hawaii district hsta-r hi-lites december 2015 - HSTA

Hawaii District HSTA-R
HI-LITES
December 2015
Season’s Greetings from Avis Mortemore, Vice President of the Hawaii State
Teachers Association – Retireds, Hawaii Island.
It is that time of year where we count our blessings. We are so very fortunate that
we are HSTA-RETIREDS and can participate in community service such as helping
at the Hospice’s Light Up a Life event coming up in December, at the Blood Bank
and the Marathon in the Spring.
We also are lucky to have our President along with the State Board members of
HSTA-R visiting the Legislature in January where they visit with our
Representatives and Senators and share our concerns on various important retirement
issues. We hope that all of you will assist when we call upon you to help us with
testimony and contacting of our Legislators.
There is an important event coming up soon and we would like to see you all there to exchange memories
and be together as HSTA-RETIREDS. It is our Annual General Membership Meeting (see below for
West and East information) where we will conduct our elections for a new slate of officers-President,
Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, 4 at-large council seats as well as delegates for the State Delegate
Assembly for 2016-2018.
If you are interested in being on the ballot for the 2016-2018 slate, please call Avis Mortemore @808
959-7920 by JANUARY 20, 2016.
Also, watch your mailboxes after Christmas for your Annual General Membership Meeting flyer
that will contain more specific information and your RSVP for the meetings below:
West Hawaii Annual General Membership Meeting:
THURSDAY, January 28, 2016, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
West Hawaii Civic Center Conference Room, Bldg. G
Tae Kwon Do Instructor will be teaching self defense skills
Salad lunch will be provided at no cost to HSTA-R members
Contact: Jo Ann Iwane, @ 322-9386 or [email protected]
East Hawaii Annual General Membership Meeting:
FRIDAY, February 5, 2016. , Registration – 8:30 a.m.
Meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Held at Aging and Disability Resource Center (1055 Kinoole Street, Hilo)
Updates about Hilo Medical Center’s Residency Program
Executive Director of the Center, Kimo Alameda and members of his staff will speak on the
organization and services of the ADRC
Lunch to be catered with cost and menu to be announced in a mailout
Members will be given a $10 subsidy for their lunch
Raffle will help the Dream Come True Hawaii Island organization
Come and join the HSTA-Retireds. Until then, Happy Holidays!
Avis
“LIVE WIRE”
By Arleen Yoshimura
As we rush around shopping, wrapping, addressing cards & getting them delivered so our loved
ones will have them before Christmas, we forget one of the most important things…taking care of
ourselves.
I recently received an eye-opening e-mail that made me Aware so I can Beware. I don’t know how accurate the
stats are but it made me realize what incredible things are happening so we can stay alive. I’m sharing just a few
of these. Every Day…
*our heart beats more than 100,000 times to pump about 2,000 gallons of blood throughout our body
*red blood cells make about 1,440 trips around our body delivering oxygen to keep our body energized
*our liver filters about 1 ½ qt. of blood per minute, manufactures blood plasma, cholesterol & vitamin D, & produces about a qt. of bile to help break down our food—just to name a few things it does.
*our kidneys filter an average of 3,000 pints of blood & expels about 2 ½ pints of urine
*we take an average of 17,000 breaths
*we blink almost 30,000 times to keep our eyes moist & clean which is critical since 90% of info we process is visual
*our mouth works with our brain to say approximately 2,000 words—for men & about 5,000 words for women—
I wonder about this ?
*we think about 50,000 thoughts
*we produce the heat of 25 light bulbs which is crucial because most of our energy is expelled by heat
*cells in our stomach lining produce an alkaline substance every few milliseconds to neutralize acid or our stomach would digest itself
The most amazing thing is our body cells regenerate themselves daily so we get new things like nails & bones.
These are just a few of the activities our marvelous body does every day. No wonder I feel so tired.
So…what are You doing to help your body function properly? I must confess, I’m not doing enough & as a matter
of fact I do things—like eat too much sweets—that’s making it more difficult. If you, too, aren’t doing much, NOW
is a GREAT TIME TO START !!! Each of Us is a Living Miracle…Help Yourself Stay Alive & Well.
