VOL. XXXVIII, No. 6 FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA MARCH 2017

FCRE

SAVE ERFC—YOUR PENSION PLAN!

Our secondary, supplementary pension, ERFC, is in danger. Support NO CHANGES TO ERFC! ERFC is in danger of being eroded away by modifications by the Fairfax County School Board or by com-pletely doing away with this pension plan for new hires and those almost vested (5 years) in the system. We, too, as Legacy Members, are affected by this because the first word in the motion is ALL, not just for 2001 ERFC Members. This latest attack on ERFC began last year when the FCPS School Board asked for a study of our sec-ondary pension plan. Throughout 2016, studies were made to see about tweaking ERFC as a possible money source. In November of 2016, the Meals Tax failed which had promised to be a source of revenue for schools, firemen, policemen, etc. The passage of the Meals Tax would have added revenue to these areas; but, when it failed, the FCPS School Board continued to look at our secondary pension plan as a possible money source. Our Government Relations Team, under the leadership of Barbara Allen, is keeping track of what is happening. FCRE members along with FEA-R members have been to the various meetings concerning the attack on ERFC. We have been working with FEA President, Kevin Hickerson on this matter, too, as well as other FCPS employee groups by appearing at School Board meetings as a show of support, sending emails, and letters to the School Board as well as meeting with School Board members. As a result of the actions taken, the School Board has delayed action on ERFC until April 27, 2017! THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS POSTPONED ACTION ON THIS MOTION UNTIL THE APRIL 27,2017 SCHOOL BOARD MEETING! BELOW IS THE ERFC MOTION TO BE VOTED ON APRIL 27, 2017:

However, we cannot do this job only by officers and board members. We need the help of our membership. For your information, we have been joined by other FC Employees who are standing with us on this. What can you do as an ERFC MEMBER? 1. If you live in the Fairfax County area, you can come to the School Board meetings as a show of support especially on APRIL 27, 2017! 2. EMAIL every School Board Member, not just your own. 3. CALL every School Board Member, not just your own. And where do you find this information? Please look on page 2 for a list of telephone numbers and emails of the School Board members. And what do you say?

Recommendation: That the School Board direct the ERFC Board of Trustees to initiate the following plan modifications, effective July 1, 2017: The motion before the School Board is: ALL ERFC MEMBERS: 1. Lowering the interest crediting rate on ERFC member accounts from 5 % to 4 %. ERFC 2001 MEMBERS hired on or after July 1, 2017, and non-vested members as of June 30,2017: 2. Instituting a minimum retirement age of 55 3. Increasing the period for calculating the final average salary from 3 years to 5 years 4. Changing the cost-of-living adjustment to equal 100 percent of the Consumer Price Index with a cap of 4.0 percent and present the ERFC amended plan documents to the School Board for approval by June, 2017.

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February 9 - School Board adopts FY 2018 Advertised Budget – meeting at Luther Jackson School.

February 14 - Fairfax County Executive releases FY 2018 Advertised Budget Plan

February 21 - Joint Board of Supervisors and School Board Meeting

February 28 - Fairfax County Board of Supervisors advertises tax rate.

March 13 - School Board conducts budget work session.

April 4 - School Board presents FCPS budget to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

April 4-6 - Board of Supervisors holds public hearings on the budget.

April 24 - School Board conducts budget work session.

April 25 - County Board of Supervisors completes FY 2018 Budget mark-up to determine budget package and tax rate. WATCH THIS DATE, TOO! !

April 27—ERFC to be voted on. Here’s a link to the actual budget: https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY-2018-Proposed-Budget.pdf You can click on a topic in table of contents to easily get to the page.

