BTU RETIREES
NEWSLETTER
Vol. 6 issue 5 March-April 2017
BoardofDirectors2016-17
President-CarolFischer
[email protected]
VicePresident/Programchair-BettyBunnell
754-281-7792
[email protected]
Treasurer-RonneyVirgillito#954-704-9817
[email protected]
RecordingSecretary-EdieMacmurdo
[email protected]
Sunshine-RhodaFlohr
561-413-3889
[email protected]
Membership/newsletter-KateAlexander
[email protected]
PastPresident-NancyAdams
[email protected]
HappySaintPatrick’sDay-March17th
DearRetirees:
Ihopeyouareappreciatingthewarmweather
wearehavinginFlorida.Thefolksupnorth
havehadreallyfrigidandsnowyweather.Some
folkshavehadreallywarmweatherjusttoday.
ButasourPresidentsaysheisnotsurethe
climateischanging.
IfeeltheneedtosaythatIthinkaboutthe
recentelectionalot.Someofthemenand
womenchosentoleadourcountrydonotseem
tobetherightpeoplefortheirjobs.Atthe
momentthereissometurmoilinthecabinet
andotherpositions.Ireallypraythatthings
settledownandallthelawsarenotrolledback
tothe50’sand60’s.Iwillbesendingemailsto
ourmembersaskingforyourinputonissues
thataffectallofus-SocialSecurity,Medicare,
retirement,andpeopleappointedtorunour
country.Pleasecalloremailyour
representativestoshowyoursupportornoton
theissue.Ourrepresentativesdopayattention
tolargenumbersofcallsandemailsandletters
andpetitions.Remembertheywanttokeep
theirjobs–oratleastholdtheseatfortheir
party.Itisnosecretthatpubliceducationis
underattack.AndournewDepartmentof
EducationSecretarywillnotsupportpublic
education.Manycollegesarelettinggo
educationprofessorsandteacher’s-Nova
Southeasternisone.Pleasehelpsupportour
teachersinanywayyoucan.
Ontomorepleasantthoughts-.Twentyretirees
wenttoNovaSoutheasternFortLauderdaleArt
MuseumonWednesday,February15th.Betty
arrangedforawonderfulbuffetlunchatagreat
pricethateveryonesaidwasdelicious.The
groupwasthendividedintwoandwewenton
aguidedtour.Mydocentwasextremely
knowledgeableandmembersinothergroups
saidtheirswasalso.Manysaidtheywouldlike
togoagaintoamuseumnextyear.
TheMarchactivityisgoingtobelunchatOlive
GardenandaplayaboutDannyKayeatthe
StageDoorTheaterinCoralSprings.Iam
lookingforwardtoseeingtheplay.InAprilwe
aregoingtotheIslesCasino(smokefree)in
Pompanoforlunchandsomefunattheslots.
Watchformoreinformationonthisactivity.In
Maywewillhaveourclosingluncheon.Inthe
pastithasalwaysbeenlotsoffun.Remember
toreservethe3rdWednesdayofeachmonth
fromSeptemberthroughMayforBTU/R.
TheTuesdaygroupcontinuesthroughoutthe
year.Itwelcomeseveryonetojointhem.See
thedetailsinthisnewsletter.Itishardto
believethatweonlyhave3moremonthsof
Wednesdayactivities.Timecertainlymoves
fast.
Asofthisdatewestillhavenooneinterestedin
beingourtreasurerstartingasofJuly1st..I
havevolunteeredtocontinueasPresident,-
BettyBunnellhasvolunteeredtocontinueas
VicePresidentandeventsplanner-Kate
Alexanderhasvolunteeredtocontinueas
MembershipChairpersonandsendoutthe
Newsletter-
SusanPignattoputhernameintobeSecretary
attheDecembermeetingandwestillhaveno
oneforTreasurer.Asthereisnooppositionfor
anypositionnoelectionisnecessary.Ifanyone
wantstovolunteertobeTreasurerletanyone
ontheboardknow.Youwillnotbehandling
cash.
Ifanyonehasideasonanactivityyoufeelour
memberswouldenjoypleaseletusknow.We
wanttohaveasmanypeopleaspossiblejoinus
eachmonth.
IjustheardourPresidenthasannouncedthat
hehascalledoutTheTimes,TheLosAngles
Post,CNNandothersascreating“Fake”news.
Heistryingtolimitfreedomofthepress.Heis
comingupwithplanstodismantleourcurrent
healthplan.Hisnewplantheysaywillcost
oldercitizensmuchmoremoney.Thepayment
forinsurancewillbebasedonage-notincome.
Pleasebeactiveinsupportingthosegroupsthat
willlookafteryourinterests.Gotoatownhall
meeting,orapoliticalmeeting.Signthe
petitions,makecalls,donatemoney,email-do
whateveryoucansoyoubecomepartofthe
largenumberofupsetcitizensthatwouldlike
tokeepthebenefitsthatweearnedbyworking
soharduntilweretired.
