Postponed for one week due to a forecasted blizzard, over 300 retirees still attended this year’s annual Christmas dinner held at St. Mary’s Visitation out in New Salem southwest of town. The ladies of the church prepared another delicious dinner and everyone had plenty to eat. There were some changes to the program as Bonni Reffitt was unable to attend on the rescheduled date due to a prior commitment, but Sue Levy from the Regional office stepped up to the plate and filled in. She was joined by Gerald Kariem, Assistant Director of Region 1-D, and our Local Union President Greg Golembiewski and Benefits Representative Lauri Veneman. Sean Tubbs from Rivertown Credit Union was also on hand to bring us Christmas greetings and $200 in door prizes. Thank you, Sean. While last year’s tone was one of concern for the future, this year’s event was on a much more upbeat note. But the highlight of the party was all the reminiscing done by the people who once spent every day with each other but since retirement seldom see one another.  

With the original date rescheduled because of the storm, it showed us the importance of us having your current telephone number on file at the hall. While we were able to have the postponement scrolled on all three TV stations, some of you did not see it. We were able to phone some of you on short notice, but not all. So, next year it is going to be mandatory for you to have a contact phone number for us in case we run into a similar situation. That way we can split the calling up between board members and not rely on you catching the news scrolling across the bottom of your TV.