Retired Teachers Hold Christmas Holiday Luncheon

Eighty one persons attended the annual Christmas Holiday Luncheon held by the St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association (STRSEA) on Thursday, December 14, at the David C. Treen Instructional Technology Center in Mandeville. 

Dee Wild, director of RSVP for the Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans, told the audience of the many opportunities to volunteer their skills and time, naming specific non-profit organizations that need those with teaching experience. Some of the groups she suggested were the Council on Aging, Faith in Action, Forest Manor Nursing Home, Heritage Manor Nursing Home, Lacombe Nursing Home, Park Provence, the SALT Council, the Senior Medicare Patrol and the Windsor Senior Living Center.

Other groups in need of volunteers are the local schools in the area, CASA, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife agency for their center in Lacombe, the New Heights Therapy Center, Habitat for Humanity, the Boys & Girls Club of Slidell, and the St. Tammany Humane Society. The Volunteers of America have a "RSVP Office" at 823 Carroll Street in Mandeville. People wishing to volunteer their time can contact that office and be matched with an organization that needs their particular skills.

President Roxanne Lagarde welcomed those present, with Bill Brady giving the invocation, Ron Caruso giving the treasurer's report, and vice presidents Lyn Monteleone and Cheryl Beaver giving membership reports and introducing the guest speaker. 

The group now has 808 members, with 63 new members signing up in the last 12 months, the largest annual increase in membership ever accomplished. The next meeting will be held on January 23, 2018. 

Here are some pictures from that event. Click on the images to make them larger. 

STRSEA To Meet December 14 for Holiday Luncheon

    The St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association will hold its annual Christmas holiday meeting luncheon on Thursday, December 14, at the David Treen Instructional Technology Center in Mandeville, 2024 Livingston Street Mandeville, LA 70448. The meeting begins at 11 a.m., with a social membership time at 10:30 a.m.
    A pot luck luncheon will be offered as members bring a variety of appetizers, salads and desserts, with the St. Tammany Federal Credit Union adding to part of the luncheon menu. "Pull out that festive holiday sweater and wear it to the meeting," said Roxanne Lagarde, organization president. "We hope to see all our retired school employee members."
    Speaking on the subject of community volunteerism, Dee Wild with the Volunteers of America will give an overview of the many opportunities to help throughout the area. Any member who has in mind a particular organization that needs volunteers may bring informational pamphlets or flyers to distribute.
     At the STRSEA meeting, members will have the opportunity to bring a new unwrapped toy to donate to Project Christmas, a program that benefits kids on both east and west sides of the parish. One of the fun parts of the meetings are the drawing of names for door prizes, so members are invited to bring items to give away as door prizes as well.
     A report on new members will be presented, as well as updates on the organization's T-shirt sales and the upcoming Legislative Meeting next year. Some T-shirts will be available for purchase. Proceeds from T-shirt sales help fund the annual Educational Scholarship Presentation.
    Next year, the January 25th meeting will feature Dana Vicknair, the new head of the Teacher's Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL).  She is expected to update members on TRSL accomplishments over the past year and the status of pension system returns, a topic of interest to many retired school employees.
     The STRSEA meets regularly throughout the year to provide opportunities for retirees from the school system to hear about the important issues impacting local and state retirees and to enjoy fun and fellowship with new and former colleagues.  Meetings are generally on the second Thursday of September, November, December, March and May, including an annual Christmas party and spring luncheon. 
     For a once-only fee of $45, the STRSEA offers a life-time membership that entitles members to vote on association matters, furnishes an identification card that allows St. Tammany members free admission to all home games at school system athletic events and provides a St. Tammany Advantage Rewards (STAR) card for discounts at participating local businesses and restaurants.
     For more information about this organization, call President Roxanne Lagarde at 985-966-6166.  If present members have a new email address, please send the update to stpretirees@gmail.com.  Retirees may join the STRSEA at any regularly scheduled meeting or may send a check for $45 payable to STRSEA in care of STRSEA at Post Office Box 2992; Covington, Louisiana 70434.

Spotlight on Joan and Joe Fetter

by Rhonda Chambers

     This couple, better known as Joanie and Buddy, had a total of 66 years with the St. Tammany School System! 

Joe and Joan Fetter

     Joanie graduated from SLU in 1971 with a degree in Business Education and later returned to receive a Masters in Guidance and Counseling.  She began and retired from her educational career at Covington High School where she taught business courses and was the COE Coordinator until 1986 and retired as a Guidance Counselor in 2005.  Joe graduated from SLU in 1975 with an Elementary Education degree and acquired his Masters in School Administration later on also from SLU.  

     Joe’s first teaching position was in 8th grade at St. Tammany Junior High, and then he taught 4th grade at Mandeville Elementary and then at Mandeville Middle.  In 1991 he became an Administrative Assistant at MMS and then became its Assistant Principal in 1993.  When Gayle Sloan was moved to the Central Office Joe was appointed the Principal of Mandeville Middle School.  During this time he was chosen as The Principal of the Year by the Parish and also was recognized by both the Parish and State PTA organizations. He retired from MMS in 2007.

     Since retiring this couple has chosen to lead a fulfilling second half of life by caring for and playing with their 4 grandchildren and traveling the USA and Europe.  When Joanie first retired they were blessed with their first grandchild whom she cared for three days a week while her daughter worked at the St. Tammany Hospital.  Then when Joe retired they took a cruise to Alaska and decided then that this was definitely the way to live!  

