March 2026 Minutes
President’s Council of Retired Employees
Friday 6 March 2026 at 8:15 am
Foster Board Room, 3rd Floor, Buchanan Alumni House and Zoom
Members Attending: Louis Bassano, Michael Eckardt, Cindy Eves-Thomas (Website editor), Richard Judd (Secretary), Richard Kent, Jennifer Perry, Thomas Sandford (Chair), Claire Strickland, Althea Tibbetts. Ex Officio Members: Sarah McPartland-Good. Susan Gallant attended as a prospective member representing ELH
Minutes: Mike moved and Althea seconded a motion to accept the February minutes with three corrections. The vote was unanimous.
Newsletter: Sarah indicated that the newsletter will go out next week. The council extended its congratulations to Rick on an excellent job.
Website: The Council discussed the information Cindy provided on website users (see Current Stats). The Council found the overall results impressive. Users are spread across 23 states. The chart reflected interest in 1) the Homecoming, 2) the Recreation Center, and 3) the Gold Card. Some of these hits were probably the result of web surfing for a particular item. The Council thanked Cindy for the information. The Council discussed a survey on uses of the website to determine interest in other topics, possibly sent via email. The survey would ask: “What did you find useful on the website, or would you find useful? Sarah wondered if it was possible to determine how long readers stayed on the site. Susan and Althea mentioned that there is a system-wide, closed-group retiree Facebook account called “UMS Retirees and Friends.”
All Maine Women Interviews: This year the interviewees are Sue Randall, Assistant Athletic Director for Business; Alex Grab, Professor of History; and Michael Howard, Professor of Philosophy. Katherine Poulin will conduct the interviews. This fall the Council will consider candidates for next year, the criterion being two men and two women representing diverse parts of the campus. Susan suggested setting up a recognizable email address for contacting candidates.
Other: The Homecoming information tables should include Cornerstone Caring Elder Care. Mike will ask the Hikel Award nominees if they wish to bring guests.
Adjourn: Louis moved, and Claire seconded a motion to adjourn. The vote was unanimous.