March 2023 Minutes
UM President’s Council of Retired Employees
umaine.edu/retirees
March 3, 2023 (Revised)
8:15 AM
Buchanan Alumni House
Present: Thomas Sandford, Louis Bassano, Richard Borgman, David Bagley, Richard Judd, Rich Kent, Gail Werrbach, Sarah McPartland (ex-officio)
Council welcomed two new members: Gail and Brenda Collamore
Council approved February 3 minutes on motion by Dave and second by Louis; members introduced themselves to Gail.
Silver Tracks Newsletter: Rick Borgman explained that the Newsletter was coming along, with four pages of text. The President’s message is still forthcoming, but in lieu of this Rick can find information to fill. The foundation provided text and will update the distribution list. The Newsletter will mention the homecoming and will be issued sometime in mid-March or perhaps at the end of the month.
Retiree Homecoming: Rick announced that preparations are moving along smoothly. The event will be held on Friday, June 16, with Habib Dagher of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center as chief speaker. The Homecoming will feature two tours. After registration at 9:00-10:00, the Hikel Awards will be presented. Habib will provide a talk at about 11:00, and following the talk, lunch will be served. Jeff Mills will greet the attendees and award door prizes, and the tours to the Engineering building and the Composite Center’s printed house will begin at about 1:00 pm. The event will end at around 3:00. Rick has reserved a parking lot and has ordered coffee and lunch. We will need 20-22 organization tables. All Council members are urged to help out by arriving around 8:00 AM. Volunteers will need to assign tables, welcome attendees, and later to lead tours. The Council will have a table. We will need to confirm participants in May. Richard Judd volunteered to photograph the event.
Barbara Hikel Nomination: Sarah explained that HR sent out an email soliciting nominations, and there have been inquiries. Nominations will close March 10. Council will need to order a clock as an award and a brass plate for the clock. Rick will contact the President’s Office. Vacancies to Be Filled: Rich Kent sent out notes to the Machias faculty and staff, but there have been no returns yet. If a person volunteers, Rick or the council will nominate him/her. The new member would be approved by the Council and recommend to the President’s Office. Any retired person would be eligible. Louis contacted Cooperative Extension, and one person is considering joining the Council. Tom contacted Mazie Hough, but she is too busy. However, she would be willing to mentor the All Maine Women Oral Histories project. The Council discussed a new Council position for Honors. Rick will check with Diane Dunn at the President’s Office about this. Currently, the Council needs a member at large, two classified members, and one professional.
Retiree Stories and Survey of Retirees: Louis mentioned a survey of retirees he saw on a Southern University of New York website, and the Council discussed means of engaging retirees more effectively, perhaps using Cooperative Extension to find ways in which retirees could use their expertise in volunteering on campus or in the community. Hannah Carter, Dean of Cooperative Extension, might be willing to help with a survey of retirees. Council discussed a possible program to bring retirees back to campus, perhaps using models from other universities in the Northeast. Cooperative Extension might serve as a model for the rest of the campus, perhaps using resources from the President’s Office. The Council will ask Hannah if she would put together a survey asking what kinds of programs would bring retirees or retiree-volunteers back to campus. Perhaps the Bodwell Center could help link retirees with volunteer opportunities. Sarah suggested bringing someone from Bodwell Center to our next meeting. (Bodwell has only one staff person and some graduate assistants.) The Center on Aging has a Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (Lisa Morin). First, the Council would need the survey to show the President’s Office that there is interest in volunteering or in other retiree-oriented programs (classes perhaps). The Council will bring someone from Bodwell and perhaps the President’s Office to the next meeting to see what we all have in common. Tom will invite Lisa Morin to the next meeting. Gail will contact the Center on Aging.
Retiree Stories: Rick thought stories of maybe 500-600 words, perhaps with photo, would fit into the Newsletter. The Council could perhaps post an appeal on the web page; what have you been doing since you retired?
Retiree Schooner Trip: Tom is moving ahead with the outing aboard the Schooner Olad, which is 48 feet long and has a capacity of 22 people. The event will be held September 14 beginning at 9:45. Passengers will need to arrive 30 minutes before debarkation from the Camden Public Landing. Tom will provide a map for parking. The trip will last two hours (9:45-11:45). The schooner was built in 1927 and is refurbished. It has been in Camden since the 1980s. Registration will be on a first-come-first-served basis, and will cost $55 per person. Spouses/partners are welcome. Attendees can register by email to Tom. The Council will need to set up a registration form on the web site for both the schooner trip and for homecoming.
Retiree Geographic Distribution: Thomas used data on the mailing list sent out last year to determine the distribution of UM retirees. There were around 1,380 names on the list last year, and it now includes about 1,600 (minus deceased). They are spread across 34 states and three foreign countries, with the majority (800 last year; now 900) living within 10-15 miles of campus. This suggests that Homecoming may fill up the Wells Conference Center. The Council may have to limit registration, although this has not been a problem in past, with about 150 attendees including people from the tables. Tom also did an age distribution, with retiree numbers peaking at around 70-74. Sarah mentioned that we have access to an increasing number of email addresses (around 800) and perhaps individuals could be contacted in this fashion.
Motion to adjourn: David and Rick.