Have a Most Joyous Holiday Season & a Prosperous New Year Blessed with the BEST !!!
Love, Arleen
On October 22, a dozen WHCC members toured West Hawaii Explorations
Academy, one of the first public charter schools in the state,
which is located at the Natural Energy Lab Hawaii Authority at Keahole. The
campus is located on the same street as NELHA’s Visitor Center
near the entrance from Queen K Hwy. It relocated from its original spot near the
ocean which serviced about 50 high school students in its infancy.
There are currently over 280 middle and high schoolers. In keeping with the
school’s philosophy of student-centered learning, the one-and-a-half hour
tour was conducted by two articulate and knowledgeable seniors. An interesting
observation is that the village raising WHEA students is not defined
by its geographic location on lava terrain. Student mentors, partners, and contacts extend far beyond the
Kona community. Even NASA expertise has been
tapped. STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) has meaningful applications. One student
project provides prosthetic devices for two children
on the mainland. Self-directed learners are nurtured by 20 plus faculty and staff members.
The group met at Fumi’s Kitchen in Kailua for lunch. An appetizer of tempura French fries was a
first for almost everyone in attendance. An enlightening
and delicious day was enjoyed thanks to arrangements made by WHCC President Jo Iwane.
HSTA-Retired Board of Directors Meeting
November 20, 2015
Director’s Report – Lorraine Hora
1.
HSTA-R Board requests member participation when HSTA-R conducts a random sampling of
members for Focus Groups in January. Anthology Corporation (544-3000) will be calling members and asking for their assistance for the Focus Groups within the next few weeks.
2. HSTA-Retired State elections will be conducted in February to elect retiree delegates to the
NEA-Retired Annual Meeting and the NEA Representative Assembly this summer. Ballots will
be mailed to members. Please vote for Big Island candidates and mail the ballot back promptly
before February 16, 2016.
3. Amended and Restated Bylaws of all HSTA-R Districts and Community Clubs were adopted by
the Board.
4. HARA (Hawaii Alliance of Retired Americans) will hold its biennium Convention on Oahu on Jan-
uary 9, 2016. HSTA-R Board of Directors will be attending as delegates.
5. HSTA has requested HSTA-Retired help at polling sites during voting for their delegates to the
NEA Representative Assembly and the HSTA Convention. As soon as calendar dates and polling
site locations are confirmed, Lorraine Hora will contact area liaisons for help in securing retiree
volunteers.
6. HSTA-VEBA Trust Benefit Plans Solution is doing the reconciliation of HSTA-R Budget spending.
Brenda Shiroma presented the statements for September and October and discussion followed.
Discussed also our 501 c4 status and its restrictions.
7. Kendra Ito-Mizuo, HSTA Governance Specialist, discussed the HSTA Omnibus Bill that will be in-
troduced in the Legislature this session. She asked for retiree help during the endorsement interview process in 2016.
Kim K. Springer
1722 Kaiao Street
Hilo, HI 96720
MEMORIAM
stamp
Annual General Membership Meetings
West Hawaii – Thursday, January 28, 2016
East Hawaii – Friday, February 5, 2016.
Alan Lehman
New HSTA-R Members
We welcome 23 new members in Hawaii District – Helie K.
Welcome Deborah L. Dickerson, Jennifer V. Perry, James F.
Karkheck, June K. Kaichi and as of December 31
Erin E.C. Neizmen and Jean M. Grissim. May you
enjoy the freedom from school bells and lesson plans
and find greater
joy in activities of choice. Hope to see you at our
Retiree activities.
Hawaii District Council 2014-2016
President - Cynthia Sallee-Brown
Vice President – Avis Mortemore
Secretary – Lorraine Hora
Treasurer – Lois Shimizu
Council At-Large –
Bonnie Burke
Arleen Yoshimura
Myrna Watanabe
Kim Springer
Betty Ann Yoshimura
Gary Kaku
Ingrid Nishimoto
WHCC President –JoAnn Iwane
State Website:
http://www.hstaretired.org/
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