UGCAC Presidents Message - January 2019
In 2018 South Texas Area Vice President Steve Ohnimus had a fall at home incurring a serious head injury requiring brain surgery. Steve has relinquished his position while he goes through rehab. His recovery will be a long process but he has made experienced significant improvement. Steve is eating normally now and is getting his mobility back with the aid of some leg braces. He and Daisy joined the UGCAC Chapter at its’ annual Christmas dinner serving as the unofficial greeter welcoming all of the guests. Please keep Steve in your prayers as he recovers. As difficult as it has been for Steve and Daisy, the chapter made some “lemonade out of the lemons.” In true CRA fashion, chapter members stepped up to be their support system. Jack Schanck stepped in and helped Daisy with a lot of the legal, health and communication issues that arise with unexpected traumas such as his. We asked Jack to make a list of what needs to be dealt with in a situation like Steve’s and Gary Najdowski had his estate attorney put together a luncheon meeting seminar on wills, probate, estate and other practical issues. Many of the chapter members including our family took the occasion to update our wills etc. and get our houses in order.
Chapter Health-South Texas Area:
The South Texas Area enjoyed a net grow in membership for 2018. The Hill Country Chapter at 261 members was able to add 50 new members this year. To facilitate this growth and better serve the large area served by the chapter President, Paul Skakun rotates his luncheon meetings between New Braunfels, Georgetown, Austin and Kerrville.
The Houston Metro Chapter lead by Glenn Ewan had a robust membership of nearly 800 which Glenn hopes to expand in 2019. In 2018 the chapter began additional meetings at satellite locations for members from suburban Houston area communities. Glenn and his team organized successful “Neighborhood Luncheons” in Katy, The Woodlands and the Bryan/College Station areas. Those meeting locals will continue with the addition of Spring, Pearland, Humble and Sugar Land in 2019. The Houston Metro Chapter also continues to be a talent pool for national CRA leaders.
The Unocal Gulf Coast Alumni Club has maintained its’ membership holding at 260 in 2018. We are hoping to draw on the pool of recent Unocal/Chevron retirees. To that end we have participated with Bill Dodge in two Health Fairs, one Boomers benefits panel discussion and a pre-retirement financial seminar, all in Houston. Bill and I met with participants to promote the benefits of joining CRA.
Orange and Port Arthur chapters remain small needing more active leadership. Glen Ewan of the Houston Metro Chapter and I met with them this month on how to recruit and what to do to manage chapter status options in order to stay viable.
Upcoming Events:
We will have our western themed “GO Texan” luncheon on February 7th at The River Bend Country Club. This year we will have a member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo speakers bureau who will speak on “Western Heritage: Cattle Drives and Trail rides”. The luncheon menu will feature all of the usual barbeque favorites. I will be wearing my cowboy outfit for the occasion and I hope to not stand out as one of the few in costume.
The CRA Annual Meeting will be held in May in New Orleans. I will be attending along with several members of the UGCAC Board. The annual meetings are a time to see all of what CRA has to offer to support retirees and how we can serve in that effort.
We would like your input on the following:
Would membership enjoy / benefit from having a quarterly newsletter?
Does anyone have a specific topic they would like to propose for the September luncheon?
