October 24, 2019
Jeanie Anderson called the meeting to order at 11:40 AM, followed by the flag salute.
Vistors were introduced. They were Vicki Craft, Sharon Wiley and Karen Jones.
Jane Madden read The Thought of the day.
Minutes were approved as presented.
Treasurer’s Report: by Marty Erickson
Savings Account Revenues $9,572.29
Checking $276.36
12 Month Certificate $3,066.94
Scholarship Account $2,998.72
Net worth to date $15,914.31
MOTION: Gerry Jarvis made a motion to accept the 2019/2020 budget as presented by Marty Erickson. Seconded and passed.
VSD Presentation: Jeanie Anderson talked about her meeting with Vancouver School District’s principals on October 15th. She met Dr. Burke at 7:30 AM at the Bates Center. There were 35 principals present, and 25 became active members. She is planning on writing thank you notes to each new member. She would like to be able to present the mini-grants to each teacher in person.
Website News: Mina Milligan will be sending the board and general luncheon minutes via e-mail. She will bring some copies to meetings for those who do not have e-mail. She also encouraged people to go on line and submit positive testimonials concerning SWWSRA’s activities that they enjoy. Thank you, Loretta Babbitt and Jane Madden, for contributing. Their comments are on our home page. Go to Contact Us to submit your testimonial. Also, there is a full calendar on our site. Hover over calendar date captions to see details about what is going on.
There are various ways to access SWWSRA’s website: Search WSSRA then go to local units or SWWSRA or https://www.wssra-units.org/southwest-unit30/ or Southwest Washington School Retirement Association
Luncheon: Jeanie Anderson mentioned that the set up for our Spaghetti Factory December luncheon, will utilize tables for four, rather than the usual large rectangular tables. She will be looking into a new venue for our luncheons, rather than Cascadia Tech Academy.
Program: Donna Quesnel introduced our speakers. She spoke for Paul Harris, 17th District Representative, who has spent a lot of time with citizens around the district. They were clear in their message. Businesses and families in Washington cannot survive any more taxation and unsustainable budgets coming out of Olympia. He is determined to make sure people have jobs, keep our tax rates low, show fiscal responsibility with the state budget, allow businesses to be productive without fighting excessive regulations and provide a quality education for our children.
Vicki Craft is in her second term, representing the 17th District. She believes that our state government faces significant challenges. She will approach our state budget, setting short-term and long-term priorities, spending wisely and living within our means. Greater economic development can be accomplished with regulatory reform. She feels we must remove the limits from businesses, reduce regulations, and attract new employers to our region and state. Our children’s future success depends on a quality education. It should be focused on improving student achievement. This will properly prepare them for college or learning a trade, they will be equipped to achieve their goals and dreams. With our communities growing rapidly, common-sense transportation solutions are needed to reduce commute times. Drivers and commerce should not be hindered by traffic.
Despo Varkados asked how often is it appropriate to e-mail the legislatures? Answer was “anytime”.
Gerry Jarvis asked if plan 1 will get a COLA before she dies? Vicki answered that she was for the COLA but unfortunately, she is in the minority.
Sharon Wiley has been the 49th District Representative since 2011. She feels that what we hear in the news is usually negative, but they actually get along in Olympia. She stated, “I have the most interesting job in the world.” This year a total of 2,211 bills were introduced, 467 passed and were enacted into law, but the remaining bills are not dead. Next year will be a short session. The bills that didn’t pass this year will be automatically reintroduced so they can go through the legislative process again. Issues will include data privacy, special education, local needs for transportation and expansion of our Cascade Tech Center and more. As vice chair of the Transportation Committee, she worked hard to ensure the importance of the I-5 corridor was a priority. There were significant investments made to resume the process of finding a solution to replacing the I-5 bridge that works for both Oregon and Washington. Washington state must address aging infrastructure. Our current dependence on gas tax doesn’t work for more energy efficient cars and the number of vehicles using the system. As a trade-dependent state, innovative industries and economic vitality are influenced by national tariffs and an educated workforce. We need to continue to diversify our economy and support our people when they are impacted by technological or other changes. We need a resilient and less regressive tax system. Less regressive to ensure fairness and resilience to have stability in a volatile and changing economy. “There is a lot more good going on than bad.”
Health: Fran Person reported that S.A.L.T is held the third Monday of each month at 11 am at 40 & Community Room in Hazel Dell at 7607 NE 26th Ave. Contact person is Kasey Frazier, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, 564.397.3380. Fran Person handed out a check list concerning risks of falling. Falls are the main reason why older people lose their independence. For more information on fall prevention, visit www.cdc.gov/steadi or www.stopfalls.org. Our January luncheon will invite a speaker concerning balance.
Friendship: Jane Madden sent out October get well cards to Sherry Boose, Carol Ramsey and
Carol’s husband. She also sent a card to the family of Robert Hyatt.
Mini-Grants: Wanita Filbin, Jane Madden, Jeanie Anderson and Mina Milligan reviewed the 30 applications that were submitted. Ten were chosen. These grants need to go through District Foundations before proceeding to the school employees.
Door prizes handed out.
Birthdays: Jane Madden handed out presents and led Happy Birthday to those born in October.
Songs: Everyone joined together to sing two Halloween songs and Let There Be peace on Earth.
Dates to Remember:
October 31 Halloween
November 3 Daylight savings time ends
November 4 Election Day
November 11 Veteran’s Day
November 21 Board meeting
December 12 Luncheon at Spaghetti Factory
Adjourned at 1:40 PM.
Mina Milligan, SWWSRA Secretary