Project Christmas Gift Ideas For Dec. 13

Retired school employees will once again be taking part in "Project Christmas" by bringing donated gifts to the group's December 13 meeting.

The STRSEA will be holding it's Annual Christmas Meeting and Luncheon for all members on December 13, beginning with a special guest performance at 10:00 a.m,  Participants are asked to contribute an appetizer, vegetable or desert for this Pot Luck Event.  Donna Harvin, president, said, "We will be collecting new toys for Project Christmas including items for children, teens, and the elderly.  We hope you can attend and join us in some holiday cheer." 

Suggested gift deals overall include

Art Set/Art supplies
Bath Set
Bath Toy
Bike/Scooter/Ripstick
Board Games/Card Games
Books
Building Blocks
Camera w/San Disk Memory Card
CD Player
Chemistry Set
Clothes
Comforter Set/Sheets – size & color/pattern
Craft Kits/Model Kits
Dolls/Accessories
Dress-up Clothes with size
DVD Player-Portable ($60+) or TV connected
Easy Bake Oven/Age Appropriate
Educational Toys
Hair Products – specify type
Head Phones (Generic)/Ear buds
Jewelry
Kitchen Play Set
Legos

Make-up – specify type and colors
MP3 Player w/Google play card
Musical Toys
Perfume/Cologne
Puzzles
Race Car Set
Radio
Remote Control Toys
Skates – specify size
Socks/Fuzzy Socks
Sports Balls/Equipment
Stuffed Animals
Trains
Trucks
Wallet
Watch
Gift Cards – Barnes&Noble, Bath & Body
Works, Books-A-Million, Game Stop,
Google Play, Movie theater, I-Tunes,

Suggested gifts for teens include

Anything Saints/Pelicans - hats,
footballs, basketballs, accessories
Art sets/Art supplies
Bath towel sets (color)
Belts (Size)
Board games for older kids like Battleship, Jenga, Monopoly
Bulletin boards, decorations for a room (color)
Comforter sets/Sheets (Specify size and color)
Duffle bags
Electric razor
ENO hammock
Fishing pole
Fleece throws (color)
Gift box sets for :
Bath accessories
Colognes
Nails
Young men’s toiletries
Hair accessories - bows, ribbons, etc.
Hats/gloves/scarves/caps
Jewelry / jewelry boxes
Keychain
Makeup kits (teens)
Models
Oil diffusers

Personal journal or diary
Sleep wear
Slippers (Specify size)
Socks/fun socks/athletic
Sports balls - footballs, basketballs, volleyballs, soccer
Sweaters/zippered jackets (Specify Size)
Throw pillows (color)
Ties – young men’s
Wallets/purses/wristlets
Water bottles/cups
Watch

Gift Cards
Barnes & Noble
Bath & Body Works
Books-A-Million
Game Stop
Google Play
I-Tunes
Movie theater
Ulta

NO big box stores giftcards like Walmart or Target. 

Suggested gifts for seniors:

Belts (Specify size)
Clothing (Specify size)
Comforter Sets/Sheets-Size and
color/pattern
Dishes
Electric Razor
Fleece Throws
Gift box sets for Nails, cologne or bath  accessories
Gift Box Sets of Toiletries/Cologne
Hats/gloves/scarves
Hats- ball caps, knit
Jewelry / jewelry boxes
Pots/pans
Robe (Specify size)
Rugs (Specify size)
Sleep wear (Specify size)
Small Appliances – toaster, coffee pot,can opener
Socks
Sweaters/zippered jacket – Specify size

Throw pillows
Ties
Towels
Wallets/purses/wristlets
Watch
Gift Cards
Barnes & Noble
Bath & Body Works

Books-A-Million

Plantation Tour Planned

STRSEA is sponsoring a bus trip to the Houma's House Plantation and Gardens for members and their guests.  If you are interested, please see the poster below for information and respond to Roxanne Lagarde @lagarderoxanne@gmail.com with any questions.

Click here for the flyer in PDF format.

"Don't miss out on this fun event.  Get your tickets today!  

Spotlight on Lyn Monteleone

When we hear the word Magnolia, we often think of something beautiful, sweet and gentle.  How fitting that the next person to be in the Spotlight was born in a town called Magnolia!  Magnolia, Arkansas!

