Paul Boyer's blockbuster letter to Ann Hanning and ORTA 12/03/05

December 3, 2005

Dear Ann:

I printed out the November 3 board minutes which I pulled from the web site a day or so ago. I have several comments to make and am sending a copy of this to members of the Executive Committee and others.

1. Why did it take almost a month to get these minutes on your website. It seems like a long time from December third to about the 29th or 30th.

2. Open Mike

When Dave Speas mentioned the non-endorsement of Dr. Leone and the need for a plan for the two groups (ORTA and CORE) to work together, Richard Stearns told the group that Dennis had declined the offer to write in the quarterly. The next line states that additional comments and opinions were expressed. What were they? Did anyone give the reason why Dennis refused to write for the Quarterly? We in CORE are all unhappy with the way Dennis, Sondra Stratton and others have been treated over the past almost three years by ORTA.

After my partial letter went out by mistake, Dennis replied to me and has given me permission to use here what he wrote to me. I copy from his letter:

“For the record: What I have said to ORTA is that I would be happy to co-author an ORTA Quarterly column with Jeff Chapman as long as ORTA first steps up and fosters genuine collaboration among retirees. Given the things that ORTA has done in the past two years that caused friction, it is not as simple as ORTA saying it hopes the division of the past STRS election can be put in the past. The matter, in my mind, has little to do with whom ORTA has endorsed in past elections. There are more important things than that.

ORTA's desire to mend fences is the key. That's the common theme I've heard from the 49 RTAs I've addressed over the past 2 years. There are many ways that this could occur. Among other things, I have suggested that ORTA sponsor a collaboration reception to try to bring people together. That would be a good start.

If ORTA is not interested in fostering genuine collaboration, then life will go on -- and other retirees who ARE interested in collaboration (and worried about the future) are prepared to step up with new and direct communication ideas for retirees in all 88 counties. I learned this in a meeting with some retirees on Thursday in Mansfield. I am willing to be part of such new forms of communication to keep retirees informed about STRS issues and to mobilize action. Do I personally want or expect an apology from ORTA? No, I do not.

Dennis Leone”

When we retirees began this struggle in early 2003, we had no idea of forming any kind of organization; we just wanted to try to straighten out the terrible waste of money that the STRS board and executive director were doing. As time went on, we eventually involved into CORE, Concerned Ohio Retired Educators. We have been accused of trying to supplant or take over ORTA. THAT HAS NEVER BEEN OUR GOAL!!!!

We are pleading with the ORTA board to realize the realities of this situation and to get together with Dennis and others and, as Dave Speas has said, "encouraged the two groups ()RTA and CORE) to extend grace to each other. We can be more than twice as effective working together than we can be as two groups working singly and sometimes at crossroads to each other. HOW ABOUT IT, ORTA, WILL YOU DO IT?

3. Executive Director Report

In your report, Ann, you mention that the chapter presidents will be invited to attend the November and May board meetings. This is long overdue and a good idea.

Our Allen County President, George Doyle, has been asking for some time for a meeting of all the chapter presidents because he has made a pledge to our chapter to do all he can to get ORTA to work together with us. After getting no results from the ORTA office, he asked our District Director to have such a meeting for the district. I understand that he received a notice of a meeting from her with no date and after sending her a couple of messages asking for the date, he received it the day before the meeting. George has a full time job and could not arrange a day off that quickly so he missed the meeting,

I hope that when you have these chapter presidents at your board meeting, you will set aside some time for any of them to speak who so wish.

4. Finance Committee Report

Bob Thomas discussed the plan for the sale of 'the property'. Just what is this property? I have seen mention of it before but we have no idea of what it is. Is it your former office building or is it vacant land that you may have purchased some time ago? Please explain. If there is need to sell it, why do you have to take so much time to develop a ‘plan’ for selling it?

5. Proposed 2006 Reimbursement Account.

Is this another secret that is being hid from the membership? If you put the minutes on the web site, we should know what this policy is you are talking about so we can understand it Richard Stearns made three motions to amend, all of which were passed, according to the minutes. Yet at the end of that section, it says ‘The original motion carried’. I take it that that means Richard’s amendments went by the wayside because if they were included the statement should read ‘The original motion carried as amended’. I hope Richard realizes, however, that according to Robert’s Rules of Order, the chairman of a meeting can not make a motion nor can he vote on a motion except in the case of a tie. I hope you people are working under the Rules.

6. Membership Committee Report.

What kind of a budget does it take to run ORTA for a year? The report says there are 14,432 paying members. At $20.00 each that is $288,640.00 I would like to see the budget placed on the web site so we can see where the money is going and why there may be a need for a raise in dues.

Later in the meeting there was a motion made and passed to study the dues situation with a possible increase for 2007. I would seriously doubt that that surveys showed that ‘the members indicate that our dues are “low” or “reasonable” This does not affect me or my wife personally because we bought life membership when we retired 20 years ago but it sure could affect thousands of our members who pay annually.

7. Community Services

I and others were keenly disappointment when the volunteer awards were handed out. It is unfair to give only one award to a chapter when more than one had over 1000 hours of volunteerism. For both 2003 and 2004 I had well over 1200 hours of volunteering, very conservatively speaking, in the STRS debacle. Oh, I forgot, maybe you did not consider that true volunteering as I used the name CORE on my report.

How about taking a better look at these annual awards? As I read the report again, is that what the motion by Karen Butt, seconded by Charles Williams means?

8. That concludes all the questions and comments I have about the minutes. I hope you can find the time to reply to all of them.

I would like to make a final statement. My wife and I retired in 1985 and immediately joined ORTA as life members. I have complained ever since then that the rank and file of membership have absolutely no voice in the operation of ORTA and are often clueless as to what is going on behind doors. The District Director is to be our representative on the board but if he/she does not agree with our point of view, it probably never gets to the board.

I have also complained and worked hard to get ORTA to reciprocate on unified membership. Allen County was an Honor Chapter because we agreed years ago to require ORTA membership for anyone joining our chapter. Do you think we could get ORTA to reciprocate? Absolutely not!! Joe Endry always said “We would lose too many members”.

Sincerely,

Paul L. Boyer