FAIRFAX COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD 2016/2017 1. At Large Ryan McElveen ryan.mcelveen@fcps.edu 571-423-1089

2. At Large Ilryong Moon ilryong.moon@fcps.edu 571-423-1090

3. At Large Jeannette Hough jhough1@fcps.edu 571-423-1091

4. Braddock District Megan McLaughlin megan.mclaughlin@fcps.edu 571-423-1088

5. Dranesville District Janie Strauss (Vice Chairman) jane.strauss@fcps.edu 571-423-1087

6. Hunter Mill District Pat Hynes pat.hynes@fcps.edu 571-423-1082

7. Lee District Tamara Derenak Kaufax tdkaufax@fcps.edu 571-423-1081

8. Mason District Sandy Evans (Chairman) ssevans@fcps.edu 571-423-1083

9. Mt. Vernon District Karen Corbett Sanders klcorbettsan@fcps.edu 571-423-1086

10. Providence District Dalia Palchik dapalchik@fcps.edu 571-423-1084

11. Springfield District Elizabeth Schultz elizabeth.schultz@fcps.edu 571-423-1080

12. Sully District Tom Wilson tawilson1@fcps.edu 571-423-1085

Student Representative Laura Chu laura.chu@fcps.edu

SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS:

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS:

SAVE ERFC! HERE IS WHAT TO DO: 1. When you email, put NO CHANGES TO ERFC in the subject line. 2. When you call: a. Be nice. b. Introduce yourself as a member of ERFC and simply say you would like the school member to know that you are supporting No Changes to ERFC. Thank the person for their time. We have until April 27, and this is your chance to be heard on this attack on your retirement funds. We gave a good portion of our lives to build Fairfax County School system, and we gave a good portion of our salaries to establish this pension fund for our later years. We need to protect what we have now and protect it for those who are continuing in our profession. Thank you for all you do.

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APRIL 13, 2017 NEXT MEMBER

LUNCHEON LOCATED AT: Elks Lodge, 8421 Arlington Blvd. (Route 50)

Fairfax, Virginia AGENDA:

11:00 a. m.-Social Hour and cash bar--meet and greet friends!

REMEMBER:

FCRE Recommendation: Do NOT under any cir-cumstances withdraw from your Fairfax County Public Schools-sponsored health insurance plan. If you do, you cannot rejoin!

THANK YOU!

FCRE would like to take this opportunity to thank the Apple Federal Credit Union for their continued support of our activities. We really appreciate you!

If ice, snow, or other inclement weather occurs on the days of our luncheons or activities, please listen to your radio or television. If Fairfax County Public Schools are closed, our activities are cancelled as well. If FCPS opens late, our activities will operate on time.

LOBBY DAY IN RICHMOND! From left to right: Joey Graves, Pam Ward, Faye Wagoner, Kathy Neilson (State Senator Chap Petersen’s Chief of Staff in zebra print), Stella Worley, Barbara Allen, Shirley McCoy, Phyllis McDevitt, and Linda Corcoran.

Read more about Lobby Day in Richmond on page 3!

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LOBBY DAY, 2017! by

Barbara Allen, Director of Government Relations Team

It came. We went. We conquered! Well, at least we went! Were you there? It was a wonderful year for Lobby Day, in many ways. It seems the fall election has motivated many to become more involved, more active, more partici-patory. So what better way than spending a day with retirees visiting their legislators in Richmond. We also had terrific weather! No worries about snow or ice! It was almost like spring on the grounds of the Capitol. We had nearly 30 retirees who made up the trip to Richmond! Thank you to all who were able to go:

Marlene Parker Tricia Heininge Cheryl Perry Richard Clelland Linda Corcoran John Dent Dave Thomas Theresia Anderson Carrie Holmes Mimi Dash

Jane Carl Yvon Jensen Deborah Daniels Alicia Clelland Bev Dahlin Shirley McCoy Faye Wagoner Anne Pegram Bonnie Kiakowicz Barbara Allen

Joey Graves Pam Ward Cheryl Binkley Sally Burdick Connie Dineen Phyllis McDevitt Stella Worley Adrienne White Bruce Smith

The primary issues we discussed with our legislators or their legislative aides, which included the Position Statement printed in earlier issues of the Advocate, were the schedule of the VRS (Virginia Retirement System) to continue moving toward full funding of VRS within the next several years. We also reminded them of our opposition to any further Charter School Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth.

GRT MOVES TO LOCAL ISSUE: PROTECTING ERFC!

