Minutes of CORE meeting, June 19, 2008

From Glenna Barr, June 25, 2008

The monthly meeting of Concerned Ohio Retired Educators (CORE) was held June 19, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. the STRS building in Columbus. Trustees present: Lloyd Knudsen (substituting for Chuck Chapman), Nancy Hamant and Nancy Boomhower. Officers present: President Dave Parshall; Vice President Mary Ellen Angeletti; Treasurer C.J. Myers; and Secretary Glenna Barr. 21 members were present, including a new potential member, Sharon Oliver, and ORTA representative Lou DiOrio.

Dave Parshall called the meeting to order. He called for the approval of the May meeting minutes. Nancy Hamant made a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Nancy Boomhower. The motion was approved. C.J. Myers read the Treasurer's report. Dave reported that he had sent a thank you e-mail to everyone who made a donation of $100 or more.

COMMITTEE REPORTS: None

OLD BUSINESS:

A. Dave reported that he had written a rebuttal letter to OEA's criticism of CORE, which had been published by the Whitehall Educational Association during the spring 2008 STRS Board election campaign. The letter to the president of the Association.

B. Ryan Holderman led a discussion of a proposed CORE constitutional amendment to collect membership dues and to encourage donations to CORE's legal fund. This change would affect the Constitutional Bylaws, Article I - Membership, Section 2. At the August meeting (there is no meeting in July) we will review the changes, and at the September meeting vote on it. Both meetings will be especially important ones for CORE members to attend.

C. A revision of the CORE brochure needs to be done by the September meeting. Ryan Holderman sent, for the executive committee's consideration, a suggested form for the enrollment portion of the new CORE brochure to help update the membership data base. This will also be placed on the website, www.concernedohio.org, after the September CORE annual membership meeting. Dave will make up a sample brochure for the August meeting. Those present made suggestions for the new brochure.

D. Dave will be looking into the cost of printing with the company that printed the current brochure. He will also be checking into the cost of bulk mailing service. A motion was made by Mary Ellen Angeletti, seconded by Ryan Holderman, for Dave to investigate the cost of bulk mailing. The motion was approved.

E. Dave will send notices to new retirees inviting them to join CORE. This will be discussed at the August meeting.

F. Lloyd Knudsen will speak at today's STRS Board meeting to thank Damon Asbury, retired STRS executive director, for the positive things he did during his five year tenure at STRS and urge his successor, Michael J. Nehf, to continue a positive program for the retirees and continue to meet with CORE representatives.

G. A discussion was held regarding STRS Health Care costs; noting how they have increased and still are increasing, and problems encountered during hospital stays.

H. A general discussion was held regarding CORE-related bulk e-mails going out. People sending an e-mail do need to specify that it is the opinion of the sender and not an official e-mail from CORE; also that the e-mail does not necessarily reflect the opinion of CORE. The sender should also indicate who or what organization(s) they are a affiliated with (ex. OEA R, ORTA, CORE, etc.). E-mails sometimes give the impression that they are official CORE statements of policy when in reality they are not. This has caused confusion for a number of groups we have to deal with. Official CORE e-mails sent to members are designated as CORE ALERTs and are initially sent out by John Curry and subsequently sent out by others, which is OK, as long as the distinction is clear. It was also pointed out that as educators we need to be all the more conscientious about proofreading and correcting our e-mails for spelling, grammar and good composition, as careless mistakes could be a reflection on CORE (not to mention the teaching profession). A suggested disclaimer header will be provided to members that they may use at the beginning of messages that are not official CORE communications.

Dave announced that a memorial contribution has been made to Paul Boyer's church in his memory. An extremely dedicated and highly valued (and very much missed) CORE member, Paul passed away on June 3.

The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be August 14, 2008.

Submitted by Glenna Barr, Secretary