From the Prez - Spring 2017

From the Prez:  Spring 2017
Quarterly Update
(where appropriate, please share this with your spouse)

We hope your New Year has started off in a wonderful manner.  Don’t you love Springtime?  Hopefully the last remnants of winter have left your area, and that you’re enjoying some warmer weather.  Baseballs are flying in Arizona and Florida as we’re getting ready for the start of another baseball season.  Please keep in mind, and say a prayer, for all our Service Members serving around the world, especially those serving in harm’s way, and those separated from their family and friends. 

Hopefully you find these quarterly updates useful.  We want to make sure in the two years between reunions that you know what we are doing.  We want you to feel connected and an important part of our organization.  You might also see areas that might interest you that you are willing to volunteer to help us.

Membership Dues:  We hope you all have paid your annual or lifetime dues.  We have three (3) membership categories:  Active, Associate, and Honorary.  Active members pay $10/year, payable January 1st, or immediately upon acceptance of a new member application. If a new member joins on July 1, or later, they will not be charged for the current calendar year.  Their first $10 payment will be applied to the next calendar year beginning January 1.  Dues are requested as close to January 1 as possible, with current year dues being delinquent on March 31.

Lifetime Membership:  Membership voted and approved lifetime membership options at the rates shown below according to the member’s age at the time the lifetime membership is requested.  As of this newsletter, we have 125 RAFINO members that have taken advantage of our lifetime membership option.  If a current member has paid their membership for years in advance, those advance payments will be applied towards a lifetime membership.  If a member has paid sufficient years in advance that it more than covers the cost of a lifetime membership, they can donate any excess payments to RAFINO, or request those funds be refunded.  Dues paid for prior years will not be applied towards the lifetime membership.  If a lifetime member dies, and has a spouse, the lifetime membership does not transfer to the spouse.  The spouse becomes an Associate Member, and will no longer pay dues.  The following lifetime rates are offered effective January 1, 2017; and you can use the this link to our website to determine the amount you need to pay for the appropriate lifetime category, minus any advance payments.

2018 Reunion Committee:   We have some changes to report. Our reunion committee has been busy since the Las Vegas Reunion reviewing options for the 2018 Reunion. We previously reported that we were looking at two options: Charleston, South Carolina, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. As there was little discussion on both of these options at the Las Vegas Reunion, we wanted to fully develop the plans, programs, and costs for both of these options. The Reunion Committee was leaning towards the Charleston option, and we were looking for someone willing to lead the committee for this option; hoping for someone local that could coordinate actions with local hotels, programs, and venues. We did not find a volunteer. In terms of Albuquerque, we had Bruce and Lucy Prater volunteer to lead the effort, and Bruce volunteered to assume the role as the VP – Reunions. The Reunion Committee unanimously agreed this option was in the best interest of our membership, and our elected officers approved that recommendation. Our 2018 Reunion will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico. If you would like to join Bruce on our Reunion Committee, please contact him via email at: bruceprater16@gmail.com We really need your help to make the 2018 Reunion a wonderful event for everyone !!!

New Members:  Larry Elsom is our VP – Membership.  Since the Las Vegas Reunion, we’ve added 25 new members.  We’re excited that the word is getting out, and we ask everyone to be part of our membership committee.  Seek out your friends and colleagues, ask them if they are members, and if they are not, please encourage them to join us.  The 2018 Reunion will be special and even more memorable, if you are surrounded by those you enjoyed serving with throughout your career.  If you’ve lost contact with someone, and don’t know how to reach them, please let us know.  There are several avenues we can use to help locate your fellow Finance Retirees, and encourage them to join us.

Updated By-Laws:  Imre Volgyi, RAFINO Treasurer, is in the process of drafting an update to our organizational By-Laws.  When completed, we will submit them to you for your approval in a vote similar to what we did for our membership dues and lifetime membership options.  We appreciate your support, and your vote of approval is important to us.

Website Enhancement:  Robby Robson is our webmaster extraordinaire.  I couldn’t begin to detail all he does for our organization.  He’s always looking for new and easier ways to reflect our data.  He’s recently added a new enhancement to our website.  In the past, logged in members have been able to go into the "Membership" menu and select the "Geographic Distribution" option.  This allows you to create a list (and/or download a spreadsheet) of members who reside in a selected geographical area (a state or a city or a zip code).  He has added a button on that page to allow you to generate a Google map showing the residents and where there are located.  You can zoom in or out of the map, using normal google "+"/"-" zoom controls. Each resident (who has a valid address) will be represented by a "map pin" on the map.  Clicking on the map pin will bring up the data on that resident.  Try it; you'll like it !!!

I always enjoy hearing from you when we send out news updates.  I appreciate your warm and gracious comments, as well as suggestions some of you have made.  All of our RAFINO Officers are active and work solely to make this a better organization for everyone.  Know that it’s our pleasure to serve you and RAFINO to the best of our abilities. 

Proud to be Your Prez,

Kevin G. Troller