If you have not heard or read about the danger to our Supplemental Retirement Fund, please refer to the front page article by Billie Johnson. Our secondary pension is under attack or at least under close scrutiny by the FCPS School Board to find funds for the 2018 Budget for the school system. The County would like to change the ERFC Pen-sion Plan to glean as much in savings as possible to use for purposes other than payments to retirees of their contributions made over a lifetime of teaching in Fairfax County. The Government Relations Team will be participating in the gathering of information and discussions by all stakeholders. If you are interested in participating, please look for posted meeting dates, through the FCRE and the FEA-R Offices. We need to make sure that as many folks as possible are well informed on these issues.

ARE YOU IN THE PINK? IF SO, IT IS TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!!!!!

1. Check the expiration date above your name on your mailing label. If it reads, "Expires June 30, 2017" and is marked in pink, it is time to RENEW! 2. It is easy to renew; here is what you do: 3. Write your check (payable to FCRE) for $75.00 for a 3 year renewal, or $30.00 for a 1 (one) year renewal. 4. Please write your membership number (it is on the line above your name on your mailing label) and the word, Renewal, on the memo line of your check. 5. Mail your check to: FCRE MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL P.O. BOX 0682 SPRINGFIELD, VA.22150-0682 6. That's all you do to renew!

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TRAVEL REPORT FOR MARCH 2017 by

Doris Patteson, Director

OPEN DATES FOR THE TRIPS LISTED BELOW, BUT NOTICE THAT WE HAVE SOME APRIL DEPOSIT DATES. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL APRIL! MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW, ESPECIALLY FOR THE ICELAND TRIP!

ALPINE LAKES AND SCENIC TRAINS— The deposit date has passed, but we will still have some openings on this one! Don’t miss out on this beauti-ful destination! The Alpine trains are a real treat—a very comfortable ride with modern and efficient trains. The views are spectacular and the Italian Lake region also pro-vides some unbelievable scenery. The trip includes the Glacier Express, visits to Zurich, Lucerne, Zermatt, St. Moritz and Como. Sign up now!

ISLANDS OF NEW ENGLAND— Departs on October 16, 2017! This trip features Providence, Newport, Boston, Cranberry Bog, Plymouth Rock, Plimouth Plantation, Cape Cod, Hyannis, Nantuck-et, Martha’s Vineyard, Provincetown, Whale Watch or Sand Dunes, Lobster Dinner. This will be a great time to visit New England with the fall colors visible at this time, especially the beautiful red sugar maples. DEPOSIT DATE IS APRIL 16, 2017! SIGN UP BEFORE YOU FORGET!

FROM THE OUTBACK TO THE GLACIERS— DEPOSIT DATE IS EARLY AUGUST, 2017! This trip takes some early planning. Hope you have been saving your money for this great trip which is not to be missed! Highlights of this trip includes Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Melbourne, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Syd-ney and the Sydney Opera House, Christ Church, Franz Josef Glacier Region, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Mt. Cook National Park, and dinner with a New Zealand family. Start planning for this trip now!

ICELAND’S MAGICAL NORTHERN LIGHTS— DEPOSIT DATE IS APRIL 28, 2017! DEPARTURE DATE IS NOVEMBER 4, 2017 Our Colette Representative emphasized the fact that Iceland is a very popular destination this year, and Col-lette has sold out most of their space for the next two years! He emphasized, too, early registration.! We have just added this as a new trip, and it also sounds very exciting. We planned the trip for November in order to have a good opportunity to see the Northern Lights, but the trip has many other delights to offer. Some of us are really looking forward to taking a nice min-eral bath in the Blue Lagoon! Pictures of Iceland present a beautiful landscape of water falls, views of glaciers, geysers, and colorful villages. Be sure to request a brochure for information and take a look at Iceland pictures on the web! Note: this trip is filling up fast! We have a limited number of spaces reserved, so please act quickly and sign up now and reserve your space!

If you have traveled with Collette recently, don’t forget to sign up for your Loyalty Deposits of $150 toward your next trip. Go to Gateway.GoCollette.com and follow the instructions there. Call for brochures on any of our trips or any others that Collette offers, and Doris will book for you! Call: Doris Patteson at 703-534-3975 Email: dpatteson@verizon.net LET’S TRAVEL! SIGN UP TODAY!

