From the NARVRE July 2018 Newsletter:
The 41st NARVRE Convention opened May 21st by President Tom Dwyer. Convention was held in Council Bluffs, Iowa and was hosted by Unit 30 of Council Bluffs. The colors were posted by the Air Force color guard accompanied by the Local Air Force Band. A welcome was given by Matt Walsh Mayor of Council Bluffs. The convention was comprised of 4 officers, 5 area directors and 53 delegates for a total of 62, representing 15,277 members. The 4 officers opened with their reports to the convention. Accountant Mark Hibbs addressed the convention concerning our financial status.
John Reisch, UTU Smart Legislative Representative outlined problems in Washington facing Railroad retirees. Health Care, spending bill and tax cuts could make Congress look at cutting entitlements to help pay for the increases in spending. He also talked about Amtrak being privatized. Amtrak has 20,000 employees paying into RR Retirement, which would affect us. Automation being made in the rail industry is another issue. Resolutions 1 through 5 were accepted by the Convention. These dealt with by-law language. Resolution 3 dealt with dues increase. After much discussion it was agreed to raise dues $10.00. NARVRE has been in deficit spending and a raise was needed to make us more viable in the future. A memorial service was conducted for the 527 deceased members since the last Convention. The election of officers was conducted and since there was no opposition, all were elected by acclamation –President Tom Dwyer, Vice President Tony Padilla, Secretary-Treasurer Phil Steward and Legislative Director Gary Faley. Area Directors for Areas 2, 4, 6, and 8 were elected for 4 year terms. The Convention closed with a banquet. Keynote speaker was Mark Thomson from the RR Retirement Board. He talked about the status of the board and the operation. They are currently shorthanded and need more employees. The Railroad retirement fund is very solvent and should sustain itself in the future. The officers were installed. It was announced that the next Convention will be held in Oakland, California.
On May 20-22, 2018, the 41st Biannual Convention of the National Association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees, Inc., (NARVRE) was held in Council Bluff, IA and it was a remarkable and innovating success. I am thankful to the Convention Chair Marjorie Ingram and to the host committee of Unit 30 for the professional performance to bring the convention to be one of the best conventions we have had. Congratulations to the new officers who were all re-elected by acclamation, Thomas Dwyer President, Anthony (Tony) Padilla Vice President, Secretary Treasurer Phillip Steward and Legislative Director Gary Faley. By the same token all the Area Directors up for re-election for this Convention from Area 2, 4, 6, and 8 were also re-elected by unanimous consent, J.J. Grabner Area 2, Gary Nelson Area 4, Bruce Hager Area 6, and Bob Aparicio area 8. Congratulations to all.
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