     Since the cruise they have travelled to Ireland (kissed the Blarney Stone), Germany (visited a German concentration camp, a very sobering and dreary place), Austria (fabulous churches including the one in The Sound of Music), and Switzerland (rode a cable car to the top of the Alps in Zurich).  Trips in the US include Disney World, Washington D.C., San Antonio, Seattle, and a car trip through the northern and central states.

     Joe is an usher and greeter at the Covington First Baptist Church, a member of the Covington Zoning and Planning Commission, and has served on the STRSEA Board for the past 7 years.  Both Joanie and Joe are active with the Covington Heritage Foundation. Their only granddaughter, Mackenzie, has a few health issues, but she is a bundle of energy with a great sense of humor and a beautiful attitude.  

     They provide care several mornings each week before they take her to school.  They both love attending activities for all of their grandchildren, school functions, and soccer for the boys and Miracle League Ball for Mackenzie.  Joe enjoys taking the boys fishing.

     Their typical day is not set in stone.  Several days a week finds them at their children’s homes helping to get the children ready for school because the mothers need to be at their jobs early.  After getting everyone where they need to be, they either meet for breakfast or just go home to relax for a while.  The rest of the day usually is filled with household chores.  Joan loves to decorate the house and work in the garden.  They enjoy yard work and watching “Wagon Train”.  Occasionally they will sit with the grandchildren if the parents have meetings or errands to run.  As you can tell they are very attached to their girls and their children.

     Some things you might not know about Joanie (born and raised in Bogalusa) and Joe (born in New Orleans and raised in St. Bernard Parish) are that they first met at SLU in the Baptist Student Union; Joe was a young Catholic.  He entered the Naval Reserve and served in Vietnam where he was based in Danang and also on the USS Hepburn in the Pacific.  When he completed his military service they married in 1971 and moved to Covington.

     When asked to describe their best vacation ever it was hard to choose just one.  They really enjoyed their trip out west with their daughters. They visited Yellowstone, Wyoming, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.  It was a great time!

     I asked Joe would he rather live a week in the past or the future and why?  He replied, “I would rather live a week in the past. I have always felt that I would like to have lived in the forties during the time that everyone in the country pulled together to achieve a common goal and few counted on the government to take care of them.  Family was important and everyone maintained close ties with multiple generations. I would have been able to get to know my grandfather who passed away when I was four years old and learn more about my family's history.”

     How did you make your first dollar?  Joe bagged groceries at Winn Dixie. He doesn’t remember what the minimum wage was, but he knows that he made way more money in tips!

November Meeting Salutes Veterans, Emphasizes Health Information

Members of the St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association met Thursday, November 9, for a special health services information fair and Salute to Veterans of the U.S. military forces. President Roxanne Lagarde welcomed the more than 60 members present, including several new members, and thanked the many exhibitors who turned out with health care information on a variety of topics.

In observance of  Veterans Day on November 11, she read a special poem honoring veterans and thanked those in the audience who had served their country in the military. Many members wore patriotic colors in honor of the day, including one that carried the message: Home of the Free BECAUSE of the Brave.

Veterans were among the special honored guests at the November 9 meeting of the St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association. Group President Roxanne Lagarde is shown at left with Kathy and Leroy James during the Veterans Day program. James, 92, is a veteran of World War II and a former Madisonville area school principal. 

Lyn Monteleone, first vice president, reported that new members were signing up regularly, making this a record-breaking year with the highest number of new members joining so far. The association holds several meetings each year, including the all-important legislative meeting in January, which delves into topics of interest to retirees such as pending legislation on retirement benefits and insurance. 

This year's hot topic is the push for a new Constitutional convention, which STRSEA Legislative Chairman Jack Loup warned could be an effort to divert funds away from teacher pensions into other uses. He has been keeping up with legislative issues for years, and his concerns include declining revenues for MFP funding of the schools, as well continuing state efforts to merge, change, or reduce pension funds in an order to save money. 

He asked all those present to write letters to their U.S. Senators to ask them to repeal two unfair laws that penalize teachers who also collect social security based on jobs they had before they became educators. Social security benefits are often unfairly reduced to those teachers and their surviving spouses because they are also members of the state teacher retirement program. 

Jessica Ponze with the Community Wellness Center at St. Tammany Parish Hospital gave a "healthy cooking" demonstration, making (and handing out samples of ) potato salad made with cauliflower and Greek yogurt instead of potatoes and mayonnaise. 

Reports were given by Tom Lusignan on the upcoming applications for this year's Educational Grant given by the organization and Ron Barthet on the printing and distribution of the new Membership Directory for 2017-2019.


A number of door prizes were given away, along with cash prizes donated by the St. Tammany Federal Credit Union. Among the exhibitors taking part in the health fair were Humana, St. Tammany Parish Hospital, Walgreens, Silver Sneakers, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, the Sleep Disorders Center, and the Ochsner Health Network.

      Here are some photographs from the event held at the David C. Treen Instructional Technology Center in Mandeville on November 9th.

President Roxanne Lagarde (standing at right) saluted the Veterans of the armed forces, in particular Leroy James, former principal of Madisonville Elementary School, seated at left. 

A "healthy cooking demonstration" was offered by Jessica Ponze with the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Community Wellness Center.

Jack Loup gave the legislative report. 

New membership directories were distributed to those present. 

 It was a red, white, and blue Veterans Day program

The St. Tammany Federal Credit Union gave out several prizes and gave out information on new checking account incentives.

Health Information Providers

Walgreens 

T-shirts and Polo Shirts were on sale to raise funds for the Educational Grant Scholarship