March 2015
MARCH 2015
President’s Message Continued
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By Tom Tonoli
# 4 Thanks in advance if you can come to
CSPERA’s May 21 Annual Conference! You’ll
be the stars: We’ll thank you again, out loud and
in person, for the part you play. And you’ll have
a good time socializing with other PERA retirees.
You’ll take pride in learning about community
services that happen across the state. You’ll
hear 2015 legislative reviews and big-picture future concerns in person from the leaders of your
PERA pension.
CSPERA Board President
A Note of Thanks to
Members...
In many ways CSPERA’s “year” starts right after May’s Annual Conference. That’s when we
take stock of just-completed legislative successes or defeats, future political concerns, community services performed, the year’s membership
numbers, a review of communications sent.
Best Regards,
Tom Tonoli
Board President, CSPERA
By that calendar, we’re about 80% through this
CSPERA year, so I’d like to thank all of you
for...
#1 Your membership! Staying connected to
CSPERA and staying informed about PERA developments is critical to PERA security.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
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#2 Your community service. We know that
thousands of PERA retirees volunteer in uncounted ways and hours to make their local
communities, and Colorado, better.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
7+(%,51$',1(0$&.
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Wednesday, May 20, 2015
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#3 Your messages to legislators when PERA
bills deserve to be supported or opposed. For
myself, I know that my own years of active
work contained, sadly, little political activity.
Luckily the then-retirees worked to keep my
family’s future secure. My thanks for working
on behalf of current active employees in our profession, as was done in the past for me.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
DoubleTree by Hilton
1775 E. Cheyenne Mtn. Blvd.
Colorado Springs, CO
1
Conference Promises
Great Program, Outstanding
Location and Lots of Fun!!!!
Mark your calendars to be in Colorado Springs on May 20 – 21, 2015 at the Double
Tree by Hilton Colorado Springs! We strongly encourage the CSPERA Board Representative
and the President of each local unit join us for these very important and informative meetings.
Our goal is to have at least two representatives from each unit statewide. CSPERA is very
happy to pay hotel (May 19 & 20) and travel expenses for the two local unit representatives.
Additional members are encouraged to take part on these two sessions as well.
The May 20th Board Meeting will address many issues during the all day session.
Among them are proposed By-law changes, issues concerning the structure of both the
state and the local units, the CSPERA brand and communications plan, and the continuing
role of CSPERA as THE advocacy group to protect our PERA Defined Benefit plan. As you
see we have many issues about which we need your input.
Running concurrently to the Board meeting will be a training session on membership/
recruitment for one representative from each unit while the other person is in the Board
meeting.
Tuesday night the 19th we invite you to be our guest for dinner in beautiful Manitou
Springs or Old Colorado City. We will car pool to a restaurant and enjoy good food and fun
together. More details will follow by email.
Service and Security /Challenge and Change is the theme of the May 21st Annual
Conference. As you can see this theme really focuses our attention on the major components
of the organization and the issues we are facing.
This year we are very fortunate to have two outstanding keynote speakers. Greg
Smith, Executive Director, COPERA will focus on developments currently impacting PERA,
what is happening in the legislature, and the continuing fight to protect our Defined Benefit
plan. Carol Hedges, Executive Director, Colorado Fiscal Institute will update us on current
fiscal and economic issues facing Colorado.
We look forward to welcoming you to the DoubleTree by Hilton Colorado Springs! Enjoy rooms with one queen or two queen beds, work desk, HD DirecTV, and complimentary
wi-fi. Your rate includes breakfast buffet each day in the full-service Atrium restaurant.
The group code is ERA. To make reservations, you may call the hotel at (719)5768900 and use that code or mention CSPERA. Reservations can also be made on their website,
www.doubletreecosprings.com. You will need to put in your dates and put the group code into
the box which says “Group Code” – this will get you to the $89 rate and you can pick which
room you want.
The DoubleTree is located at 1775 E. Cheyenne Mt. Blvd. in a convenient area just across
from multiple dining, shopping and entertainment options. To get to DoubleTree, take Exit #138
and head west towards the mountains. Take your first left and you’ll see the hotel on your
left across from Target. Reservation deadline is April 20. Make your reservation soon. See
you in May at the DoubleTree!
2
A Warm Welcome and Wonderful Time Awaits You in
Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak
Region
The Pikes Peak School & Public Employees Retirement Association
(PPSPERA) and Fremont County Retired School Employees Association
(Fremont County RSEA) invite you to Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak
Region for the CSPERA Board Meeting and Annual Conference. Come
early or stay for a few extra days and enjoy the area U.S. News and World
Report has rated as one of the nation’s “best weekend getaways”.
