16.5% posting a net gain of 4.4% year to date as of October 2009. Wachovia has been asked to present a revised investment strategy to improve overall performance. The card and calendar program provides significant revenue to NARFE. The combined programs generate annual revenue in excess of one million dollars. As of December 21, 2009, net profit on the calendar program was $321,381.74 Director of Budget & Finance Tayo Coker Polson gave a review of the purposed 2010 budget which was approved after much discussion. Membership: Director of Membership Development John R. Clements gave an update of the 2009 membership plan. The plan will continue with aggressive mail campaigns, encouraging dues withholding and continuing to supply kits to the contractors and members who are conducting Pre-Retirement seminars. NARFE will continue to attend various national conferences of Postal Associations, Government Agencies and of federal employees and retirees making NARFE membership information available. The plan will also stress membership development through advertising, retention and recruiting initiatives. Legislative: Director of Legislation, Dan Adcock presented a report on the status of NARFE legislative and administrative goals in the 111th Congress (2009-2010). The NEB members accompanied National President Baptiste to Capitol Hill where she testified at a hearing before the Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, the Postal Service and the District of Columbia Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The hearing was held in the Rayburn Building on Capital Hill on the subject of “Managing the Thrift Savings Plan to Thrive”. The hearing was presided over by U S Representative Stephen Lynch from Massachusetts, Chairman of the Committee. In addition to President Baptiste other testifiers included: NARFE member Dick Strombotne, ETAC representative from the Senior Executive Association and representatives from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, the Employee Thrift Advisory Council, the Association of American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, the National Treasury Employees Union, and the Military Officers Association of America. The meeting testifiers were very impressive and the Thrift Savings Plan should greatly benefit. Pre-Retirement Seminar Program: NARFE member, Mary Pierson, who has been hired as Coordinator for the PRS Program on a full-time basis, outlined the progress being made on the Program. In 2005, PRS revenues were $32,800. They have continued to rise each year reaching a total of $92,606 in 2008. During 2009, Mary reported that PRS revenue so far has been $33,586; however, in the first 8 months of this year she had written $176,000 in proposals and in September and October an additional $219,821 for a total of $395,821 in proposals. Most of this activity has been due to a series of advertisements that have been written in the Government Executive on-line report that goes to 400,000 GS-12 and above desks every two weeks. There is still one month left (November) in the three-month contract with Gov. Executive. Of the 99 proposals Mary wrote, most said that they would want their seminars in the first and second quarters of 2010. The presenters will be very busy from here on out. She expects to advertise six months in 2010. Mary has been asked by the Headquarters staff of BC/BS to join their international travel team to provide more exposure to NARFE and the Pre-Retirement Seminar Program to agencies in Europe and the Far East. More presenters will be needed. Members with backgrounds in PRS and Government Employee Relations are requested to contact Mary. Not only does the PRS program provide NARFE exposure, a significant number of new members are recruited in the seminars. From 2010 on, it is expected that the program will make significant profits and become an important source for revenue and members. Miscellaneous Topics: SERVICE OFFICER AWARD PROGRAM. Director of Retirement Benefit Services David Snell announced that the letter has gone out to the chapter presidents for nominations for service officer awards which have to be submitted by January 15, 2010. Recommendations may be submitted by email, letter or fax to the Retirement Benefits Department at NARFE HQ. GUIDELINES FOR CHAPTER PRESIDENTS: The NEB revisited the issue of chapter presidents also serving as Chapter Treasurers. The National Secretary reported that since the NEB meeting in November 2008, a significant number of chapters elected another member to be Chapter Treasurer. The NEB members indicated that a Chapter President serving as Chapter Treasurer is contrary to good financial practices, and Federation Presidents should continue to work with those chapters to ensure that improvements are made. The NEB strongly recommends that these chapters that have not made changes make a yearly audit of their financial records. Form F-131, which is posted on the NARFE website, may be used as a guideline for the audit. NATIONAL CONVENTION 2010: The National Convention in 2010 will be held August 29-September 2, 2009 in Grand Rapids, MI. The registration fee will be $55.00, per person, for pre-registration and $50.00, per person, to attend the banquet. Late registration fee will be $65.00. The forms will start appearing in the January 2010 issue of the NARFE magazine. General members may register on line. Voting delegates, however, must register by mail using the appropriate form. GO-TO-MEETING: The February NEB meeting will be held on line with the Go-To- Meeting Program. If successful, at least one meeting of the NEB per year will be held using Go-T-Meeting. It may also be used for HQ special meetings. The cost is $49/month. It will be limited to 15 people. PAYMENT IN LIEU OF SOCIAL SECURITY COLA: The proposed $250 payment if approved to eligible persons will be paid some time in 2010. Those not eligible for Social Security are expected to get tax credits of $250 on their 2010 Federal Income tax returns. LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE: The next Legislative conference will be held at the Hyatt Hotel in MD in the second week of March 2011. Hotel cost will be $159/night. HEALTH FAIR INFORMATION: A one-page hand-out summarizing the FEHB Health Plan costs has been prepared. This can be accessed online and downloaded for copying as needed. OFFICER ROSTER CHANGE SUBMITTALS: A link between the M-111 (Officers Roster) and the interactive forms F-7 and F-7A online will be established so that changes could be submitted when there are changes or errors on the Officers Roster. The meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted Lanny Ross Region IX Vice President (360) 692-9741 lannyjean@comcast.net This message is generated by the NARFE Global Email Messaging System (GEMS). Please do not reply to this message. If you wish to reply to this message, please compose a new message to the sender. 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