National Active and Retired
Federal Employees
Northern Neck Chapter 1823
Serving Active & Retired Federal Employees,
Spouses, and Survivor Annuitants
Virginia Federation of Chapters – Area 1
May 2017 – July 2017
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
President
Larry McIlwee
P.O. Box 1511
Tappahanock, VA 22560
804/450-3919
[email protected]
1st Vice President
Ed Glading
5426 Nomini Hall Road
Hague, VA 22469
804/472-2787
[email protected]
2nd Vice President
John Yonce
201 Long Lane Farm
White Stone, VA 22578
804/438-8011
[email protected]
Secretary
Betty Mountjoy-Gasper
P.O. Box 16
Reedville VA 22539
804/453-6919
[email protected]
Well, gee; here it is April already. Soon those
pesky Deer Flies, May Flies, whatever you want
to call them will be out and being a pain.
Mosquitoes also. But, what beautiful weather
we are having. I believe that summer is going
to be early this year.
Eight folks from our
chapter attended the VFC
63rd
Convention
in
Williamsburg the first
weekend of this month.
It was interesting in some ways, and not so
much in other ways. I encourage you to attend
the convention and make your voice heard.
Also, there is a silent auction, raffle, and of
course the 50/50 drawings for nice cash prizes.
The exhibitors were great, (thanks BJ) and the
seminars were very informative.
Harp player at the VFC
Reception
sponsored
by GEHA
and
United
Healthcare.
Treasurer
Ted Munns
PO Box 336
Reedville, VA 22539-0336
804/453-3621
[email protected]
Editor
Katherine Paris
176 Silverleaf Drive
Hague, VA 22469
[email protected]
Chapter 1823 members at the VFC Banquet
(Bruce McMillan, Larry and Chris McIlwee, Carol and
Stan Brown, Nellie and Jim Landrum. BJ is shooting
the photo).
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Our Virginia Federation of Chapters President
Kathy Arpa had to step down due to health
reasons. Leslie Ravenell did a great job. Of
course, Kathy’s husband has always been the
photographer at the convention. Well, since he
was unable to attend, yours truly was the
photographer.
Not
the
professional
photographer, just the photographer.
Also, we received an
award in the membership
department for “Best
Prospect
Conversion
Ratio-2016”.
Nellie
Landrum accepted the award on behalf of the
chapter. Thank you Nellie.
Please go on to the NARFE Website, and keep
up to date with what is going on nationally.
President Richard Thiesen promotes the
National Chapter for personnel that do not want
to belong to a local chapter. I feel that they miss
a lot by not participating. If you agree, then
please voice your concerns to Mr. Thiesen. We
want to keep our local chapter going and I feel
that we have a great slate of monthly programs.
If there is a program, or someone that you
would like to have speak at our meetings, please
let the board know. Well, enough said about the
convention.
program. Currently they, like us, are not
required to purchase Part B. If the Postal
Reform Bill is passed, it would take away a
benefit those retirees currently have. Once that
door is opened, Congress then could do the
same for federal retirees.
President Thissen also explained that the use of
Official Time by government union officials is
not a NARFE issue. It is a union issue and
NARFE is not a union.
He encouraged NARFE members to contact our
Congressman and Senators when we have a
concern about legislation that Congress is
considering.
We also learned at the convention that
NARFE’s legislative goal for this year is to
maintain our current benefits. In addition,
currently most of the NARFE PAC money is
contributed to Congressmen and Senators who
support the NARFE positions 40 – 60 percent of
the time. It is hoped that those legislators will
gain a greater appreciation for the negative
consequences of proposed changes on the
federal workforce and retirees.
– Jim Landrum
STATE LEGISLATION
Please continue supporting our chapter, and I
look forward to seeing and meeting you at our
monthly meetings. Remember, we have our
annual picnic in September.
Thank each and everyone of you for being a
cherished member of Chapter 1823.
Larry McIlwee
Heads up, Tuesday June 13, 2017 is the Virginia
primary. Inform your self. Deadline to register
to vote, or update existing registration, is
Monday, May 22, 2017. Deadline to request an
absentee ballot to be mailed to you is 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Your request must be
received by your Registrar by 5:00 p.m.
– Ed Glading
NATIONAL LEGISLATION
CHAPTER 1823 EVENTS
At the recent Virginia NARFE Convention, the
NARFE President, Richard Thissen, explained
why NARFE opposes the Postal Reform bill.
The bill as written would require Post Office
retirees to buy Medicare Part B in order to be
eligible for the government health insurance
NARFE Past Events
February 7th. Chapter members met for soup
at the Wicomico Episcopal Church in
Wicomico, VA. After lunch, master gardener
Sue Lindsey, project director for the shoreline
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project, spoke about shoreline issues and
planning and the benefits to homeowner, bay
health.