Yes, Lyn Monteleone comes to us in a roundabout way from that small town in Arkansas.  As the oldest of four girls, Lynda Ketteringham moved around quite a bit as a child.  Lyn’s father, an engineer in the oil field and then in the burgeoning space program, worked in numerous locations after leaving Magnolia.  

Lyn attended schools in Shreveport, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and finally in Slidell.  Here she asked her parents to please let her get to know her classmates and graduate with friends.  And they did!  Lyn is a proud graduate of Slidell High School, as were two of her sisters, Genie and Georgia.

After graduating from high school in 1966, Lyn attended Southeastern Louisiana College and lived in Cardinal Newman Hall.  In 1968, she wound up on a blind date with a guy from Covington and his buddy Bill Brady.  The blind date was Lennie Monteleone and the rest was history!  Lyn and Lennie were married in 1969.   

Together Lyn and Lennie raised two boys, Paul and Payton.  Paul lives in Zachary and works as an account manager for the State Department of Education Community and Technical Schools and has two girls, Maddie, 15, and Sarah, 4.  Payton is an assistant principal at Lee Road Jr High where his two children, Sophia, 11, and Luca, 8, attend school.  This makes it very convenient for Lyn to carry out some of her grandmother duties at a school close to home in Lee Road.

While Lyn’s first job was babysitting at age 12, she has held a variety of positions throughout her career.  After receiving a degree from Meadows Draughon Business College, Lyn worked at Slidell Memorial Hospital in Medical Records and as the administrative assistant to Johnny Bankston at the Agricultural Extension Service.  

Eventually, she began working for St. Tammany Parish School System as secretary to Richard Tanner, para-professional at Covington Elementary, and then secretary at Covington High School for 18 years!  After that, Sylvia Dunn needed her to help run Food Services, so she worked clerical in that department for six more years.

While Lyn is officially retired now, she is still working!  She tries to follow a schedule with Mondays dedicated to volunteering at Monteleone Junior High.  On Tuesdays, she works with the Student Assistance Team at Lee Road Junior High in the morning and does gardening there in the afternoon.  

Wednesdays are devoted to the Master Gardening organization.  She keeps Thursdays open for the St. Tammany Retiree School Employees Association where she is 1st Vice President-Membership, and on Fridays, she is often found substituting at Lee Road Jr High.  This does not sound like the schedule of a retired person!
  
However, Lyn has carved out some time to do a few things for fun.  She’s been on cruises to Alaska and Hawaii.  She went on a Disney Cruise with her family and even was able to take a trip to Paris!  She enjoys going to see the Christmas lights in Natchitoches. 

 And one of her favorite things to do was visit her grandmother’s family home on Tybee Island, Georgia.  Her beloved grandmother was a school principal and a college teacher, so it seems Lyn was destined to live in a family of educators.

Lyn spends her small amount of free time these days tending her chickens, gardening, visiting her sister in Slidell, and passing time with her old buddy Bill Brady and his wife Angela and friends Paula and Jim Fauntleroy.

When asked about her still busy schedule involved with the school system, Lyn replied, “I miss the family atmosphere.  How can you step away from something that you love?!?”      
We are so happy that you have not stepped away!  Lyn, please stand while we thank you for your many years of service to STPSB!

STRSEA To Honor Veterans

The next meeting of the St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association will be held on Thursday, November 8, at 10 a.m. at the Treen Technology Center, 2024 Livingston Street, Mandeville. 

The Association invites all school system retirees to our November meeting and Health Fair on November 8 at the Treen Technology Center on Livingston Street in Mandeville. For more information, call 985-502-9501. We hope to see you there.

This meeting will include our annual Health Fair where you may choose to receive your flu shot and participate in demonstrations along with receiving information in regard to healthy living presentated by Humana.  

Social hour and the administration of flu shots will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the meeting starting at 10:00 a.m.  If you plan on participating, please bring a photocopy of your insurance card.  There is no charge for this preventative shot.  

Since this is also our last meeting before Thanksgiving, please bring a non-perishable item for the Samaritan center.

We will be selling tickets for a December 5th trip to Houma's House Plantation via a Hotard's motor coach.  The cost of the trip will be $45.00, which includes transportation and tour of the house.  Lunch will be Dutch Treat at The Cabin restaurant.  The sale will be limited to members and a guest with only 55 tickets being sold on first come, first sold basis.  Come and get your tickets while they last.  

