National Active and Retired Federal
Employees Association
New River Valley Chapter 1134
May, 2017
Thursday, May 11
10 a.m. Social
10:30 a.m. Program and meeting
Bull and Bones Brewhaus & Grill
First and Main Shopping Center
1470 South Main St., Blacksburg
Guest
Nick Rush
Delegate, Virginia General Assembly, 7th District
Nick Rush
Delegate Nick Rush was elected to the Virginia
House of Delegates in 2011. He was born and raised
in Christiansburg.
After graduating from Christiansburg High School,
Nick served the US Army as a paratrooper in the
elite 82nd Airborne Division. He left active duty as
a non-commissioned officer in 1989. Nick’s record
of leadership in the Army inspired him to seek a
leadership position in his community. At 23 years old,
Nick was elected to the Montgomery County Board
of Supervisors as the youngest member in history.
He served for 12 years on the board and is a former
Chairman and Vice Chairman. In 2002, Nick left
public service to raise his family.
Nick and his wife, Jennifer, reside in
Christiansburg. His oldest son Cody graduated from
Virginia Tech with a degree in Political Science and
was commissioned in the US Army in May 2011.
Recently promoted Captain, Cody and his wife Tiffany
their daughter and son are stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC.
Nick’s youngest son, Forrest, graduated from Virginia
Tech with a degree in Marketing Management and
commissioned in the US Army in 2014. First Lt.
Forrest Rush and his wife, Marybeth, are stationed
at Ft. Hood, TX where he serves as an Armor
Officer. Nick’s daughter, Lilly, is a seventh grader at
Dayspring Christian Academy.
Legislative Report from George Hawkins
Information for Staying In Touch with Representatives and Congress Members
Six pieces of legislation pending
before various committees in
Congress need attention and action.
1. Postal Reform Act of 2017
(H.R.756). Although this act would
require certain changes in the postal
service that would improve it, NARFE
opposes the legislation in its present
form because it would require retired
postal workers to enroll in Medicare
part B to continue receiving their
health care through FEHBP. This
would increase the cost of health
insurance for a postal worker by an
estimated $135 per month or a total of
an estimated $12,150,000 per year for
the 90,000 postal workers.
2. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
Modernization Act of 2017. This
legislation would create flexible
withdrawal options from the TSP.
NARFE supports passage of this
legislation because the current limited
withdrawal options are one of the
leading reasons federal workers and
retirees transfer their money out of the
TSP.
3. The Consumer Price Index for
the Elderly (CPI-E) Act of 2017
(H.R. 1251). This legislation would
require the use of the CPI-E instead
of the current Consumer Price Index
for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers (CPI-W) to determine annual
cost-of-living adjustments. Because
of differences in health care cost and
other things, the CPI-E is far more
accurate. NARFE supports passage of
this legislation. 4. The Social Security Fairness Act
of 2017 (H.R. 1205). This legislation
would repeal the Government Pension
Offset and the Windfall Elimination
Provision. These provisions affect
more than two million federal
employees and retirees. NARFE
supports passage of this legislation
5. The Federal Employees Paid
Parental Leave Act (H.R.1022/S.362).
Passage of this legislation would
provide six weeks of paid leave
to federal employees for the birth,
adoption or foster placement of a
child. It has been introduced in both
houses of Congress, as needed, and if
passed, would go a long way toward
making the Federal Government
more competitive in hiring the best
and brightest. NARFE supports
passage of this legislation.
6. The Federal Adjustment of
Income Rates (FAIR) Act of 2017
(H.R.757/S.255) This legislation has
been introduced in both houses of
Congress and would boost federal
employee pay by 3.2 percent in
2018. Because of the meager pay
adjustments that have been made
during the last several sessions of
Congress in attempts to reduce the cost
of the federal government, passage of
this legislation is very much needed.
Obviously, NARFE supports its
passage.
This is how you can be a part
of the action NARFE is taking. Go
to www.narfe.org and click onto
Legislation and then The Legislation
Action Center. From there you can
send the position you are taking
on each item of legislation to your
Representative and Congressmen. It is
easy. Research Needed To Understand, Treat Alzheimer’s
NARFE has given $12,198,596
to Alzheimer’s research since
1985. Although that seems like a
large amount of money, it is just
over $40,000 on an annual basis.
Anyone who has been involved in
budgeting for a research project,
knows that that amount of money
doesn’t go very far. So we need to
continue to contribute.
According to an opinion piece
in a recent Wall Street Journal, no
new treatments have been approved
for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly
15 years. In that time period,
deaths from Alzheimer’s have
nearly doubled and total spending
on care for Alzheimer’s patients
ballooned to over $230 billion in
2016. They attribute the failure to
approve new drugs to an informal
policy within FDA that requires a
drug to benefit the patient with both
cognition (memory) and function
(ability to perform everyday tasks).