– Betty Mountjoy-Casper
March 7th. The Chapter meeting was held at
the Lancaster Community Library in
Kilmarnock, VA. Shirley Grant, Community
Volunteer Leader and Executive Director of the
Northumberland Red Cross noted that the Red
Cross is celebrating 100 years of service in VA.
Locally, the Red Cross responded immediately
after the tornado struck in Tappahannock on
February 25, 2016, and the organization efforts
are continuing there. They need volunteers, as
well as financial support to continue these
efforts.
Shirley described the various services the
organization provides, e.g., blood services.
There are blood drives every other month in
Northumberland and Lancaster Counties. She
identified the emergency shelter locations in the
nearby counties.
She also provided guidance so we can be
prepared in the event of emergencies, e.g. a fire
or loss of electricity. Check flashlight batteries;
replace smoke alarm batteries 2 times a year;
have a working fire extinguisher; complete an
emergency form and have it readily available;
identify an escape route from your home; and
have a whistle, battery operated radio, first aid
kit, supply of water, food and medications.
– Nellie Landrum
Upcoming Events
May 2nd. The annual memorial luncheon
begins at noon and will be held at Lizzy’s
Restaurant, 8200 Northumberland Hwy,
Heathsville. This is a change of location from
what was conveyed earlier to chapter
members. Attendees will order from the menu.
The Chapter will welcome Charles Belfield as
their guest speaker. Wearing his Revolutionary
War Light Horse uniform, as was worn by his
8th generation grandfather, Captain John
Belfield, Mr. Belfield will give John’s personal
account of fighting for our nation’s freedom in
the 1st regiment of the American Continental
Army. Charles Belfield lives in Richmond
County, where his family has resided since
1700. He is President of the James Monroe
Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution
and also 1st Vice President of the Richard Henry
Lee Chapter. He is a member of the Northern
Neck Historical Society and a board member of
the James Monroe Foundation. His goal is to
keep our history alive, and to that end he shares
his talents and historical knowledge with school
and civic groups.
Current, former and retired Federal employees,
spouses
and
survivor
annuitants
are
invited. Reservations are required due to space
limitations. Contact
Jim
Landrum, 804.529.6415
or
[email protected] to reserve a seat or for
additional information (if you have already
made reservations you do not have to re-contact
Jim.)
– Jim Landrm
ALZHEIMER RESEARCH
Many of our lives have been touched by
Alzheimer’s. A memorial contribution is a
wonderful way to honor/remember a friend or
relative who has suffered the ravages of this
disease. (See the In Memoriam Recognition
form in this newsletter.) To contribute, please
make your check out to NARFE Alzheimer’s
Research and include Chapter 1823 on the
memo line. Mail the check to our treasurer, Ted
Munns, at P.O. Box 336, Reedville, VA 22539.
Ted will send it on to our state Alzheimer
representative.
– Nellie Landrum
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SERVICE OFFICER INFORMATION
I am available to provide assistance to members
on procedures and forms governing delivery of
annuity payments; federal life and health
insurance; survivor benefits; change of
beneficiary; or federal income tax withholding.
I can also assist in resolving problems involving
claims submitted to OPM by chapter members.
Please contact me at (804) 453-4466, if you
need assistance.
– Bud Bolger
MEMBERSHIP AND RETENTION
According to the 2016 end-of-year statistics,
which came out in February, our Chapter added
six new members last year:
Judy Bright
James Brooks
Clark Hall
Bonita Russell
Linda Steele
Carlisle Walters
We also had one new member who transferred
into our Chapter: Catherine Mallory
A big welcome to all of the new members.
Three of the new members - or 50% - were
recruited by Ted Munns. Keep it up Ted. I
encourage other Chapter 1823 members to ask
Ted how he is recruiting these new members.
Let’s try to beat these numbers in 2017. So far
in 2017, we’ve had one new member: Garrett
Howard.
At the VFC level, we are working on re-doing
the VA NARFE website, which we hope will
also help in recruitment efforts.
– BJ Thomas-McMillan
PUBLIC RELATIONS IS EVERYONES
JOB
A major goal for the chapter board, and for me
as the public relations chair is for all chapter
members and potential members to be kept upto-date about chapter meetings and the
interesting speakers who share their particular
area of expertise with us. To reach this goal, we
communicate the meeting information in a
variety of ways: newsletters, the local
newspapers, radio announcements, and e-mail.
