June 2023 Minutes
UM President’s Council of Retired Employees
umaine.edu/retirees
June 2, 2023
Minutes
Foster Board Room, Buchanan Alumni House, and Zoom
Attendees: David Bagley, Louis Bassano, Richard Borgman (Vice Chair), Sarah McPartland Good (ex-officio), Thomas Sanford (Chair), Cindy Eves-Thomas, Gail Werrbach, Meredith Whitfield and Brenda Collamore
May Minutes: Tom did not receive the May minutes so they could not be approved at this time.
New Member: The Council welcomed new member Cindy Eves-Thomas. Cindy retired as a Professional from Cooperative Extension.
Homecoming: Homecoming is Friday, June 16 at Wells Conference Center. Rick walked members through various aspects of the event. The number of people who have registered stands at 131 retirees including Council members. In addition, Rick estimated 34 people will be staffing vendor tables plus an additional 6 dignitaries for a grand total of 170 attendees. Today is the last day to register. After the meeting Sarah emailed the most recent list of people who have registered, and the number now stands at 145 not counting vendor or dignitaries.
Arrival Time: Council members should arrive at 8:00 am to help with set up. We will need folks at the registration table to check off names of folks from the list or registrants, distribute name tags and tour tickets, and stuff gift bags.
PCRE Table: The PCRE will have a table located next to the registration table. We need folks to staff this
table and engage retirees in conversation about other issues/concerns that retirees might have that the Council can address. Rich and Louis will distribute a one-page document containing the Council’s mission statement and current membership.
Facility: Tom walked through Wells to check out the set up. He reported everything looked fine and offered to walk Council members through the facility at the conclusion of the meeting.
Hikel Award Winners: UM President Ferrini-Mundy is expected to be present for brief remarks and introductions of the Hikel Award Winners. Karen Boucias, 2022 Hikel Award Winner, will be present. Mike Eckart, 2023 Hikel Award Winner cannot attend but will send a 10-minute video. Tom picked up the clocks with name plates and all looks fine.
Printing: Most Homecoming documents that need to be printed are already at the printers. Rich and Louis have created a one-page document containing the Council’s mission statement and current membership. Louis will send the document to Sarah for appropriate formating, logo, and printing.
Tours: Two tours are being offered; Fernald Engineering and Design Center and the Advanced Structures and Composite Center, 3-D Printing House. Registrants have the option to sign up for either tour. So far 21 people have signed up for the tour of the Engineering and Design Center and 89 have signed up to tour the Advanced Structures and Composite Center, 3-D Printing House.
Touring the 3-D Printing House takes about 20 minutes. The house can accommodate only 20 people at a time so we will have to arrange for shifts. Even though both tour facilities are within walking distance of Wells, we will have two vehicles available for transport as needed.
Budget: Rick is still waiting for the budget for providing lunch but expects to receive it any day.
Raffle: Participants will be asked to put their names in a hat to qualify for a prize. Jeff Mills will pull out the names and offer some humorous commentary as well.
Table Centerpiece: Participants will be seated at a table with a floral centerpiece. There will be a number under each centerpiece. Each member will receive a number and the individual whose number matches the number under the centerpiece can take it home.
Insurance: The Benefits Office along with Aetna Insurance, Alight Solutions will have tables staffed by their representatives. We anticipate that retirees will have many insurance-related questions.
Evaluation: Sarah will distribute the evaluation forms for folks to complete. The evaluation forms will be placed on each table with a number of pens. We welcome constructive feedback. Some negative feedback is probably inevitable given the limited food budget and comments from previous events.
Respectfully submitted,
Louis Bassano