MovieClub
WemeetthesecondTuesdayofeachmonthat
11:15 a.m. at the Tamarac Café and Diner (SW
corner of Nob Hill and McNab). Come join us!
We schmooze, eat lunch and get to see some
terrific movies. For more information, call
MarilynBoudinat954-472-3381.
Canasta and MahJong players also meet. Call
MarilynBoundin#954-472-3381fortimesand
locations.
BookClub
WemeetthefirstTuesdayofthemonthat
theBTUofficeat10:00a.m.
March-StoriedLifeofA.J.FiknybyGabrielZevin
March4th-AnitaSlavin
April-ForgettingTimebySherryGuskin
March7th-BrendaFitzgerald
May-RentCollectorbyWright
March14th-FranWeiner
June-ColorofSecretsbyAshford
March18th–AngelaJohnson
July-GoldenSonbyGoudda
March20th-NancyAdams
March20th-ReneeSchwartz
March22nd-SusanRaskin
March28th-MaryPavlinek
March31st-AnneNorce
March31st-SueNorton
HappyEaster
SUNSHINE
Ifyouhaveanygladorsadnewstoshare,
pleasecallRhodaFlohr(561)413-3889oremail
[email protected]
BIRTHDAYS
April3rd-CarylHattan
April4th-SusanRubeck
April5th-BarbaraWillis
April5th-LeatriceGallob
March9th-MarciaSatz
April10thValerieProffer
April13th-GailTrotman
April14th-MaryCurry
April20th-SharonGlickman
IfImissedanyone’sspecialday.Itisonly
becauseIdonothaveitonmymembershiplist.
Enjoyyourspecialdayandmayyouhave
manymore!!!
REMEMBER..WECANNOLONGERTAKE
CASHFORANYEVENT.WHEN
RESERVATIONSAREREQUIRED--THE
DEADLINEISFIRM.NOEXCEPTIONS.
RememberthatSEATSARELIMITEDATTHE
BTUOFFICE.
EXCEPTIONS CAN BE
MADE ON THESE FINAL
DATES.IF YOU WISH TO
ATTEND AN EVENT
PLEASE GET YOUR CHECK
IN ON TIME.
Smart Stage Matinee Series
and More at Parker
Playhouse
We are so fortunate to live in a
county that embraces the arts.
Below are special educator
programs that offer discounts
to teachers, as well as, other
programs that may be of
interest to you. I hope that
CALENDAROFEVENTS
many of you will take advantage
2017
of these fabulous performances
Mar15-PlayatTheStageDoor
to support the arts in South
Theater
Florida.
“TheBoyFromBrooklyn”thestoryof
DannyKaye—amusical
April19-VisittoIslesCasinofor
lunchandluck
May17-EndoftheYearLunchat
LagoMarCountryClubinPlantationand
possiblefashionshow.
EACH EVENT HAVE A
FIRM DEADLINE- NO
Discover Broadway for
Teachers
Please note that these
theater packages at the
Broward Center go on sale
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
and can be reserved through
the group sales team at
954-660-6307 or 954-6606328. Packages include 1
orchestra level ticket, free
admission to a pre-show
meet the stars workshop
at5:30, 6:30 pre-show diner
including wine and
refreshments. 8:00p.m.
performance and parking
voucher. NOTE: LIMIT 2
TICKETS PER ORDER
DISNEY’S LITTLE MERMAID Wed.
Mar 1, 2017 at 5:30p.,. - $97.40
SOMETHING ROTTEN! Wed. Mar
22, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. $97.40
MATILDA THE MUSICAL Wed. Apr
26, 2017 5:30 p.m. $97.40
FINDING NEVERLAND Wed. June
14, 2017 at 5:30p.m. $102.15
SIX DOLLAR SMART STAGE
MATINEE SERIES FOR GROUPS OF
10 OR MORE:
Last year more than 40 members of
our group took advantage of the
morning matinee series that is for
students ( former SEAS program) and
is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Please
advise if you are interested in
attending any of these performances
and I will reserve the minimum of 10..
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MARCH
DATE FOR THE FABULOUS
FLORIDA FOLLIES PERFORMANCE
AT PARKER PLAYHOUSE IS TBA
MONEY for these performances
goes to Ronney Virgillito since Betty
Bunnell already has made
reservations for us.
