President Eric Sacks hosted the special "Veterans Day" observance at the beginning of the meeting, with Joe Fetter reading a poem detailing the appreciation and recognition of service members. Those who served in the military were asked to stand and applauded.
Committee reports were given on the status of the Scholarship Grant program applications, the publicity of various events for the group, and Jack Loup brought members up to date on pending legislative issues. Potential threats to the pension plans of Louisiana retired teachers were mentioned, but five different school groups are working towards the protecting retirement funds.
The new membership directory was distributed, and a new Facebook page was discussed.
Several health-information agencies presented news about the opportunities for retired persons to stay active and exercise. Ciara Rhodes, a nurse, gave an interesting overview of brain health concerns and symptoms, and Michelle Oubre (program chairman with Tivity Health) gave a demonstration on chair yoga, and the entire audience took part in the ten-minute workout. Silver Sneakers program activities were also described.
Representatives from the St. Tammany Federal Credit Union were on hand to share news of their financial services, including a visit by the "blue bus" which offers a mobile credit union branch.
Paul Bowman announced that plans were being finalized to offer a "day trip," on December 11 from Covington to the Destrehan Plantation. He described the tour highlights and said that the trip would cost $35 and leave from the parking lot of Second and Charles at 9 a.m. on December 11.
The next STRSEA meeting will take place on Thursday, Dec., 12, at 10:30 a.m. with pot luck lunch.
Here are some photographs from the meeting Thursday.
Members brought more than 100 new toys for donation to Project Christmas to be distributed to needy youngsters next month.
Members also contributed to the food collection efforts for needy families over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
