September 2023 Minutes
President’s Council of Retired Employees
Friday 8 September 2023 at 8:15 am
Foster Board Room, 2nd Floor, Buchanan Alumni House and Zoom
Minutes
Members: David Bagley, Louis Bassano, Richard Borgman (Vice Chair), Brenda Collamore, Richard Judd (Secretary), Richard Kent, Thomas Sandford (Chair), Cindy Eves-Thomas, Sarah McPartland-Good, (Ex Officio Member)
1. Approval of 5 May 2023 Minutes and 2 June 2023 Minutes
Approved with change in Karen Boucias’s name.
2. Next Thursday 9/14 participating retirees will meet at the Schooner Olad at Camden Public Landing at 9:15 for boarding. Schooner will leave at 9:45 and return at 11:45. Council will need a photo.
3. PCRE Membership: We have three openings (2 classified, and 1 member-at-large). Names mentioned were Claire Strickland (Financial Office), William Mitchell (Botany), and Desiree Butterfield-Nagy (Library; after December 2024). Tom will put up Claire’s name; William Mitchell has not responded; Desiree Butterfield-Nagy expressed interest, but is not retiring until December 2024. Claire could serve as member at large, and we might offer a second member at large rather than someone from Honors College. Tom’s and David’s term expired last September.
Cindy has not received a letter of appointment yet (despite requests). Tom suggested writing the letter on behalf of the president with a cc the President’s office to approve the nomination. Tom will contact the President’s office. We also need a quicker response to our nomination for the Hikel Award.
4. 2023 Retiree Homecoming observations (to help plan the upcoming event)
Tom summarized the feedback from Sarah on the information tables, presentation, information by other speakers, the luncheon, and the overall program quality. Ninety-six percent responded tat the overall event was good to excellent; 100 percent reacted favorably to the speaker. There was no feedback on the tours. The Printed House tour was very popular, although there were some problems with the vehicle. The last group had to wait almost two hours. Council discussed establishing a maximum number for a tour. We should devote more attention to the details on the tours. Some participants reported they were unable to see the speaker from the back of the room. We discussed putting the speaker on the monitors. Signs directing visitors to the parking area and to Wells were too limited. We discussed follow-up emails during the week before the Homecoming with directions and an agenda. The agenda should have been printed out for arrivals (with times). One respondent mentioned need of lactose-free desserts, although we did ask for diet restrictions and we provided vegan options.
Council discussed the scope of the continental breakfast: was coffee and tea sufficient? (A fuller breakfast would be expensive.) Richard Judd should provide about 30 photographs for selection for the newsletter. Council discussed the need more time for the people at the tables. We should ask specifically for feedback from those at the tables. We could use posts for hanging signs, especially for registration.
5. Oral Histories revival: Past Oral Histories are on the PCRE website. All Maine Women interviewed four people and added this to the Library Collections. Marian Driscoll started the program, and All Maine Women did it as a service project. Richard Judd will talk with Deseree Butterfield-Nagy about accessing the interviews through URSUS. We should invite Marian to the next meeting, and perhaps add a AMW person on the Council. Perhaps Mazie Hough, Pauleena MacDougall, or Paul Schroeder would help with the project.
6. Target dates for the 2024 Homecoming, for sending Hikel award letters out, and mailing out the Silver Tracks, and determining tours and a speaker for the Homecoming: The Homecoming will be, as always, on the first Friday in June (June 7 this year). We need to reserve space soon. The Hikel Award letters went out last year in May, which was too late. Tom suggested a request for nominations should go out in mid-October with a deadline three or four weeks later–at the end of January at least. The Silver Tracks last year was later than normal, but this was a good time to announce the Homecoming. Council discussed the size (number of pages): can we add more detail to the President’s letter, the Hikel recipient biography, and the Homecoming announcement. We could do other things if we wanted to add two more pages. The target date for the Silver Tracks to be mailed is mid-March. Council will discuss the agenda for next Homecoming at the next meeting, with the Athletic Director or Walter Abbott (ex-football coach) as possibilities.
7. Tom discussed Group discounts on insurance for UMS employees from Farmers’ Insurance and improved interest rates on CDs as possible inclusions in the newsletter — a section on helpful information for retirees.
8. Louis provided an update on the service and volunteer project. He has been in touch with Lisa Morin and Hanna Carter. He recommended the Extension project should contact HR. The Extension survey is done, and Louis will follow up again.
A Motion to Adjourn was made by Rick and seconded by David and passed unanimously.