The meeting will include our annual Health Fair where you may choose to receive your flu shot and participate in demonstrations along with receiving information in regard to healthy living presented by Humana. Social hour and the administration of flu shots will begin a 9:30 a.m. with the meeting starting at 10:00 a.m. Since this is also our last meeting before Thanksgiving, please bring a non-perishable item for the Samaritan Center. 

1st Meeting Draws 97 Retired Employees

The St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association held its first meeting of the school year on Thursday, September 13, with Superintendent of Schools Trey Folse giving his yearly School System update. He was accompanied by Associate Superintendent Pete Jabbia, now in his 50th year with the system.

Here are some photographs. Click on them to make them larger.

Association Officers Pose with Superintendent Folse

From left, President-elect Eric Sacks, President Donna Addison Harvin, Folse, Secretary Roxanne LaGarde, First Vice President Lyn Monteleone and Treasurer Ron Caruso. 

Donna Addison Harvin, president, welcomed those in attendance. The meeting took place in the old gym conference center at the David Treen Instructional Technology Center in Mandeville. 

A special invitation went out to those School System employees who are newly-retired. They were treated to an early breakfast before the meeting started, with President Harvin then presenting an overview of what the association does, its goals and accomplishments.

Superintendent Folse and Donna Addison Harvin

Superintendent Folse spoke on a number of topics, including the addition of School Resource Officers (law enforcement officers) to enhance school security and providing Mental Health Counselors on the campuses of all schools this year. 

The theme of the School System this year is "We Will," and each month has a new "We Will" motto to focus on. 

Past president Roxanne LaGarde, at right, was presented a plaque of appreciation for serving as the chief officer of the group for the past two years. Lyn Monteleone, at left, made the presentation. 

Newly-retired School System employees were recognized by standing up and they were thanked for their years of dedication with applause.

Jack Loup gave the special legislative report, noting upcoming bills that will affect retired employees and their right to return-to-work if desired.

Organization T-Shirts were available

Superintendent Folse went around the room and personally greeted a number of retired employees.

It was a great opportunity to get out and visit with friends and former colleagues. 

The St. Tammany Federal Credit Union was on hand to conduct its regular prize drawings to the delight of attendees. 

Pete Jabbia, left, now with 50th years with the School System, is welcomed by Bill Brady.

Another prize drawing happy winner

Several yearbooks were given away to those who wanted them

Spotlight On Bill Brady

In order to appreciate the Bill Brady that we all know and love today, we need to explore a little bit about his rich and interesting past!  Bill was born in St. Louis, Missouri during the final year of WWII.  After spending several early years in South America, Bill’s family, which included Mom, Dad and four boys, moved to St. Tammany Parish. 

Bill graduated from Covington High School and then went on to become Student Government President at Southeastern Louisiana College, earning a degree in government.  After toying with the idea of going to law school like his brother Jim, Bill, like his brother Colin, decided to become a teacher.  And we are SO GLAD he did!

Bill taught in numerous schools in St. Tammany, including Slidell Junior, Bayou Lacombe Junior, and Chahta-Ima Junior, where he soon became the assistant principal.  When this school burned down in 1976, Bill became the principal of Bayou Lacombe Junior High, where platooning had to be implemented.  Bill remembers fondly some of his co-workers at this school, including Kay Fortenberry, Ray Sibley, Peter Jabbia, Carl Benoit and Willie Jeeter.  The faculty meetings must have been epic!

From 1980-1995, Bill served as principal of Covington Elementary, where he became famous for knowing every student by name and able to recall funny events about every child’s former family members.  If he didn’t really know a humorous story about a child, he would make one up!  

His spot-on humor became legendary!  But his compassion for ALL children and their right to a strong education was even more compelling.  He made sure that Covington Elementary was on the forefront of technology as computers were just beginning to be used in the classroom.

In 1995, Bill moved to central office as a supervisor and eventually an assistant superintendent in charge of administration, working closely through the years with Richard Tanner, Lennie Monteleone, Gayle Sloan, Mike Cosse, Peter Jabbia and Trey Folse.   

Bill finally retired after 46 years of dedicated service to every student, parent and educator in St. Tammany Parish, leaving an unparalleled legacy of compassion and knowledge.