Your Vice- President/Program
Coordinator,
Betty Bunnell
If you have not renewed your
membership use the following form
and send your check for $65 to the
BTU Office : ATTENTION HOLLY
BrowardTeachersUnion
RetireesChapter
Iunderstandthatmy$65membershipduesare
foraperiodofoneyear.Theseduesentitleme
toallbenefitsderivedfromBTU’sstateand
nationalaffiliates.(Lifetime$24)
NAME
_______________________________________
D.O.B._____________________
Homemailingaddress
_______________________________________
City____________________________________
State_____________ZIP______________
Homephone()________________________
Cell()______________
Email
_______________________________________
Signature
_______________________________________
Date__________________________
PleaseremittoBTUOffice,6000North
UniversityDrive,Tamarac,FL33321
Telephone#(954)486-6250ATTENTION:Holly
Corliss
PHOTOS
Monica Lynn as always has
provided us with great photos of
our events. Check them out at :
https://bturetirees.shutterfly.com/
Reminder
Volunteer Hours- please
send to Kate Alexander
[email protected] or
#954-475-2671
Volunteer hours are for any
time you spend helping a non
family member-trips to the
doctor, shopping ,
classrooms etc.
Dates of Note:
March 8th- International Women’s Day
March 9th- Purim
March 15th Ides of March
March 17- St. Patrick’s Day
April 1- April Fools’ Day
April 9th- Palm Sunday
April 10th- Purim
April 14th Good Friday
April 16th Easter
April 22nd Earth Day
JUST FOR LAUGHS
Stuffyoudidn’tknowyoudidn’tknow
-Mencanradsmallerprintthanwomenbut
womenhearbetter
-CocaColawasoriginallygreen.
-Itisimpossibletolickyourelbow.
-theStatewiththeheistpercentageofpeople
whowalktowork:Alaska
-thepercentageofAfricathatiswildernessis
only28%
shareit.Parentstrustandrespectwhatwe
thinkaboutwhattheLegislatureisdoing.
-ThepercentageofNorthAmericathatis
wildernessis38%
(3)Callyourlegislators-contactthemin
theirhomeofficeorinTallahassee.Itisan
importantpartofhavingeducators’voices
heard.Youcanfindtheaddressofyour
particularlegislatoronmyflorida.gov,or
FEAactioncenter.org/act/contact-your-
lawmakers.
Thecostofraisingamediumsizeddogtothe
ageofelevenis$16,400
-Theaveragenumberofpeopleairborneover
theUSinanygivenhour:61,000
-Intelligentpeoplehavemorezincandcopper
intheirhair.
-Thefirstnoveleverwrittenonatypewriter-
TomSawyer.
2017LegislativeSession
The60daysessionrunsthisyearfrom
Tuesday,March7throughFridayMay5th.
Itisacriticalfactthateverythingthatthe
Legislaturehasdonetopubliceducation
overthepast20yearscanbeundone..Each
legislativesessionisachancetomakea
difference.Itmaynotbeeasybutifweas
educatorsdon’tstandupfortherightsof
ourchildren,whowill!.
Youcanmakeyourvoiceheardduringthis
session:(1)signupfortextalerts-oftenon
veryshortnotice,theFEAsendsoutaction
alerts–textfeaactiviststo31996.Signup
todaysoyoucanbereadywhenaquick
responseisneeded.
(2)shareinfoonsocialmedia.Whenthe
BTUorstateunionspostsonsocialmedia-
HelpprotectpubliceducationinFlorida.
Wearefacinganuphillbattlein
WashingtonsinceBettyDeVoshasbeen
selectedastheheadoftheDepartmentof
Education.Sheisachampionofforprofit
charterschoolsandwantstousetaxpayer
moneytofundprivateandreligious
schools.
Thingsthatmustchangetoimprovepublic
education;
Ensureadequatefunding-Floridaranks35th
inthenationinaverageteachersalary.How
canweretaingoodteacherswhenwedon’t
paythemacompetitivewage.
LETTEACHERSTEACH-Electedofficialsneed
torecognizeandtrustusasprofessionals
whoworkeverydaywithstudentysand
knowwhatworksbestinourclassrooms.
Reducetimespentintesting-Florida’s
testingsystemisoutofcontrol.Itcheats
ourstudentsofvaluableteachingtime.All
ofusknowthatthesetestswerenever
designedtopunishschoolsandstudents.
Fosteringcreativityandteachingcritical
thinkingskillsarefarmoreimportantthana
testscorewhichweallknowcanbeskewed
fromonedaytothenext,dependingon
howthesestudentsfeelthatday.
Justbecauseweareretireesdoesn’tmean
thatwehavedroppedoffthegrid.Wehave
grandchildren,neighbors,friendsetc.who
areaffectedbywhatthelegislaturedoes
witheducation.Wewillalwaysbe
educatorsandbeinterestedineducation.
Manyofusvolunteerintheschoolsand
mentoryoungteachers.Wepresent
innovativeGrantseachyeartohelpwith
classroomprojectsthatotherwisewould
notbeaffordable-yes,weknowhowmuch
ofourownmoneywespentjusttoinspire
students.
So…pleasepayattentiontowhatour
electedofficialsaredoinginTallahassee
andWashington.Itmaynotaffectyou
immediatelytodaybutitwillinthefuture.