From the summit of 14,115 foot Pikes Peak, Katharine Lee Bates was inspired to write "America the
Beautiful”. U.S. News and World Report in their recent articles said of Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak
Region, “Views of purple mountains majesty and amber waves of grain make for a very photogenic weekend.
Prime picture-taking real estate can be found at the top of Pikes Peak, but when you have seen enough, spend
the rest of the weekend experiencing other truly American institutions. Sport fans should visit the Olympic
Training Center, while the Air Force Academy’s flight demonstrations awe visitors of all ages”.
The city thrives on culture, with its Colorado Springs Philharmonic and Colorado Fine Arts
Center. But there's much more to attract and hold visitors' attention. There are 55 area attractions, ranging
from the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, the Space Foundation’s Discovery Center, the National
World War II Aviation Museum, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the country’s only mountain zoo, to the
American Numismatic Association Money Museum, nirvana for coin collectors.
One of the nation's most fabulous city parks, Garden of the Gods, is nestled in the
foothills of Pikes Peak. The stunning red rock formations draw tourists with cameras in tow to
capture a perfect shot of the rocks framing the snow-capped peak.
Take a run to Cañon City, home of the world-famous Royal Gorge Bridge
& Park. The bridge is an amazing 1,053 feet above the rushing
Arkansas River.
As you can see Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region have lots to offer. This
year the icing on the cake will be the CSPERA Board Meeting and Annual Conference to be
held at the newly renovated and award winning DoubleTree by Hilton Colorado Springs. You
will be welcomed with a delicious chocolate chip cookie upon check in. Make your reservations NOW.
SPRING
HAS
SPRUNG!
3
BIRNADINE MACK
SCHOLARSHIP
2015
KATHY’S KOMMENTS
By Kathy Zinter
CSPERA Executive Director
A Night at the “Birnadines!”
Join Us, and Meet our Scholarship
Recipients
We admit it’s not the Oscars (better, actually,
because dress is informal), but on Wednesday
evening, May 20, we will reveal who to us are stars
of the Birnadine Mack Scholarship Foundation.
Just as many local SPERA retirees organize
scholarships for high school students, CSPERA’s
Birnadine Mack Foundation annually awards four
graduate study scholarships to public school
employees. One award is made in each of
CSPERA’s four divisions , Western, Southern,
Metro, and Northeast.
Welcome to Spring! Hope you all are
enjoying the nice weather.
We are excited and looking forward to
the upcoming CSPERA Annual Meeting to be
held in beautiful Colorado Springs in May. You
will find considerable information about it in this
newsletter, however, if you have any questions
please do not hesitate to contact either Marlis or
myself at the phone numbers or e-mail address
listed below.
We hope those of you who live in the Colorado
Springs area, or those who travel there to attend
May’s CSPERA Annual Conference, will register
for the Wednesday evening reception. You’ll find
the event on the Conference Registration Form. It’s
a very small registration donation, and it’s a very
good cause.
Hope to see you all in Colorado Springs
May 21, 2015.
Kathy
CSPERA, 1085 Peoria St., Aurora, CO 80011
Last year’s evening reception was great! It was the
large number of folks attending that made it fun.
We had several moments of standing applause for
award recipients (and some raucous calls of
approval for the abundant refreshments). We’ll
hope for a repeat this spring. Join us Wednesday
evening.
Phone: 303.326.1808 or 1.800.748.2846
Fax: 303.326.1810
email: [email protected]
Website: www.cspera.org
Your being there is valuable in the way it brings
applause and encouragement to the young
professionals working to improve their service to
students. And you’ll be moved by the stories of
their progress in studies as told by the winners.
You’ll be contributing to Masters Degree study
among highly qualified and deserving applicants
(four selected from among fifty-three applicants last
year).
CONTINUALLY
FIGHTING FOR ALL
pera RETIREES
AND CURRENTLY
WORKING PERA
MEMBERS!!
We always add a note of thanks to the Liberty
Mutual Insurance Company for their support of
the Birnadine Mack Foundation’s Annual
Reception.
4
HEALTHWATCH
By CSPERA Health Chairman,
Ron Stoneburner
OUTREACH REPORT
Nancy Carlson, Chair
HONEY
Around the world and through the centuries, it has always been with us—sweetening our
foods, healing our wounds and curing our our aliments. You might call it the original superfood,
nourishing our bodies inside and out.
Honey, a carbohydrate-rich syrup produced
by bees primarily from floral nectars, is composed
mostly of fructose and glucose. Worker boney bees
transform the floral nectar they gather into homey
by adding enzzymes to the nectar and reducing the
moisture.
