In this Email:

• Important Announcement
• VRTA Spring Delegate Assembly Agenda
• VTRA Member Benefits Information
• Today’s Interest Rates
• Get Your Home and Auto Insurance Quotes
• Winding Down and Gearing Up

8:00—11:30 a.m. - Registration - Maudie Scott, Shenandoah Foyer

9:00—11:00 a.m. - Board of Directors - Parlor AB

11:00—12:00 p.m.-Members are asked to vacate Parlor AB while the hotel staff

prepares the room for Luncheon.

12:00—12:10 p.m.- Welcome - Jean Marrow, President

Invocation - Genell Smith

12:10—1:00 p.m.- Luncheon - Parlor AB

1:00—2:00 p.m. - Introduction - Bea Morris, Legislative Co-Chair

VRS Presentation - “VRS and You”

2:00—2:15 p.m.- Drawing for Door Prizes/Break

2:15—3:15 p.m.- VRTA Benefits - James DuBrueler, Jr., Advisor

Kevin McKannan, Glenloch Legal PLC

3:15—3:30 p.m.- Drawing for Door Prizes/Break

3:30—4:30 p.m.- Breakout Sessions

Introduction - Karen Whetzel, President-Elect

Topic/Presenter

Membership Funnel - Mable Scott - VRTA Vice President

Leadership - Bengamin McCartney - VRTA Parliamentarian

Community Service - Louise Mont-Adams - VRTA Community Service Chair

Treasurer's Tips - Weldon Martin - VRTA Treasurer

Announcements/Adjournment

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Parlor AB

Beginning at 8:00 a.m., breakfast biscuits, coffee and tea will be available in the Foyer.

8:00—8:50 a.m.- Registration - Maudie Scott, Shenandoah Foyer

8:50—9:00 a.m.- Welcome - Jean Marrow, President

Invocation - Mable Scott

Pledge of Allegiance & National Anthem - Louise Mont-Adams

9:00—10:00 a.m.- Introduction of Guest Speaker - Leg. Chair, Bea Morris

Guest Speaker, Justin Brown, Senior Associate Director at JLARC

“The Mystery of JLARC”

10:00—10:45 a.m.- Introduction of Speaker - Joyce Williams, AARP State President

Guest Speaker, Jessika Eglin, Associate State Director, Advocacy and Outreach AARP Virginia

“Social Security 101”

10:45—11:00 a.m. - Break

Business Session

11:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m.

Call to Order - Jean Marrow, President

Minutes - Reba Evans, Secretary

Treasurer’s Report - Weldon Martin, Treasurer

Committee Reports

Directory - Leigh McKay

Historical Records - Iva Foust

Membership - Mable Scott

Newsletter - Susan Martin

Technology/Communication - Nina McClanahan

Legislative- Bea Morris & Tina Whitaker, Bonnie Atwood, Lobbyist

VRTA Benefits - Larry Hardesty

Old Business - Jean Marrow

New Business - Jean Marrow

Nominating - Liz Goodson

Installation Ceremony - Jim Bradford, Mary Jane Multispaugh

Incoming President’s Speech - Karen S. Whetzel

Door Prizes - Door Prize Patrol

Adjourn - Jean Marrow

REMEMBER: Complete evaluation forms and leave name tags at the registration table. Please be as complete as possible in your evaluation. It is important for planning purposes!

If you ever wonder what it means to have VRTA benefits, visit the website – vrtabenefits.org to see what benefits are available to you.

Phone (540) 722-2529

Toll-Free (800) 467 5425

Email: savenow@creeksideadvisors.net

Christian Fernandez

540-722-2529

christianf@creeksideadvisors.net

Emily Simmers

540-722-2529

emilys@creeksideadvisors.net

Gena Young

540-722-2529

genay@creeksideadvisors.net

WINDING DOWN AND GEARING UP

As I write this on April 10, it looks as though the 2024 General Assembly Session is winding down and will end on time. The Governor has signed into law 777 bills, amended 116, and vetoed 153 of the 1,046 bills that were passed and sent to him by the GA. In his third year in office, Governor Youngkin has vetoed more bills than the previous seven governors vetoed in their four-year terms.

On April 17, the lawmakers will meet to consider the Governor’s action. Overturning a veto requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber, and since the Democrats have only a razor thin majority, it is unlikely that there would be enough Republicans to join them to overturn his veto in both the Senate and the House. If, by a majority vote, the legislature doesn’t accept an amendment by the Governor, he may veto the legislation. He has indicated that he will sign the budget bill. However, he has also made unprecedented amendments to the budget bill and has made drastic changes to legislation that will affect education funding. All this is heavy lifting for the scheduled one-day session. It is possible for the Governor to call a special session of the GA if he does not accept the action of the legislature. (Remember, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.)

While the General Assembly is winding up its 2024 Session on April 17, the VRTA Delegate Assembly will be winding up its two-day spring meeting. However, we will also be gearing up for the next biennium with the election of new officers and the inspiration of excellent speakers. The Legislative Committee will be seeking your thoughts about lobbying and the issues that are of most concern to you. Much of our research and planning are done in the summer for the coming year. We hope that individual members as well as units and districts, and especially unit and district legislative chairs, understand that all of them are a vital part of the VRTA legislative work. The state committee needs to hear from you about the issues that are important in your area, any unit and district goals you may have, and especially any way that we can assist you.

As our efforts are focused on state issues, we are fortunate to have AARP and NRTA working for us on the national level. The danger to both Social Security and Medicare is real and growing. Headlines and news stories are dominated by the current tragedies of war in Ukraine and the Middle East, natural disasters that wreak havoc on millions of people around the world, and the ubiquitous, often sensationalized, political reporting that courts ratings. Campaigning for national elections is heating up, and we must pay attention now to what candidates and legislators say about these two vital programs. Attention to these issues was evident in the presentations at the Advocacy Seminar held by AARP/NRTA last fall in Washington, D.C. Karen Whetzel, VRTA President-Elect, and Tina Whitaker, VRTA Legislative Co-Chair, attended this conference and will attest to the importance of not taking for granted that we will always have these wide-ranging benefits just because we have had them for many years. We are looking forward to AARP’s presentation on Social Security on Tuesday afternoon at the Delegate Assembly.

Becoming informed and voting wisely are also things that are never over.

Bea Morris 

VRTA Legislative Chairperson

Email: beam1340@verizon.net

Important VRTA Dates to Remember

April 16-17, 2024: Spring Delegate Assembly at the Doubletree in Richmond, VA.



June 30, 2024: Deadline for submitting VRTA Community Service report to Louise Mont-Adams, Chair (note Louise's new email address: montadamslouise@gmail.com )

June 30, 2024: Deadline for submitting VRTA Annual Report with new unit and district officers to Leigh McKay, Directory chair. A copy should also be sent to the district president and Daphne Miller, Awards Chair.

Both reports are available on the VRTA website: vrta.us

VRTA Fall Conference: Monday September 30, 2024, and Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at the Doubletree Midlothian in Richmond, Virginia. Watch for registration information for the conference and the hotel coming soon. Please note: this is a Monday and Tuesday to avoid the religious holiday on Wednesday.