On the home front, Bill married his sweetheart Angela Howes, and they raised two beautiful and gifted children, a son Kelly and a daughter Maura. Now, Bill and Angela are committed grandparents to three precious granddaughters, McKinley, Evyn and Kate, ages 14, 11 and 9 who live in Humble, Texas.  Bill and Angela squeeze in trips to Texas as often as they can.

Always an early riser, Bill continues that habit in retirement where he can be found cutting grass before it gets too hot, accompanying Angela to church, or meeting some buddies for breakfast.  He has a monthly lunch date at Chimes restaurant with a regular group of guys, including Brandon Clanton, Simmie Fairley, and Ron Caruso to name a few. 

When asked if he had any hobbies, such as fishing, Bill replied the only thing he ever caught the one time he tried to fish was a game warden!  He does have a strong passion for the St. Louis Cardinals stemming from his very early days in Missouri and tries to catch them on TV when he can.  Stan Musial is his favorite! 

Instead of hobbies, Bill is still committed to service projects dear to his heart.  He continues to work with the United Way, an organization which he championed tirelessly throughout his educational career.  And he serves on the board and is chaplain for the St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association.

Bill recalled one incident that happened when he was principal at Covington Elementary.  A little boy was choking on a hot dog and Bill had to quickly perform the Heimlich maneuver on him to dislodge the piece of meat.  The next day Bill received a little handwritten note that said, “Thank you for saving my life, Mr. Brady.”

Indeed, Mr. Brady has had a hand in saving many lives.

First Meeting of School Year is Sept. 13

The first meeting of the 2018-2019 School Year for the St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association will be held Thursday, September 13th, at the Treen Technology Center in Mandeville. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. with a social/networking time, and the regular meeting begins at 10 a.m.

School Superintendent Trey Folse will be the guest speaker, sharing his vision for the school year for students and employees. "This will also be a wonderful time to gather information about our organization and to network with other retirees," said the group's president Donna Addison Harvin. 

The entire board of the St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association would like to invite all  school system retirees to attend the group's first meeting of the school year.

For more information, or questions, feel free to call this year's association President, Donna Addison Harvin at 985-502-9501.

Spring Luncheon Attracts Over 50 Members

The annual Spring Luncheon extravaganza held by the STRSEA brought out more than 50 members for a great meal of fried catfish, appetizers, salads, sandwiches and desserts galore.

The meeting featured a variety of guest speakers, presentation of annual awards, and the popular "split the pot" and Credit Union door prizes. 

Outgoing President Roxanne Lagarde, left, presents the gavel to Incoming President Donna Harvin.

Dr. John Foster Service Award

Roxanne Lagarde was honored with the Dr. John Foster Service Award, the first time it was presented. She was given the award by Board Member Bill Brady. 

Rosemary Foster, widow of the late Dr. Foster, was on hand to witness the presentation of the award, as were two of his sons. 

Lifetime Achievement Award

This year's Lifetime Achievement Award was presented by Bill Brugmann, at left below, to Rhonda Chambers.

Rhonda Chambers with the Lifetime Service Award

In Memoriam

The association also remembered its members who had passed away in the previous year. A rose was placed in a memorial vase by members, each one recognizing the contributions made by those who had departed. 

Those recognized in the Memorial Service were Dr. John Foster, Cliff Brown, Patricia Arsenault, Dennis Sharp, Janet Zeldon, Belinda Levy, Bill Ferrer, Mary Ferrer, Hank Ferrer and Jack Salter. 

"We believe that our joys will be greater, our love will be deeper, and our lives will be fuller because we have shared the world with these wonderful members of our St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association," Lagarde stated. A moment of silence paid tribute to those colleagues and dedicated educators.

In other meeting activities, Ron Caruso gave the treasurer's report and Renee Arsenault gave the secretary's report. Both were adopted by the membership. Ms. Arsenault was thanked for her years of service as the group's secretary. 

Roxanne Lagarde congratulated Jack Loup for winning recognition at the spring LRTA conference by receiving the District III Foundation Leadership Award.

Lagarde also reported that at the LRTA Spring Conference the local association had won a certificate signifying the honor of having the top number of Associate Members in LRTA in the state.

The meeting featured tables full of good things to eat and time for members to visit with each other and the special guest speakers. 

The final meeting of the school year was highlighted by the drawings held for Split the Pot, and door prizes by the St. Tammany Federal Credit Union.