{"id":2059,"date":"2026-10-29T10:08:34","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/retirees\/?p=2059"},"modified":"2026-10-29T10:08:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T14:08:35","slug":"september-2026-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/retirees\/2026\/10\/29\/september-2026-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"September 2026 Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>President\u2019s Council of Retired Employees<br>Friday 11 September 2026 at 8:15 am<br>Foster Board Room, 3rd Floor, Buchanan Alumni House and Zoom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Members:<\/strong> Louis Bassano, Gail Dyer-Martin, Michael Eckardt, Cindy Eves-Thomas (Website editor), Richard Judd (Secretary), Richard Kent, Jennifer Perry, Thomas Sandford (Chair), Claire Strickland, Althea Tibbetts <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ex Officio Members:<\/strong> Sarah McPartland-Good, Taylor Defa. Taylor introduced James Pete, Chief of Staff, who expressed a willingness to hear the Council\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Approval of Minutes of 5 Jun 2026:<\/strong> Louis moved, and Mike seconded approval of the previous meeting\u2019s minutes. Unanimous consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Membership:<\/strong> Rick Borgman will be stepping down from the committee. The Council passed a resolution thanking Rick for his lengthy service. The Council will need a representative from the Business College; Tom will contact the Dean. Mike nominated Louis for the position of Vice Chair, and Cindy seconded the motion. Louis agreed to serve and was unanimously voted to the position. Cindy\u2019s term expires this year and announced she will be stepping away from the Council at the end of the year. Cindy recommended the Council work with the web office if a replacement with web experience cannot be found. Cindy will explore options with the web office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hikel Award:<\/strong> Tom advised the Council to move quickly in sending out a call for nominations. Council affirmed November 13 as a due date for nominations. Sarah will have the President\u2019s Office send out announcements by October 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Silver Tracks Newsletter:<\/strong> Between now and the October meeting Council members should be thinking about possible feature articles for the Newsletter. Suggestions included a survey of research grants across the university or an article on the new composite center and its contract for printing houses for unhoused individuals. The Dean of Engineering is overseeing the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Retiree Homecoming:<\/strong> Council discussed options for a speaker at the Homecoming. Mike suggested Lisa Morin, Bodwell Center Coordinator might be willing to discuss the Black Bear exchange food pantry, Mike confirmed that Lisa is a good speaker and suggested that retirees should be made aware of the University stepping up to help with food insecurity. Gail suggested someone from the School of Food and Agriculture might be willing to discuss less expensive food items and cheaper nutritious recipes, given the affordability crisis. Louis suggested Beth Calder, and would be willing to contact her. Council discussed the possibility of featuring two speakers at Homecoming, or a breakout group as one of the tour options (perhaps with a tour). Claire mentioned asking retirees to bring a food item to donate. Tom will check on a date for the Homecoming; Mike will get a commitment from Lisa; and Louis will contact Beth. The Council discussed as other tours the new Composite Center and\/or the Aquaculture Research Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Retiree Interviews:<\/strong> Tom has not heard from the All Maine Women group about interviews. He will contact them. Council will need to suggest two faculty and two non-faculty. The Council will discuss the matter at an upcoming meeting, including possibilities for two non-faculty members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Retiree Outing:<\/strong> Council will determine an outing before publication of the Newsletter. Louis mentioned that feedback from the Camden schooner tour a few years past was very positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Athletic and Collins Center Events:<\/strong> The Gold Card packets are arriving too late for retirees to make informed decisions, and Council members expressed concern that the process of obtaining tickets and parking passes is not at all clear. Sending information to retirees should be a priority for the President\u2019s Office. Taylor explained that the office is revamping the system. This raised the issue of having a representative from the President\u2019s Office regularly taking part in our meetings, providing updates on important issues, and including the Council in relevant university affairs. Council suggested that members should be on the mailing list from President\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other Initiatives:<\/strong> Council discussed inviting President Ferrini-Mundy to a Council meeting. Council will discuss a possible agenda for a meeting in October. Members pointed out that the Council represents all parts of the university with an enormous fund of experience. As a council convened by the President, it could be made more useful. The Council discussed the possibility of asking various administrators to attend a meeting and provide updates on various aspects of university life. Taylor tentatively scheduled the President for the November 6 meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Adjourn:<\/strong> Claire moved, and Althea seconded adjournment. Vote was unanimous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"9\" class=\"wp-block-list\"><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President\u2019s Council of Retired EmployeesFriday 11 September 2026 at 8:15 amFoster Board Room, 3rd Floor, Buchanan Alumni House and Zoom Members: Louis Bassano, Gail Dyer-Martin, 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, Taylor Defa. Taylor introduced James [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2337,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-minutes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>September 2026 Minutes - President&#039;s Council of Retired Employees - University of Maine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/retirees\/2026\/10\/29\/september-2026-minutes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"September 2026 Minutes - President&#039;s Council of Retired Employees - University of Maine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President\u2019s Council of Retired EmployeesFriday 11 September 2026 at 8:15 amFoster Board Room, 3rd Floor, Buchanan Alumni House and Zoom Members: Louis Bassano, Gail Dyer-Martin, 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, Taylor Defa. 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