Legislative Update Held on January 25

    The St. Tammany Retired School Employees Association held a special "legislative update" meeting on Thursday, January 25, at the David Treen Instructional Technology Center in Mandeville.

     The special  guest speaker was Dana Vicknair, the new Executive Director of TRSL,  the Teacher Retirement System of Louisiana. She presented the latest information pertaining to retirement benefits and the most probable upcoming Legislative considerations on retirement issues.  Formerly the assistant director, she recently replaced Maureen Westguard as TRSL executive director. Vicknair joined TRSL in 1995 and was chief financial officer for six years before her appointment as assistant director in 2004. Ms Westgard retired from TRSL to become the executive director for the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR).

     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.  

    STRSEA Meetings are generally on the second Thursday of September, November, December, March and May, including an annual Christmas party and spring luncheon.  The next meeting of the group will be on March 15 at 10 a.m.

     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 Ann and Jim Murphy

     Ann and Jim Murphy have chosen to lead an exciting second half of their lives after retiring by joining different clubs to meet a lot of people.  They love to dance, disco, jitterbug (any fast dancing).  They go to the gym together.  

Jim and Ann Murphy

     Every week their son-in-law Steve cooks and they are invited over to eat.  They get to visit with their two grandsons, and Ann gets to visit with her daughter.  They also talk everyday over the phone.  She loves to hear her voice, and she has been told that their voices sound alike, but Ann would disagree; she believes her daughter’s voice is better.  Maybe could it be that Ann loves her very much?

     The couple of 33 years have also travelled a lot…Canada, all over the USA, Central and South America, cruises, as far as, Caracas, Venezuela, Aruba, Puerto Rico, and to 12 different countries in Europe. 

     They bought a new 2013 Mustang, bright green with black stripes, and joined the local Mustang Club (with all young people).

     Jim and Ann are having fun and enjoying life together.  They thank God for their good health and believe in living one day at a time, trying to get all the gusto out of life that they can!  They both love each other very much and tell each other this every morning sealed with a kiss.

     In 1992 they moved to Mandeville.   Ann worked for Ochsner Hospital on Jefferson Hwy, in the accounting department, and after two years of crossing the bridge, she thought all of that time was being wasted.  She began thinking that she could do something worthwhile.  Then she started to think about how much she loved to be around children since she always had children in their home.  What was needed on the North Shore was another good teacher.

     At this time the Special Education program was looking into ways to better meet the individual challenges of the special needs children within the St. Tammany Public School System, and Ann knew that was where she wanted to be.  She had three successful children, and she would use them as her resume.  She went to school for special education classes and took the test and received her certificate as a Certified Para Educator.  

     Then she thought of how she could make a difference and where she was needed.  She chose to work with children with behavior problems.  Ann did make a difference working with her students at Mandeville, Covington, and Pontchartrain Elementary.  She later took sign language classes.   Since she used her hands to express herself, she wanted to see if she could help the hearing impaired students; and she did.  

     Ann really enjoyed teaching and noted that she should have been a teacher from the start.  She saw herself as a problem solver, a listener for the children, patient and encouraging.  She liked to set a good example and gave advice, especially from past experiences.  She always loved being around children; she needed them, and they needed her.  Those years were very happy times for Ann.

     Jim joined STRSEA as an associate member.  He was a mechanical engineer and worked as a Supervisor for a cement plant.  Later on he began working at his second son’s company as an interpreter (he speaks fluent Spanish).