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Minnesota Federation of National Active and Retired Federal Employees

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For Current AND Retired Federal Employees

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OTHER MISC. ITEMS

“The Boomers are Coming”
by Scott Halstead, District 4 Field Officer

In 2011, the large baby boom generation—born between 1946 and 1964 will begin to turn 65. By 2030, the number of Minnesotans over age 65 will double, rising to 1.3 million. The effects of the aging of our state are already visible in many rural portions of our state and in some metro cities.

In 2006, the Minnesota Department of Human Services and its partners launched “Transform 2010” to prepare for the impacts of this demographic change. These planners identified five strategies to prepare for an aging Minnesota:

1. Redefining Work and Retirement - Minnesota should encourage individuals to continue working in both paid and nonpaid roles, and prepare for their retirement and old age.
2. Supporting Caregivers of all Ages - Minnesota needs to slow the decline of family care giving by offering eldercare in all workplaces and redesigning services to wrap around family care.
3. Foster Communities for a Lifetime – Minnesota communities should be good places to grow up and grow old and offer physical, social and service features for their residents of all ages.
4. Improving Health and Long-Term Care - Minnesota must transform its health care, promote good health for all, improve chronic care and intensify its long-term care reform.
5. Maximizing Use of Technology – Minnesota should use technology to maximize the benefits and minimize the hazards that accompany its permanent age shift.

Living longer and healthier lives brings with it tremendous potential to our state. The key for all of us is to ensure the active participation and integration of older people in the ongoing economic and social life of their communities. Seen through this lens, the age wave of baby boomers is not a problem, but rather the opportunity to extend economic growth and productivity into more years, and spur us to make needed changes in our retirement and health systems, in the workplace and in our communities.

“Boomers” and many of us will need to assume personal responsibility to prepare for their later years, through continued work, “self-investment”, active engagement, and healthy lifestyles.

We welcome “The Boomers” to NARFE to participate in protecting our earned annuities and benefits, and continuing your service and use of your time and talents into your retirement. The next article will cover “Communities for a Lifetime”.

What’s on Your Mind?
By Joyce Booher

At our recent State Convention, attendees put their minds and voices together to brainstorm topics to identify ideas to help our MN Federation and chapters become stronger voices in the community. Thank you to all nine groups for actively listening and caring about NARFE. Following is a summary of group top three vote getters. If interested in receiving a copy of all discussion ideas, please ask your Chapter Officer to print off a copy for you. These topics can also be topics at one of your Chapter Meetings.

Topic 1: Fund raising ideas for Alzheimer at State and Chapter level (2 groups)

• Hold meat raffles, silent auctions
• Create a “change” jar and bring in yearly at convention or chapter.
• Sent request letters to all members asking for donations, pass collection plate at meetings.

Topic 2: Themes and Activities for future MN State Conventions (3 groups)

• NARFE packs a punch
• We need you because…..
• 10,000 Lakes, 10,000 Members
• Media is the key
• Uniqueness of convention site
• Legislative importance
• NJARFE is here…

Activities

• Hold evening computer training, games optional
• Increase communication idea discussion involving all chapters on “Member Retention”
• Increase communication on ideas development for the MN Federation newsletter

Speakers

• Options for Aging and staying at home
• Organizing and downsizing our homes
• New modes of communication available to aging community

Topic 3: How do we benefit by belonging to NARFE? (1 group)

• Receive current legislative news
• Benefit from camaraderie
• NARFE magazine is valuable asset

Topic 4: What should/can Chapters do to increase membership?(1 group)

• Return to former employing agency to recruit. Share purpose of NARFE-PAC to keep our benefits
• Call members to renew
• Recruiter mentors new members
• Regularly publicize activities in local paper
• Recruit active/younger members and solicit their ideas to improve chapter. Be open to change!
• Have members share their employment background

Topic 5: What can members do to keep their chapters viable? (1 group)

• Meet in good location and appropriate time. Friendliness COUNTS
• Keep meeting interesting. Remember birthdays/anniversaries, get good speakers & limit time
• Hold annual event (picnics without meeting) – have fun fellowship, food, door prizes
• Growing – It is everyone’s job to recruit and keep membership chairperson informed.
• Have calling committee and newsletters

Topic 6: What do members want from NARFE leaders? (Officers, Board members, District Officers)(1 group)

• To LISTEN effectively
• Be KNOWLEDGEABLE of issues and processes in NARFE
• Be RESPONSIVE to new members, personal involvement

Full NOTES from each Brainstorming Group. Only top 3 votes included in summary

Group 1 – Fund Raisers for Alzheimer’s Research

• Hold Meat Raffles
• Each member key a “change” jar. Bring in yearly for Alzheimers
• Send request letters to all members asking for donations.
• Pass the hat
• Donation jars in local businesses
• Christmas party – get money for Alzheimers’s instead of gifts
• Brat sales – local
• Calendar sales
• Applebees – other local business
• Craft sales
• Silent auction
• Bake sales
• Afghan raffles
• Quilt raffles
• Educate about Alzheimers
• 50/50 member penny jar to donate

Group 2 - What can members do to keep their chapters viable, interesting and growing?