W. HAROLD FORD SCHOLARSHIP CONTRIBUTION 501 C 3 TAX DEDUCTIBLE CHOOSE TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION OF:

____$5.00____$10.00_____$15.00 _____$20.00 ______whatever you can __________Annual Or ________Endowment NAME_______________________________________________ ADDRESS____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ TELEPHONE NUM-BER:_______________________________ EMAIL ADDRESS_____________________________________ IN MEMORY/HONOR OF:_____________________________

WRITE CHECKS TO: W. HAROLD FORD SCHOLAR- SHIP FUND SEND TO: W. HAROLD FORD SCHOLARSHIP FUND FCRE P. O. BOX 682 SPRINGFIELD, VA 22150-0682

DETACH THIS FORM AND MAIL IT WITH YOUR CON- TRIBUTION. YOU WILL RE-CEIVE A RECEIPT FOR YOUR TAX RECORDS.

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MEMBER ACTIVITIES FOR MARCH, 2017

by Barbara Marshall, Director

BOOK GROUPS BRIDGE GROUPS

●Annandale Book Group--Dottie Addison, coordinator. Meets the 3rd Wednesday at 12 noon in various locations. Call Dottie at 703-971-8479 for more information. ●Fairfax City Group--Sue Williams, coordinator. Meets at 10:30 a.m. on the 2nd Friday in Barnes and Noble at Fair Lakes. Email suewms@cox.net ●Vienna Tuesday Book Group--Joey Graves coordinator. Meets the 2nd Tuesday at the Providence Community Center. Contact information is JoeyGraves1@gmail.com

2nd and 4th Monday Group--Meets 2nd and 4th Monday mornings at 9:45 a.m. Contact person is Barbara Marshall at 571-203-0375 or bmarshall12@verizon.net. This group will meet at the Vienna American Legion this month. The Legion is located at 303 Center St., Vienna, VA 22180. 2. Tuesday Morning Group-Coordinator is Sandy Smith. Meets the 2nd Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.in homes. 3. Third Monday Evening Group--Coordinators are Claudette Coffey and Joey Graves. Meets in homes at 7:00 p.m. 4. 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday Bridge Group--Meets at David R. Pinn Community Center on Zion Road in at 9:45 to 12:00 Note: this group will be back at the Pinn Center beginning September 17. The contact people for this group are now Bunny Monroe (MissBunnyM@aol.com) and Emily Krisko (kriskodt@aol.com 5. The Bridge Review Group with Dave Meadows meets at 1:00pm on the 2nd and 4th Mondays at the American Legion in Vienna, Va. See address above in 2nd and 4th Monday Group.

The Cinema Arts Group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 9:30—10:00 a.m. depending on the movie selected. Following the movie, interested participants have lunch and discussion at First Watch Café located across from the Cinema Arts Theatre. If interested, please email Alicia Clelland at clellaap@cox.net to receive details regarding the movie selected.

FCRE Request for Digital Version of Advocate Newsletter

If you are interested in receiving the FCRE newsletter in a digital format instead of the hard copy presently mailed to you, please fill out the form below and return it to the FCRE office. We are offering this option as we move towards digital communications with our members.

Name (please print): ____________________________________________

Email address (please print): _____________________________________

Send this form to:

FCRE P.O. Box 682 Springfield, VA 22150

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BETTY ANN GRAVES FIRST RUNNER UP IN

MS. SENIOR VIRGINIA AMERICA PAGEANT

Betty Ann Crews Graves, 78, of the Mount Vernon/Gum Springs area placed First Runner Up in the Ms.

Senior Virginia America Pageant on July 14 in Falls Church. She also was voted Miss Congeniality by the other

seven contestants. If for any reason that the current Queen, Rebecca Nunn of Kilmarnock, Va. cannot serve,

Graves will represent Virginia for the year of 2016.Graves was also recognized for her community service, and the

most ads in the pageant’s souvenir book, as well as selling the most tickets and raffles for the pageant. Her talent

for the pageant was reciting a poem by her favorite poet, Maya Angelou, “Phenomenal Woman.” Graves won the

talent competition in the pageant in 2005, when she recited another poem by Angelou, “Still I Rise.”

