I put up my outdoor Halloween/Autumn decorations last week, nothing too fancy but it sure does not feel like autumn. While the leaves are beginning to fall, I am not quite sure why they think it is time for leaf fall; it is still summer heat. At least we can be thankful that we do not have to contend with 180 mph winds, storm surges of 10 feet, or rain fall of 24 inches. It is a dry heat.

Board meeting snippets

• E-News – I, as E-News editor, will be adding a new item to E-News. For several years, Jack Burns has been supplying the Pre-retirement Seminar committee with a monthly newsletter about topics related to Social Security and those on Social Security. Trudy Perez, co-chair of the Pre-retirement seminar, suggested that we consider distributing this newsletter to our members via E-News which I am going to do starting with his edition (see item below).
• Membership – Now that the membership drive has “ended”, Connie McNeill, interim Membership chair, took a quick look at the data to see how members were paying and when they were renewing. She found that more paid by check than credit card but not my much. As to when members were renewing, she found that renewals were processed as follows:
  • 205 May 15 to June 30
  • 197 in July
  • 39 in August, and
  • 103 after September 1
  • Note: that bump in September is a result of one last US Postal delivered appeal in early September.
• Prime Times – The fall issue of Prime Times is in the mail and you should receive it within the next week if you have asked to receive a paper copy. Meanwhile, if you would like to read a color version, it is available on our website.
• Vacant Positions – Maria Hesse, President, again reported several key committees needed chairs. Paul Skiera, a new Board Member, said he would take on the chair of the Membership Committee. That left the Government Liaison Council and ADOA Health Insurance.  You don’t have to be on the Board to chair either of these two committees and if you have any interest please contact Maria Hesse.
• AROHE – I reported that the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education has material that our members might find interesting and useful, and I thought we should have a less ad hoc approach to tracking this information. I suggested we have someone who would monitor AROHE offerings and keep the Board apprised. The Board agreed and Pat Schneider suggested Bill Verdini, a member of the Emeritus College and past president of AROHE. Maria suggested that maybe Pat and Bill could work out a collaborative approach.
• Bylaws – It has been almost twelve years since the Bylaws have been reviewed. Maria formed an ad hoc committee to review them.

Non-ASURA seminars etc.

AROHE October Workshop – Cyber Fraud and Personal Security Insights

• Date:  Thursday October 24
• Time:  10-11 am
• Location:  Virtual (Zoom)
• Register

Cyber threats are everywhere, which is why it’s important to understand what it takes to keep yourself cybersafe. We are proud to team up with Fidelity Investments to offer this exclusive virtual workshop to share important information about common financial scams and ways you can monitor, protect, and safeguard your data.

Morning Scoop with Arizona Capitol Times)– Clean Energy Investments in Arizona

• Date: Thursday, October 10
• Time:  8:00 am
• Location: Virtual (Zoom)
• Register

New federal investments, fueled by recently passed infrastructure and climate laws, have empowered Arizona and private industry to trail-blaze transformative new programs and projects to combat climate change, reduce carbon emissions, and rapidly accelerate the transition toward a clean-energy economy.

While we are living in a time of unprecedented investment opportunities, we must continue to deploy and leverage their full potential to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change while continuing to fuel our economy with sustainable investments.

Jack Burns’ October newsletter

Jack Burns, Social Security Public Affairs Specialist in Arizona, prepares a monthly report on SSA and other items of interest for those on Social Security. This month’s newsletter contains the following stories:

• Celebrating 89 years of Social Security
• Social Security installs new kiosks to improve customer check-in process
• Stay healthy and independent with senior nutrition programs
• National Savings Day reminds us to plan for the future
• Why it’s important to tell us about changes when you get Socials Security benefits

Newsletter

ASURA Events

Be sure to check out the slate of events on our website.

• Homepage
• Upcoming ASURA events

Barry McNeill
E-News Editor