Raw, unfiltered honey has been touted for
years as an aid in fighting outdoor allergies. Over
time, the tiny pollen granules in the honey can help
build your resistance to outdoor allergens. But pollen’s inclusion in honey is incidental. As the bees
travel from flower to flower collecting nectar, they
also collect pollen that’s stuck on their bodies.
That same pollen that fertilizes the flowers is also
taken back to the hive and deposited in the honey.
Honey is nature’s perfect substitute for
granulated sugar. Its high fructose content means
you’ll use less honey than sugar while still retaing
the desired sweetness of your recipe. It also adds a
unique taste to any dis, provides balance and enhancement to flavor profiles of other ingredients.
You can also use honey as a binding or
thickening agent in sauces, dressings, marinades
and dips. Honey also helps your baked goods retain moisture while increasing their shelf life.
At 17 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon (and only 64 calories), honey is a great energy booster for you body. If ingested before your
workout, honey provides a steady rate of energy to
fuel your exercises. As a post-workout treat, often
combined with a protein supplement, honey can
help recuperate your muscles and aid in glycogen
restoration.
Whether you’re drizzling it on your favorite
baked goods or infusing it into a recipe, make hone
you special not-so-secret ingredient.
Seeking new members for CSPERA!
The 6,000+ membership of CSPERA would
like you to ask a friend or colleague to become a member. Your friends or
colleagues deserve the benefits of CSPERA,
just like you enjoy. You do not have to have
invested in PERA, you only need to have an
interest in education to be an associate
member.
What do you get for the annual fee of
$24 for Members or $12 per year for
Associate Members?
As a paid member you are entitled to access
to among other things; Association Member
Benefits Advisors or AMBA. CSPERA has
endorsed them to provide a wide variety of
benefits for your use. Please check out what
they have to offer on the web page at http://
cspera.org/benefits.html, or give the
CSPERA office a call at 303-326-1808, or toll
free: 1-800-748-2846.
How do you become a member?
A membership application can be obtained on the CSPERA web site
(www.cspera.org) or from our office at 1-800748-2846. Applications are also available
from Nancy Carlson, Outreach Chair, via
[email protected] or 970-872-4096. If you
are a PERA retiree, the CSPERA office and
board members encourage you to elect payment by “dues deduct,” just a $2 a month deduction from your PERA check until you request to end membership. Active employees
can become Associate Members by filling out
an application form and mailing with a $12
check to: CSPERA, 1085 Peoria Street,
Aurora, CO 80011.
Healthy Living Made Simple; Jan/Feb. 2015
5
“It’s not my fault, everybody mumbles”.
“The TV is not too loud, I can barely understand it.”
“The problem is background noise!”
“If only the kids would speak up a little bit!”
Experience the World with Your
Grandchildren and Road Scholar
Intergenerational travel—grandparents and
grandchildren travelling together—is a
growing trend. Whether learning about the
history of our nation’s capital or viewing
Renaissance masterpieces in Florence,
grandparents have discovered that it is
incredibly rewarding to share these
experiences with younger generations. With so
many grandparents living far away from their families, Road Scholar offers an excellent
opportunity for them to bond with their grandchildren through educational travel adventures.
Founded in 1975, not-for-profit Road Scholar is the world leader in lifelong learning. Since inception, over 5 million people have experienced the
joys of educational travel on a Road Scholar program; and each year, nearly 100,000 individuals
just like you explore the world with us on one of
our 5,500 programs in 150 countries and 50 states.
“Grandparents who enroll in our Intergenerational programs tell us that they really treasure
the opportunity to bond with their grandchildren
on our programs,” said JoAnn Bell, senior vice president, Road Scholar programs. “We have designed
these adventures to appeal to both grandparents
and their grandchildren, and continue to add additional programs to meet the growing demand for
this type of learning.”
To learn more about Road Scholar’s Intergenerational programs and sign up to receive our
free catalog, please visit the AMBA Travel Benefits
page at www.myAMBAbenefits.info/cspera
We hear comments like these everyday from
people with hearing loss. Some know they are missing
out on life, others do not, but they and their families all
suffer the consequences. Recent research shows that
hearing loss is associated with higher risk of dementia
and Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as depression and
reduced quality of life.
In addition to improving quality of life, hearing aids can reduce the negative effects of hearing
loss. Hearing aids do more than just help you to
hear better; they can also prevent atrophy of the
central auditory system. The sooner you act to fix
your hearing problems, the better protection you
have.
If you or a family member is suffering from
hearing loss, and “sitting on the fence”, consider the
benefits of hearing instruments. Hearing Instruments
hold a great potential to positively change lives.