Viable:

• Meet in good location and appropriate time for Active Federal Employees. Cannot meet during day.
• Friendlininess COUNTS

Interesting:

• Keep meeting interesting - Remember birthdays/anniversaries of members
• Great speakers – limit time to speak
• Hold annual event (picnics, without a “meeting.” Just fun, food, and door prizes, fun fellowship.

Growing :

• Work to get their friends, associates, etc.
• Contact new members to make sure they will come to meetings.
• It is everyone’s job to recruit or let membership chair know. Support active membership chairperson
• Have calling committee
• Send out a newsletter to your chapter.
• Get “Bulk rate” permit if you have over 200 members.
• Encourage “Active” members to join. Maybe a night meeting.
• Every member do recruiting – ask friends, talk to people who worked with you. Ask them for new retires
• Increase 5300 for Minnesota plus 25,000 “Acrtive” = 30,000 MN Federation

Group 3 – Speakers at convention

• Aging in place at home
• Organizing and downsizing our homes
• New modes of communication
• Local historians
• Energy
• Newspaper
• DNA – geneology
• Politicians
• College and university
• Technical schools
• Authors
• Entertainers
• Government workers
• Wellness/health
• Travel
• Organizing and downsizing
• Housing for seniors & senior care
• Aging on Agency
• Collectibles
• Elder Law
• Communities for Lifetime
• Introduction to computers
• New modes of communication
• Safety – police fire
• Making home safe
• Fraud
• Aging in place
• Volunteering
• Ombudsmen
• Home Care
• Senior services/senior linkage line

Group 4 – What do members want from NARFE leaders and Officers

• Listen effectively – got most votes
• More personal contact with members
• Punctuality
• Knowledgeable – received four votes
• Positive attitude (2 votes)
• Fully alive
• Informative newsletter
• Send out DVD’s to chapters of by Dick Thissen on updates
• Keep web site up to date (3 votes)
• Effective teaching (2 votes)
• Responsive to new members (4 votes)
• New Member kit
• Current information on newsletter
• Encourage member to contct local congressmen
• KIS method (Keep it simple
• Get our attention with focal points (3 votes)

Group 5 - Fund Raising ideas for Alzheimer at State and Local Level

• Silent auction (7 votes)
• Meat raffle (sponsor w/retailer & business (6 votes)
• Mass mailing (2 votes)
• Coordinate with Church or Golf Course (3 votes)
• Alzheimer’s walk (4 votes)
• Collect on Halloween
• Pass collection bag at meetings (5 votes)
• Promote memorials (2 votes)
• Business donation for auction

Group 6 – What can Chapters do to increase membership?

• Return to former employing agency to recruit. Tell them the purpose of NARFE lobbying Group to Preserve Benefits
• Focus on getting people to renew by calling
• Follow-up with members you recruited
• Recruiter mentors (adopt) new members
• Regularly publicize activities in local paper and announce speakers in paper
• Recruit active/younger members and solicit their ideas to improve chapter and be open to change
• Identify federal agencies within chapter area
• Introduce new members
• Have all members share their employment background and skills
• PR article every so often

Group 7 – How do we benefit by belonging to NARFE?

• We can receive current legislative news
• We benefit from camaraderie
• NARFE magazine is valuable asset.
• It is proven organization with longevity
• Motivation for place to live – State
• Help with answers before and during retirement
• Access to chapter member list
• Federation Convention is a great benefit
• NARFE lobbies for state income tax exemption

Group 8 - Theme’s for future MN State Conventions & Communication

• Evening computer training, games optional (how to use email, cut & paste)
• Communication discussion of ideas from other chapters on retention of members
• Communication on ideas development for the newsletter
• Interesting speakers – not necessarily political or legislative
• Breakout rooms with different themes
• Seminars on safety, computer training- hands on-hook up to screening equipment
• More effective ways of communication
• Newsletter – show theme of convention and if special training will be on agenda
• Retention of members
• Ideas that other chapters are using

Group 9 -Themes for future conventions

• Support ideas
• Communicate with your legislators
• Getting the NARFE name out
• NARFE packs a punch
• We need you because…..
• 10,000 Lakes, 10,000 Members
• Media is the key
• Uniqueness of convention site
• Legislative importance
• NJARFE is here…
• What is NARFE?

Federation Presidents Meeting
NARFE National Convention – 2008

Ed Keyser

I attended the Federation Presidents Meeting at the National 2008 Convention held in Louisville, KY. After a general session, we divided into three groups to discuss the future of NARFE, and the actions that needed to be taken to improve NARFE in the areas of Recruiting, Retention, and Miscellaneous items that needed attention.