A drug that might help with one but
not the other is not approved. They
suggest that a change in policy
that would allow the approval that
approves one benefit would be of
value. However, at present there
are no new drugs in the system
awaiting approval.
A new book The Inheritance
by Niki Kapsamelis reviews the
steps taken to understand and treat
Alzheimer’s disease including
genetic testing of families/
communities where there is a high
incidence of the disease. It is
hoped that this will not only lead
to a better understanding of the
disease but to the development
of a predictive test and ultimately
preventive measures.
And all this information doesn’t
take into account the suffering of
the patient and his/her family and
the loss to society. So we need to
contribute more!
President’s Column from Del Dyer
Getting Members Willing To Be Active
Providing Good Programs Is Challenge for Us
Del Dyer
I and 175 others attended the 2017 Virginia Federation of Chapters Convention
held in Williamsburg April 2 –5. I went specifically to learn about the future of
Chapters. Here’s what I learned: NARFE seems to be on the right track with the
decision to give each member a vote in the organizations business and to discontinue
the rule that all NARFE members needed to belong to a Chapter. Chapters are going
to have to prove they serve a need. NARFE national is not trying to close Chapters.
Chapters close due to lack of members willing to take on leadership roles. A very
large Chapter in Virginia closed for that very reason. National will continue to collect
Chapter dues and send them to Chapters.
How will Chapters get new members? By advertising locally and attracting
NARFE members who wish to join the Chapter. Not all who join NARFE want to
be in a Chapter. Active leadership and good programs will attract some. Currently,
all who join NARFE get a certificate of membership, a letter of welcome and are
given a contact point for the Chapter in their area. At the moment National will not
provide lists of new members who live in the Chapter’s area for fear of overactive
membership committees pressuring the national member to join their Chapter.
District Congressional Liaisons will get the names of new members so they can
involve them in their work. Eventually Chapters will have access.
National is targeting current employees 45 to 60 years of age. All current Federal
employees get the NARFE Magazine on Email and are invited to attend Webinars.
Attendance ranges from 600 to 1,000. Each webinar produces on average 200 new
and 50 renewals. There are 12 webinars planned for 2017. All past webinars are
in the NARFE Library and available for members viewing. These new efforts are
bearing fruit. In the first quarter of 2017 we lost 2,300 members and gained 3,200.
NARFE is moving from lay leadership to a professional Executive Director. In
the past months over 100 applicants were received. An Executive Director will be
hired within the next two months.
I have a clearer idea of where Chapters fit in the new scheme of things. More
detail of Nationals “service to Chapters” will emerge as the Strategic Planning
Committee continues its work.
Officers
President – Del Dyer –
540 552-0085, [email protected]
1st Vice Pres. – Bruce Anderson 540 552-5088,bander3@
verizon.net
2nd Vice Pres. – George Flick
549 552- 0307, [email protected]
Secretary – Jo Anne Barton
540 552-1697
[email protected]
Treasurer – A.L. “Ike” Eller
540 951-2109, [email protected]
Membership from George Hawkins and Janice Woodard, co-chairs
The chapter has one new
member: Linda Childress,
Hillsville.
Two members passed away:
Lula Roberts who at the time of her
death was living in Texas and Lois
Reynolds, Blacksburg. Four members were dropped
from membership for non-payment
of dues: William Copeland,
Pearisburg; Elizabeth Flowers,
Blacksburg; Samuel Linkenhoker,
Blacksburg and Les Sears, Rich
Creek.
The chapter now has 121 voting
members.
NARFE
National Active and Retired
Federal Employees Association
New River Valley Chapter 1134
207 Ardmore St. SE
Blacksburg, VA 24060-5803
Address Service Requested
www.narfe-nrv.org
Calendar
Member meetings (Bull & Bones)
May 11, July 13, Sept. 14, Nov. 9
Board meetings (Blacksburg Christian Church)
June 8, Aug. 10, Oct. 12, Dec. 14
If Montgomery County Public Schools are closed because of weather,
a meeting set for that day is canceled.
NARFE Alzheimer’s Research Fund Contribution
Bring your gift to the Alzheimer’s Fund to any program or postal mail it to “Ike” Eller.
Every penny given to NARFE Alzheimer Research goes to Research. Our Chapter has a long-standing
tradition of giving to Alzheimer’s Research.
Enclosed is a contribution of $_______ for NARFE’s Alzheimer’s Research Fund.
Name: _________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________
Write chapter number on check, payble to: NARFE Alzheimer’s Research. Your contribution is tax
deductible to the fullest extent allowd by law. Send this form with your check to: A.L. Eller, 500 Patrick Henry
Dr. Blacksburg, VA 24060
For memorial contributions - Indicate to whom acknowedgement should be sent:
In memory of ________________________________________
Acknowledge to (Name and address) _____________________________