Graves is a retired Fairfax County Public School special education teacher. She is the mother of three: Debra, George and Michael. She has eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She is also a cancer survivor of 13 years. Graves represented the seniors at The Gum Springs Community Center. Her other interests are reading, bowling, and traveling. Graves recently spent two weeks touring South Africa from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

FCRE members were enter tained by Betty Ann Graves who recited Maya Angelou’s, “Still I Rise,” at our December Luncheon! What a delightful and wonderful performance. Below is the write up from the Alexander Connection about our own Betty Ann. She proves once again that when the question is asked what we will do in retirement, we surprise everyone! The article below informs us that Ms. Graves won the talent competition in 2005 at this pageant for her recitation by Maya Angelou! Our congratulation to our own Betty Ann Graves!

We’re still are not asking for money. We’re still are not asking you to go anywhere. We’re still are not asking you to stop doing whatever you love doing in retirement. We are only asking that you provide us with your email address or update your email address if it has changed since you first retired. FCRE is trying very hard to keep all members informed of the latest news coming from FCPS regard-ing all actions and recommendations made concerning retiree benefits. Our newsletter, the Advocate, is our main source for getting that information out to you, but sometimes crucial and timely news needs to be sent between Advocate mailings. FCPS does not have contact information for all retirees. We attempted sending a flash email to all members with reported email addresses last November dur-ing the Open Enrollment period for health plans, only to discover that 99 email addresses bounced back. That means that 99 of our members did not receive the information we wanted them to have during that period. Please take a moment and let us know your present email address. We assure you that your email ad-dress will be used only within FCRE and will not be given out to any other group. Please send us your email, and if you have already done so, thank you!

Send an email to membership@fcre.org with Subject: Email address. Don’t forget your name!

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MARCH 2017 FCRE Advocate Vol. XXXVIII, No. 6 MARCH 2017 The FCRE Advocate is published by the FCRE—Fairfax County Retired Educators exclusively for the association membership. ©2017 Fairfax County Retired Educators, Inc. Editors: Billie Johnson , Cathy Shelton, Walt Mika Change of address, articles, letters, and comments should be sent by mail only to: Fairfax County Retired Educators FCRE Advocate P. O. Box 682 Springfield, VA 22150-0682 Email: fcre@fcre.org Website: www.fcre.org ************************************************* OFFICERS FOR 2016—2017(July 1, 2016—June 30, 2017) President………………..Billie Johnson Vice President…………. Eva Pappas Secretary………………..Anita Cline Treasurer………………..Barbara Dent Past President …………..John Dent Parliamentarian…............ Dennis Pfennig

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Budget and Finance…….Andy Mika Communications………..Ken McDaniel Health Benefits…………John Dent

BOARD OF DIRECTORS, continued: History and Records……………. .. Linda Beuhring Information/Publications…………..Billie Johnson Legato School Museum……………Sue Langley Government Relations/Legislative...Barbara Allen Luncheon Director………………... Linda Beuhring Membership………………………. Mary Jane Hasselkus Valerie Shapiro Member Activities………………… Barbara Marshall Member Services-Tours……………Doris Patteson Parliamentarian…………………… Dennis Pfennig Program Director…………………...Eva Pappas W. Harold Ford Scholarship………. Phyllis Rittman ***************************************************** Office Manager…………………….. Anita Francis Remembrances……………………... Kathleen Donnelly Mary McKinley Receipts Accounting………………...FCRE Elf Membership Records………………..Dee Kirby

TO REACH FAIRFAX COUNTY RETIRED

EDUCATORS:

CALL: 703-923-9877 OR EMAIL US AT: fcre@fcre.org and

luncheon@fcre.org WEBSITE: www.fcre.org

ARE YOU IN THE PINK? SEE PAGE 4 TO SEE WHAT TO DO!!!!!!

FCRE LUNCHEON DATES

APRIL 13 JUNE 8

____________________________________________

TIME SENSITIVE!

PRESORTED USPS MARKETING

MAIL U.S.POSTAGE PAID MERRIFIELD VA PERMIT NO. 1175

FCRE ADVOCATE MARCH 2017 FAIRFAX COUNTY RETIRED EDUCATOR P.O. BOX 682 SPRINGFIELD, VA 22150-0682