The Shadow
The Alleghany Retired Teachers Association met Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Temple Baptist Church in Covington.
President Joan Green welcomed the ARTA members and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The ARTA members then moved to the church sanctuary where they were entertained by the AHS Choir, directed by Amanda Sprouse. The choir was given a donation of $100 from the ARTA members.
Following the musical program, President Green introduced Holly Peters, the 2019 Highlands Christmas Mother. The theme of the Christmas Mother program this year is “Have the Love of God in Your Heart.”
Mrs. Peters thanked ARTA members for their support of the Christmas Mother program and invited them to help with Teen Night and with the distribution of the gifts to participants.
The ARTA members donated $400 to the Christmas Mother program, as well as toys, books, food, clothing, paper products and cleaning supplies.
President Green thanked the members for their contributions to the Christmas Mother Program.
During the business meeting, Secretary Margaret Sams distributed the minutes from the September meeting to the members. They were filed as presented. Renee Warren, treasurer, presented the treasurer’s report. Renee’s report was accepted as presented.
Karen Brown reported on a legislative spotlight taken from the Virginia Retired Teachers Association conference held in October. The focus of the presentation was on pensions, current drug costs, and the current political climate.
She noted that the Senate Finance Committee passed the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act in July which addresses lower out-of-pocket caps, fewer loopholes that slow down getting generic drugs, elimination of the donut hole, and several other drug related factors.
Karen stressed the importance of lobbying to highlight and push issues that are important to us. One resource that members can use to keep informed about legislative items can be found in a newsletter written by Bea Morris at VRTA.org.
Karen also told members about a Medicare alert regarding a large number of Medicare accounts which have been compromised. Medicare will notify people who were compromised and will send them new Medicare cards.
Anita Rice, vice president, followed with a report on the Fall VRTA Delegate Assembly in Midlothian. The theme of the conference was “Knowledge is Power” and the motto is “to serve, not be served.”
She discussed the different topics covered in the various sessions. She noted that the keynote speaker challenged conference attendees to focus on developing strategies which would address needs of their communities and needs of children in their local schools. The speaker also noted that there is currently a shortage of teachers.
Virginia Nowlin noted that there is currently a movement to reduce the number of years needed to receive a teacher certification in Virginia colleges back to four years; it currently takes five.
Becky Smith then reported on the Fall District P meeting which was held in Roanoke. The program for the meeting was a question/answer political forum. The forum was followed by activity reports from all the District P units.
Becky urged ARTA members to attend District P and the Delegate Assembly meetings as a way of keeping up-to-date and networking with retired teacher groups around the commonwealth.
Brenda Lawson, co-chair of the Scholarship Committee, gave an update on the scholarship applicants. She reported that at this time there are four prospective applicants from Covington and six prospective applicants from Alleghany.
Feb. 3, 2020, is the deadline for applications to the guidance departments. At that time, the board will choose one recipient from each high school and the scholarships will be presented to the scholarship recipients at the March meeting.
Dewey Lawson, co-chair of the Scholarship Committee, had Holly Peters draw for the 50/50 which benefits the scholarship fund. Virginia Nowlin was the winner who donated the money back to the scholarship fund.
President Green made members aware of an opportunity to honor an individual who made an outstanding contribution to the community through a chapter service project. MRP is offering this opportunity to a member through the AARP/NRTA Community Service Award. Nominations are due by Jan. 31, 2020.
She reminded members that at the March meeting, items for the local food pantries will be collected. Also, members will need to turn in their volunteer hours form. The forms for recording their hours will be sent to members prior to the meeting.
President Green wished everyone a Merry Christ-mas and encouraged members to bring a retired teacher with them to a meeting. She also informed the members that the next ARTA meeting will be held at Jackson River Technical Center on Tuesday, March 3.
Members were also given the following upcoming dates: VRTA Lobby Day in Richmond on Jan. 30; VRTA Spring Convention in Midlothian on April 28-29; May Meeting at Cucci’s on May 5; and Spring District P at Roanoke Country Club on May 19 at 9:30 a.m.
Anita Rice drew names for the door prizes. Virginia Nowtin, Ruth Fleming and Valerie Humphreys were the winners of the door prizes.
At the conclusion of the business meeting, the Rev. Bill Hartsfield, pastor of Temple Baptist, offered the blessing before the lunch which was catered by A&B Bakery.
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The Alleghany High School Concert Choir and Treble Choir provided entertainment for the Tuesday, Dec. 3 meeting of the Alleghany Retired Teachers Association. The students, under the direction of AHS choral director Amanda Sprouse, entertained the ARTA members with a variety of Christmas and holiday-themed selections. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