Unfortunately, I cannot ensure that all
newspapers do as I request, radio stations
consistently announce our meeting time and
place, or my e-mail contact list is complete and
current.
Furthermore, on occasion, there is
late-breaking news, so the information included
in the quarterly newsletter is sometimes subject
to change.
Although we do use a variety of tools to ensure
that people are informed about our meetings, I
ask that you assist me in a couple of ways.
First, please ensure that the chapter has your
current e-mail address. If you have not received
an e-mailed meeting reminder within the past
few months, we do not have your address.
Please send a new or updated address to
[email protected].
Second, invite a
friend to come with you to a meeting. The most
effective way to get a non-attending chapter
member or a prospective member, i.e., an active
or retired federal employee or spouse, to attend
a NARFE meeting is to invite him/her to
accompany you to a meeting. We look forward
to seeing you and your friend(s) at a meeting in
the near future.
– Nellie Landrum
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CHAPTER 1823 CONTACTS
Alzheimer’s – John Yonce (438-8011)
Chaplain – John Krainock (472-3051)
Membership – BJ Thomas McMillan (580-8666)
National Legislation – Jim Landrum (529-6415)
Programs – Vacant
Publicity – Nellie Landrum (529-6415)
Sergeant-at-Arms – Stan Brown (453-7502)
Service Officer – Bud Bolger (453-4466)
State Legislation – Ed Glading (472-2787)
Tim Kaine (U.S. Senate)
507 East Franklin Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: 804/771-2221 / Fax: 804/771-8313
Email: www.kaine.senate.gov
Rob Wittman (U.S. House of
Representatives)
508 Church Lane
Tappahannock, VA 22560
Phone: 804/443-0668 / Fax: 804/443-0671
Email: www.wittman.house.gov
LEGISLATIVE CONTACTS
Richard H. Stuart (VA State Senator - 28th
Dist.)
P.O. Box 1146
Montross, VA 22520
Phone 804/493-8892 / Fax: 804/493-8897
Email: [email protected]
Ryan T. McDougle (VA State Senator - 4th
Dist.)
P.O. Box 187
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
Phone 804/730-1026 / Fax: 804/730-1051
Email: [email protected]
M. Keith Hodges (VA State Delegate - 98th
Dist.)
P.O. Box 928
Urbanna, VA 23175
Phone 804/277-9801 / Fax: 804/695-0216
Email: [email protected]
Margaret B. Ransone (VA State Delegate 99th
Dist.)
P.O. Box 358
Kinsale, VA 22488
Phone: 804/493-8484 / Fax: 804/493-8481
Email: [email protected]
Mark Warner (U.S. Senate)
919 E. Main St., Suite 630
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: 804/775-2314 / Fax: 804/775-2319
Email: www.warner.senate.gov
Winner of the 50/50 Cash Drawings
February – Nellie Landrum
(All winnings donated to Alzheimer’s Research)
March – Don McLeod
VA Federation of Chapters
Check the website at www.vanarfe.org to find
our Chapter’s quarterly newsletter and other
additional information
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Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
Northern Neck NARFE
Chapter 1823
P.O. Box 336
Reedville, VA 22539-0336
PAID
Richmond, VA
Permit #3022
NARFE
LAWS CAN CHANGE – SO CAN YOUR RETIREMENT BENEFITS!!
CHAPTER MEETING SCHEDULE
May 2
NOON - Spring Luncheon. Lizzy’s Restaurant, 8200 Northumberland Hwy, Heathsville. Speaker:
Charles Belfield, Historian, “Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War. “ Please call Jim
Landrum at (804) 529-6415 or e-mail him at [email protected] if you plan on attending so he
can give a count to the restaurant.
June 6
1:00 PM - Backdraft Restaurant, 7415 Oldhams Road, Kinsale. Speaker: Lee Walker, Virginia
Department of Gameland and Fisheries, “Outdoor Recreational Activities & Wildlife Conservation
and Issues.” Cost is $20 per person for the buffet, which includes tax and tip.
July 11
1:00 PM - History Month/Ice Cream Social. Steamboat Era Museum, 156 King Carter Dr.,
Irvington. Speaker: A docent from the museum. Ice cream social will follow.
August 1
1:00 PM - Anna’s Pizza. 150 Old Fair Grounds Way, Kilmarnock. Speaker: General Bill Blair,
Master Naturalist, “Emergency Preparedness.” Members and guests will order off the menu.
September 5
NOON – Annual Picnic. Belle Isle State Park, Humphrey’s Shelter #1. (Burgers, hotdogs & sausages will
be furnished. Last names starting with A-M bring a salad/side dish, N-Z bring a dessert). Speakers:
Congressman Rob Wittman will be invited.