Minutes from September 20, 2012 Meeting

Barron County Retired Educators'

September 20, 2012

10:30 a.m.

Barron County Retired Educators met September 20, 2012, at 10:30 a.m. at First Lutheran Church in Cumberland.  Dinner was served to 65 people.  Our president, Frank Pieichel, called the meeting to order and introduced our guest speaker, Tom Koser. The program was " Local Radio-Past, Present, and Future."  Tom has been in the radio business for over 20 years.

·         Tom was a graduate of Barron High School but grew up in Almena.

·         Teachers inspired him and were also good friends.

·         A graduate of Plattville in broadcasting.

·         Worked in radio at Springfield and then general manager at Rockford for four years.

·         Then he bought WJMC and moved to Rice Lake and raised their two boys.

·         Later bought two stations in Rhinelander, Hayward, and five stations in upper Michigan.

·         Sold the Rhinelander stations and bought WAQE.

·         Now has 11 radio stations.

·         Radio is in with 10,000 stations. Country music is most popular. Talk radio is second and sports talk is third.  WJMC am on the air in 1939 on South Maine. 1947 fm on the air.       

What's the future of radio?

·         The amusing faze is music.

·         Keep it local:  obituaries, local news, and sports.

·         Being involved in community events.

·         In 1989, 11 employees now 33 people.

Business Meeting

·         Opened our meeting with Pledged Allegiance to the Flag.

·         Secretary's report was read and approved.  Motion was made by John Osterloth and seconded by Jim Perala to accept the report.

·         Treasurer's report was read and approved by Sandy Stiener with a balance in the treasury of $723.29.  The Scholarship Fund has $16,204.92. Motion made by Kathy Doer and seconded by John Sheiffer to accept the report

·         The Retiree Breakfast was canceled due to lack of potential attendees. 

New Business

·         Vicky Ondell, volunteer services of Barron County, is seeking a coordinator  for Wheelchair Ramp Project.

·         Victor Bekkum, president elect of WREA, gave us an update of happenings in the state.  Fall meeting is October 15 at Turtle Back.  News letter is coming out . Dave Bennett is the new district representative.

·         Barb Millerman made a motion to give $100. to the Restorative Justice Program and Jim Perala seconded it.

·         School supply donations  will be taken at our November meeting.

·         It's a good idea to reactivate the practice of "Passing The Hat" for Scholarships.

·         John Osterloth was elected president of BCRE and Steve Eichman as president -elect.

·         Door prizes were won by Bobby Monsolovich and Vicki Bonkrude.

Frank thanked all those that assisted him when he president of our organization. A round of applause was given to Frank. Joe Hagenbarth lead us in prayer before dinner.

Our next meeting is November 1 at Faith Lutheran Church in Cameron. Our guest speaker will be Tim Jergenson.

Secretary,

Marie Anderson

November 1st Meeting of BCREA

The Barron County Retired Educators’ Association will meet on Thursday, November 1, at the Faith Lutheran Church,  201 So. Fourth St., in Cameron with registration beginning at 10 a.m. and lunch at noon.  Tim Jergenson, Barron County’s Agricultural/Natural Resources/Horticultural Agent, will speak on Farm Technology Days and other related topics.  Business meeting to follow program.  All retired teachers, administrators, and staff are invited.  The cost of the meal is $10 and will be served a noon.  Educators who join the local unit for the first time will receive a complimentary meal.  Reservations may be made by calling Barb Millerman at 715-743-2390 or  e-mailing her at bamillerman@chibardun.net no later than Sunday evening, October 28.

Photos from District Meeting

President John Osterloth and President Elect Steve Eichman discuss upcoming meeting.

Pat Peichel, Past President Frank Peichel, and Treasurer Sandra Steiner meet Executive Director of WREA Dave Bennett.

Summary of District 1 Meeting

Dear WREA friends,

 I wanted to share some of the highlights from the Fall District meeting in Rice Lake with those of you who attended and also with those of you who missed the meeting.  It was great to see so many first time attendees. You brought a different perspective and much energy to our group of veteran retirees, who've been to many meetings over the years.  Thanks to all of you who participated in the meeting. 

 The Superintendents panel was interesting with Janna Stevens, from Superior, and Barry Rose, from Cumberland, sharing what has been happening in their school districts. They certainly gave us much to think about.  I was reminded how important it is that we need to support our schools and express our thanks to school employees - all of them, especially in this time of unprecedented changes and challenges.  Keep up your volunteering and interest in education.

 I hope you enjoyed meeting Sarah Simac and Nanci Foster, the Kindergarten teachers from Eagle River Elementary School, who won the WREA Foundation Challenge award.  Their enthusiasm for teaching was wonderful.  Their innovative project was to instill in their kindergartners a life long awareness for freedom, patriotism and heroism. Classroom activities during and after school helped the students to focus in on what makes someone who is an ordinary person into a hero and to learn who are our heroes. 

  Mary Mennes, Member Benefits Liaison, reminded us to share with our unit members how many benefits we are entitled to use through our membership in WREA. We all want to save money and this is one way to do so. 

  Our honored guests were Jim Perala, Green Valley, Arizona, Satellite Director, and Vic Bekkum, WREA President Elect. Jim and Vic are also the past District I Co-Directors.  Together they bring many years of experience to District I meetings.

 We had a chance to share ideas, and brainstorm as we worked together in Dave Bennett's strategic planning session on Retaining and Acquiring Membership.

Vivian Markley
WREA District I Director