September 20th BCREA meeting held

The September 20th Barron County Retired Educator's Association meeting was held at the Perlick's Distillery with 25 members present.  Scott Perlick presented a program of the history of the distillery and members had a very informative tour of how the vodka and whiskey is produced.
Following the program, a short business meeting was held.  An election was held for president and secretary.  Keith Kolpack was elected president and Lynn Kolpack was elected secretary.  Kathy Osterloth volunteered to be Calling Committee Chair.  John Osterloth gave a short presentation on the new member benefits brochure.  A meal of subway sandwiches with chips followed the business meeting.  Members present were also able to purchase cocktails made with the vodka from the distillery.  The next meeting will be held at Rolling Oaks in Barron on November 1st.

Scott Perlick(baseball cap) leading tour of distillery

BCREA Schedule 2018/19

Meeting to be held -

September 20, 2018 - Perlick's Distillery - Sarona - Tour and information on distillery
November 1, 2018 - Rolling Oaks - Barron - Trisha Witham - How we stay at our home
January 17, 2019 - Bethany Lutheran - Rice Lake - Edward D Jones - Financial and Estate Planning
March 14, 2019 - St Paul Lutheran - Cumberland - Jacob Pintens - Alaskan Adventures
May 2, 2019 - Red's - Chetek - Fun and Games - It's BUNCO time

All meeting start with registration with coffee and cookies at 9:30 am with programs and meeting beginning at 10 am.

BCREA May Meeting Held

The May meeting of the Barron County Retired Educator's Association (BCREA) was held on Thursday, May 3, 2018, at Red's Supper Club in Chetek.  Approximately 30 members were in attendance.
During the business meeting, it was discussed that the organization is in need of a Call Committee Chair and a vice-president.  These positions will start in September 2018.  A vote was taken to continue having the supper picnic, and all seemed in favor of continuing this event.  Possible topics for next year's meeting were discussed, an update from the Scholarship committee was given, and WREA Member Benefits were presented.
Following the business meeting, State Senator Janet Bewely held a question and answer session on Legislation in Madison dealing with Education and other topics.  Everyone present seemed to learn something during Senator Bewely's presentation.
An excellent lunch followed Senator Bewely's presentation.

State Senator Janet Bewely

WREA District 1 Meeting Held

The WREA District 1 Spring Meeting was held on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at the WITC Conference Center in Rice Lake.  Approximately 40 people attended this meeting.
Presenters were John Forester, WREA Lobbyist, with a legislative update from Madison; Bob Conlin, Secretary Department of Employee Trust Funds, with an update on the pension; Challenge Award Presentation to Park Falls and Glidden Elementary Schools represented by Jessica Blue on their "Makerspace Mania" project; Diane Wilcenski, WREA Executive Director; and a report from all Standing Committees - Community Service and Health Issues, Legislative, Membership, Member Benefits, Nominations, and Public Education Outreach.
Vic Bekkum and his wife were recognized by the WREA Foundation for becoming part of the Legacy Circle.  To be part of this circle, a contribution of $5,000 establishes your fund.
There were many positive comments from the WREA members who attended this meeting.

Vic Bekkum receives legacy Circle Certificate from Berland Meyers, WREA Foundation President

Elementary Teacher Jessica Blue presents on "Makerspace Mania" project

Eleven members for BCREA attend WREA District 1 Spring Meeting

BCREA May Meeting Set

Just want to give a heads up on our upcoming meeting.  Senator Bewely did publish an update in the Chetek Alert which I found informative.  I am not sure if she also hit the other papers in our county.  I have forwarded these topics that I thought we would like to be addressed: School Funding, Vouchers, Safety of our Pension fund, School Safety. 

When: May 3, 2018

Program: Q & A with our State Senator Janet Bewely

Where: Red’s Supper Club

121 Lakeview Drive

Chetek, WI

9:30 am Coffee & Registration at

10 to 10:30 am Business Meeting

10:30 pm State Senator Janet Bewely

Lunch Choices

(choice will be taken at registration)

Red’s House Salad with Grilled Chicken Breast

Classic Prime Rib Sandwich with grilled onions & Swiss cheese

Hamburger or Grilled Chicken Breast with Lettuce and Tomato

Sandwiches include homemade potato chips and pickle

March BCREA Meeting Held

On Thursday, March 15, 2018, the Barron County Retired Educators held a meeting at Bethany Lutheran Church. There were two programs, a business meeting, and lunch during the meeting.
The first program was called "Bee Keeping and their Importance to our Environment" presented by Richard Koehn of Milk & Honey Acres of Almena, Wisconsin.  The second program was by Mary Jane Woodall of Association of Benefits Advisors(AMBA), including a background of the company and the benefits available to WREA members.
Following the presentations, a business meeting was held, lead by Kathy Duerr, president of BCREA.  Marie Anderson was recognized for her many years of service as Secretary of BCREA.  A new secretary and a Calling Committee Chair are needed by the organization.
The Spring District 1 meeting will be held in Rice Lake on Tuesday, May 1st.  The BCREA is hosting this meeting.  Any member wishing to attend the meeting should contact Kathy Duerr.  The organization has funds to help pay for the registration to this event.
The Wisconsin Retirement System has announced that starting May 1st, payments to retirees will increase by 2.4% in Core and 17% in variable.
The next meeting of BCREA will be May 3rd, 2018, at Red's Supper Club in Chetek.  Registration will begin at 9:30 am with the meeting starting at 10 am.  The presenter will be State Senator Janet Bewely.

Richard Koehn

Richard Koehn in protective gear

Mary Jane Woodall

Mary Jane Woodall introduced by Kathy Duerr

Osterloth, Bekkum at convention

On Oct. 2-4, more than 200 retired educators gathered at The Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake to attend the convention of the Wisconsin Retired Educators' Association.
Paul Wesselmann, The Ripples Guy, was the keynote speaker who unleashed an infusion of energy and insight for convention attendees.
Chris Gleason, 2016-2017 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year representative shred how he is "lighting a fire in kids" through music.
Delegates from the Barron County Rirred Educators' Association included John Osterloth of Rice Lake and Victor Bekkum of Cumberland.  Osterloth serves on the WREA Board of Directors as chair of the WREA Member Benefits committee, and Bekkum is the Past President of WREA.  The group is a non-partisan, independent organization with more than 10,500 members statewide and 65 local units.  For details about BCREA, contact Kathy Duerr at 715-924-2120.
Article published in the Rice Lake Chronotype.