Through the CSPERA Hearing Plan, you and
your immediate family are able to have an annual
hearing screening done at no cost, to determine if you
could benefit from the use of hearing instruments. If
you would benefit from hearing aids you can also get
prices discounted 30-70% off of MSRP, 3 year warranties, and even 3 years of free hearing aid batteries.
Contact Hear In America toll-free at 1-800-286-6149
to locate a participating hearing center in your area.
Spring makes its
own statement,
so loud and
clear that the
gardener seems to be only
one of the instruments,
not the
composer.
Emergency Medical Transportation – World
Wide Coverage!
Medical Air Services Association is an international
association dedicated to providing life-saving emergency assistance from home or while traveling anywhere in the world. MASA provides coverage 24
hours a day, 365 days a year, to protect our members against catastrophic financial loss. To learn
more call AMBA at 1-800-258-7041 or visit
www.myAMBAbenefits.info/cspera.
~Geoffrey B. Charlesworth
6
SERVICE AND SECURITY/ CHALLENGE AND CHANGE
2015
CSPERA ANNUAL MEETING REGISTRATION
Name:__________________________________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
City/State/Zip ____________________________________
Telephone: _________________________________________
Email: __________________________________________
CSPERA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING, May 20, 2015, 9:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m.
I am a Unit Representative for _________________________________
I am a guest _____________
Registration for non-board members - $20.00 (includes lunch). There is no cost for Unit Representatives and Executive Board
Members.
DEADLINE FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING REGISTRATION IS MAY 11, 2015
BIRNADINE MACK FOUNDATION RECEPTION, May 20, 2015, 6:00 – 8:00 P.M.
Registration (for all attendees ) - $10.00
DEADLINE FOR FOUNDATION RECEPTION REGISTRATION IS MAY 11, 2015
CSPERA ANNUAL MEETING, May 21, 2015, 9:00 a.m.—3:30 p.m.
Registration Fee (for all attendees—lunch included) - $25.00
DEADLINE FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING REGISTRATION IS MAY 11, 2015
Number of people who will be attending (i.e., member and guest):
_____
Board of Directors Meeting (cost for non-Board Members—$20 - includes lunch)
$ ___________
_____
Birnadine Mack Foundation Reception ($10 per person registration fee)
$ ___________
_____
CSPERA Annual Meeting ($25 per person registration fee – includes lunch.)
$ ___________
Total Enclosed
$ ___________
Please complete this form and mail with your check to:
CSPERA
1085 Peoria St.
Aurora, CO 80011
(Any questions, please call the office at 303.326.1808 or 1-800.748.2846
or email us at [email protected]
________________________________________________________________
All meetings will be held at the Double Tree by Hilton Colorado Springs, 1775 E Cheyenne Mountain Blvd.,
Colorado Springs, CO 80906.
Guest rooms have been reserved at the rate of $89 per night.
The group code is ERA. To make reservations, attendees can call the hotel at (719)576-8900 and use that
code or mention CSPERA. Reservations can also be made on the holtel website,
www.doubletreecosprings.com. Guests can put in their dates and put that group code into the box which says
“Group Code” – this will get guests to the $89 rate and they can pick which room they want.
Deadline for room reservation is April 20, 2014
7
Colorado School and
Public Employees Retirement Association
1085 Peoria St., #219
Aurora, CO 80011
Non-Profit Org.
U. S. Postage
PAID
Pine Co
Permit 36
CSPERA OFFICE
303.326.1808
1085 Peoria St., #219
Aurora, CO 80011
www.cspera.org
[email protected]
ChangingYour Address or
Giving or Updating Your
E-mail Address?
Name ______________________________________________________________________
(please print)
New Address _______________________________________________________________
City ___________________________ State ________________ Zip __________________
New Phone _________________________________________________________________
New email address ___________________________________________________________
(please print)
CSPERA OFFICERS
Thomas Tonoli, President,
Mary Lynn Jones, President-Elect,
Beverly Green, Secretary,
Patrick McNeill, Treasurer,
Sandy Patton, Immediate Past President,
Kathy Zinter, Executive Director,
Marlis Hamm, Membership Coordinator,
1506 Rolf Court, Fort Collins, CO
400 Duke Lane, Fort Collins, CO
6530 W 18th St., Greeley, CO
679 Calle Concordia, Pueblo West, CO
30 Kris Lane, Manitou Springs, CO
1085 Peoria St., #219, Aurora, CO
1085 Peoria St., #219, Aurora, CO
DATED MATERIAL
8
80525
80525
80634
81007
80829
80011
80011