RECRUITING

During this session we concentrated on the ways that Federations and Chapters could improve their recruiting efforts. Below are the suggestions that were developed through brainstorming and best practices.

• Make efforts to work with other government agencies in your areas.
• Attend conferences of unions, and government agencies.
• Have recruiting contests within your Federations. (We already do this.)
• Attend employee meetings at government agencies.
• Become a member of local Chambers of Commerce and attend community events.
• Make every effort to recruit spouses.
• Provide copies of “Retirement Life” for government agency break rooms, doctor’s offices, or where retirees go.
• Encourage EVERY member of NARFE to carry applications and basic pamphlets with them at all times.
• Schedule Chapter meetings during evenings and weekends so that AFE’s (Active Federal Employees) can attend.
• Advertise in local newspapers and other publications.
• Explore Virtual Websites?
• Develop Chapter and Federation Action Plans for Recruiting new members into NARFE.

 

RETENTION

Retention is our biggest problem in maintaining a strong membership base. Several reasons for our loss of membership have been identified in this problem. One of the main reasons is that AFE’s recruited under the $28.00 membership drive are not renewing their memberships when they see the cost of membership after they retire. Also it is felt that many simply do not renew because they place their renewal notices aside and fail to renew their membership. There are also the “Nay Sayers” who simply state “NARFE has done nothing for me”. Listed are the suggestions we came up with to improve our retention efforts.

• Provide emphasis and encourage all members to use dues withholding.
• Chapter Officers need to work and use their monthly 112’s to keep track of members and make special efforts to retain those who have 2nd notices or have dropped their memberships.
• Use the “Book of Letters” from the NARFE website.
• Place special emphasis on recent retirees.
• Consider Night and Weekend meetings.
• Federations could sponsor Retention Contests. (We already do this.)
• Increase multiyear sign ups.

 

Miscellaneous

Advertising. We discussed the advantages of NARFE increasing their advertising budget and disseminating this to the Federations and Chapters. In previous years the NEB has continually turned down our requests. This year we made a new appeal and increased our request to $500,000. Due to the NARFE decreases in membership (a little over 300,000 members) and lower working capital, we were turned down again. Here are some recommendations in dealing with the availability of funds.

• Federation focus on ways to provide for advertising.
• Federations aid Chapters in submitting for matching funds.
• Explore the use of Public Service Announcements (PSA’s).
• Explore the use of PSA’s in print publications.
• Use cable TV PSA’s.
• Use Radio PSA’s.
• Try talk radio or radio stations that are interested in community organizations.
• Some cable TV systems have a channel for the local community to use.
• Generate an interesting article and submit to local print media.
• NARFE Advertising will assist us in developing whatever copy we need.

Federations are to handle their own audit problems.

The F-7 Reports (Chapter and Federation Officers) is not working. The report was modified in recent years to make reporting simpler. However, the modified form has a no changes button. When using this button, the program does not allow for address, phone, or e-mail changes. As a result, information on officer contacts is not being updated. This has resulted in a lot of work in trying to track our officers down. We voted to have this report being converted back to the old report program to force current reporting of all officer information. The NEB approved this.

Leadership Development. A Leadership Development Committee was formed at the last National Convention. Because the committee could not agree on content and there being no budget allocated for funding the committee; the committee failed. Our recommendation was to have NARFE provide funding so that the Federations can implement this program.

IMPORTANT NARFE PHONE NUMBERS

TOLL FREE NUMBER FOR LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE FOR GEMS MESSAGES – 1-877/217-8234

This hotline is updated weekly, usually on Fridays, and updates any legislative news of the week. If you do not have a computer or you are not receiving gems email messages, you should make it a habit to check this phone message each week to keep yourself informed about the important legislative issues that will affect you and your benefits. Be sure to contact your local and national legislative representatives concerning these issues and request their support. Be sure to mention that you are a NARFE member.

TOLL FREE PHONE NUMBER FOR LEGISLATIVE ALERTS OR REQUESTS FOR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO YOUR LEGISLATORS – 1-866/220-0044

This is a toll free number to the capitol building in Washington, D.C. you will be connected to the "capitol operator," and will need to give her the name of your state senator or representative. If you do not know their name, give her your mail zip code and she will connect you to their respective office staff. Leave your message with the person you speak to; be sure to mention that you are a member of NARFE, and that you would like a response by the legislator to your mailing address.

Also, be sure to call your representatives when they are at home in Minnesota. Their local phone numbers are in the phone books as well as listed on the MN web site (www.mn-narfe.org under the legislative section). Be sure to let them hear from you regularly. Our benefits are seriously at risk during these dire financial deficit times. Do your little bit and help yourself and others avoid future reductions or losses.

 

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