ORTA MINUTES
October 9, 2008
The
October meeting of the Gallia County Retired Teachers Association was held at the Rodney Methodist Church. The ladies of the
church prepared a delicious meal consisting of ham loaf, cheesy potatoes, frozen cranberry salad, green beans and pumpkin
torte. Our members look forward to this meal each year; a mutiny might take place if they ever decided to change the menu!
After the meal the ladies were called from the kitchen and given a big round of applause for preparing a most delicious meal
once again. Cliff Wilson offered the blessing.
Lois Carter called the meeting to order by ringing a school bell. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
First time attendee Eileen Stitt was welcomed, also guests Jack Rife and Joe Browning. Lois read a humorous reading and Barb
Shelton added another bit of humor to start the meeting with a smile.
Melvin Biars' floral presentation has been postponed until the December meeting. Melvin has kidney
stones and could not attend today. Vice-President Barb Shelton introduced the speakers from the Area Agency on Aging District
7, the "two Vickies", Vicky Abdella, RN and Vicki Woyan. The topic was "A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns
About Falls". The AAA7 is sponsoring this program for seniors. We were given information about serving as "coaches"
for these events. This is a community participation volunteer opportunity for our organization. Vicky Abdella led us in some
low- impact exercises that strengthen muscles which in turn help prevent falls and give seniors more confidence regarding
the fear of falling. Watch the paper for information on upcoming "Matter of Balance" workshops.
Lois reported she has received a letter from STRS stating that
STRS Ohio is a long-term investor with a diversified portfolio which is designed to weather the expected ups and downs of
the market over time. Now is not the time for a hasty or knee-jerk reaction to the current market decline. It was noted by
one of our members that the STRS subsidized health care is a non- guaranteed benefit.
The fall issue of ORTA Quarterly
contains a very nice article about one of our members Wanda Willis, a first time author. Her book is entitled The Beveled Mirror. Also included in the Quarterly is a picture of Marlene Hoffman and Carolyn Anderson
taken at the web design workshop they attended in August. The website is ready for publication and will be online in the very
near future. We considered selling a humorous "retirement" calendar as a fund-raiser but decided against this project
at this time. The raffle this month consisted of a decorative glass plate and bowl, a wreath and an afghan handcrafted by
Nancy Hood. The winners of the raffle were: Louise Greenlee, Marie Church, Norm Snyder and Dallie Forgey. The raffle netted
$108.
Marlene Hoffman, memorial
chairwoman conducted the annual memorial service. A white candle was lit representing the lives of those of our membership
who have died during the past year. They are:
James Ray Davis (8-11-07)
Geraldine M. Gibson (9-27-07)
John Ernest Holle (12-08-07)
Edith Dodrill Thomas (4-27-08)
John J. Allison (5-14-08)
Lois J. Carter Sheets (5-21-08)
Henry J. Sheets (6-02-08)
Charles Jeffers (7-15-08)
"We Remember Them", a Jewish prayer, was then recited
with the members joining on the phrase "we remember them" at the end of each stanza. Following a closing prayer
for the faithful departed the candle was extinguished to conclude the service.
NEXT MEETING: DECEMBER 11, 2008
Nazarene Family Life Center, 12:00 p.m.
Program: Melvin Biars from Floral Fashions
Christmas Sing-a-long, Marlene
Hoffman
Respectfully submitted,
Marlene Hoffman, Secretary
