Join RGEA for March for Meals
Volunteer with RGEA during Community Champions Week, March 16-20, and support Meals on Wheels NC.
Reasons to Get Involved with an RGEA CAB
Stay connected and get involved with RGEA by joining your local Community Advisory Board.
Table Traditions
Take a peek inside Table Traditions, our 2025 RGEA cookbook featuring member-contributed recipes, memories, and holiday favorites.
Public Service Award Given to Martha Sue Hall
RGEA is proud to honor Martha Sue Hall of Albemarle with the Vann Langston Public Service Award for her extraordinary service to her community and to North Carolina.
Seeking Nominations for the Vann Langston Public Service Award
RGEA is accepting nominations for the 2025 Vann Langston Public Service Award.
Bennett Place | Durham NC
With a chorus of thousands of cicadas singing in the background, 47 NCRGEA members from District 4 toured the site where the last surrender of a major Confederate army in the American Civil War, Bennett Place.
The tour, organized by District 4’s Community Advisory Board (CAB) and coordinated by co-chair’s Ed McBride and Regi Taylor, was part of NCRGEA’s CAB Community Engagement program.
Members learned about the Bennett family and how their home became the site of Confederate General Johnston’s surrender of more than 89,000 soldiers to Union General Sherman effectively ended the war. This all took place after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia.
If you are an NCRGEA member and have an idea on what your district could do, contact Deryl Davis Fulmer, NCRGEA Community Liaison. You can find out about activities under the “Districts” webpage.
NCRGEA 2024 Spring Conference
NCRGEA welcomes our members, pre-retirees and guests to Raleigh on Monday or Tuesday | April 1 or 2 for our Spring Conference! The venue space is limited, so we are offering the event again on Tuesday. Please choose which date works best for you.
We’ll have free continental breakfast to enjoy as you attend our morning sessions, which include:
- “Medicare and Healthcare” by CenterWell
- “Local Landscaping Tips” by NC Cooperative Extension
- “Brain Fitness” by Brookdale Senior Living
There will be many vendors at information tables to answer your questions and provide one-on-one assistance. Giveaways will occur during the day!
Breakout sessions for state and local government retirees will be held to provide updates on your benefits. Candidates for State Treasurer will speak; this is the office that manages the pension for our retirees. Our current State Treasurer will discuss the current news from their office, and presentations will be given by the State Employees Credit Union, the Local Government Federal Credit Union, as well as CenterWell and AMBA.
Door prizes will occur throughout the presentations!
We will have a catered lunch that is free, and we hope you bring a guest to also enjoy this day of fun! They will also attend free~
District Community Connections
LivingPower September/October 2023
By Deryl Davis Fulmer
Dear Fellow Retirees,
Can you believe it? Fall is already here! The year has flown by; before we know it, it will be Christmas.
Please make sure you send us your holiday recipes, desserts, or drinks that you have enjoyed over the
years and want to share. We will publish our first NCRGEA Digital Holiday Recipe Book on November
3rd, just in time to enjoy it during the holidays. Be a part of this exciting and new activity and show off your culinary skills! Here’s the link: www.rgea.info/submit-a-recipe.
In June, we launched our first Virtual Lunch and Learn webinars, developed to share important topics that will help you to navigate retirement, understand aging concerns, and have information at your fingertips to improve your quality of life. It was held via Zoom on Wednesday, June 28th, from 12:30-
1:30 pm. It was entitled: Aging Un-Lonely: Staying Connected for your Health. Over 330 members
registered, and over 90 attended. Dr. Megan Smith, UNC-Charlotte; Dr. Cheryl Greenberg, AARP/The Age Coach; and Ms. Rebecca Freeman, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS/DHHS) gave the audience useful tools to help with isolation and loneliness. They encouraged participants to reach out to them if they had questions and/or needed resources. It was a great event and start to our Lunch
and Learn series.
On July 18th, AMBA representative, Jon Green, talked about the benefits of AMBA and the Passport Discount that is part of the NCRGEA membership packet. Members really enjoyed learning about these benefits and immediately began to access them. On August 16th, our third Lunch and Learn was about Aetna’s upcoming role as the third-party administrator for the state’s Health Care Plan. More than 370 members signed up for this informative session, and they asked a lot of questions. Our members are requesting more of these educational presentations, so the Lunch and Learns are currently scheduled as a monthly event on Wednesdays from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Please watch for the logo and be sure to register to attend. NCRGEA sends information and registration instructions to your email, so it is important that we have your email address. We encourage you to invite friends (members and non-members) to join these events. If you need to provide or update your email address, please send that information to info@ rgea.info or call our office at 919-834-4652.
In early July, I had the opportunity to attend the CenterWell Primary Care service launch for Medicare patients who live in Durham and surrounding areas. CenterWell is the largest of such services in the US and has locations in other parts of NC as well. Tiffany Roberts, the new market president, stated, “We are truly delighted to bring CenterWell Senior Primary Care to the Raleigh/ Durham community. Seniors live at the heart of CenterWell’s mission, to deliver personalized care that isn’t rushed, with a dedicated care team that is accessible and focuses on the unique physical, emotional, and social wellness needs of seniors.” For more information about CenterWell Senior Primary Care or to schedule a tour, visit seniorfocusednc.com.
We’ve heard from many of you, and you are interested in securing part-time employment. The Governor’s “Hometown Strong Initiative: Empowering Rural North Carolina” (featured in the July/August edition) may be what you are seeking. Please visit their website: hometownstrong.nc.gov, for more information. Be sure to check it out.
If you are interested in volunteering, please remember the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program and Meals on Wheels programs in your area. These organizations are always in need of volunteers across the state!
If you are in Wake County, please consider volunteering for the Center for Volunteer Caregiving. Your help is needed!
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at deryl@rgea.info. Please let me know if you want to join your district’s Community Advisory Board (CAB). And finally, if you are a new retiree, please consider joining NCRGEA and become active with us!
Happy Fall, everyone!
Deryl
Hitting the Road with NCRGEA
Hello North Carolina local government and state retirees! North Carolina Retired Governmental
Employees’ Association’s in-person Local Outreach Meetings are continuing in 2024.
NCRGEA is fortunate to have our good friends from the NC Department of Insurance’s Senior Health Information Insurance Program [SHIIP] attend and provide advise on your state and local government retirement processes. These meetings will be a great opportunity to get your questions answered by subject matter experts. Pre-retirees and retirees are welcome! Mark your calendars!
Fun for Forsyth County members!
Do you know how to play pool or would like to learn the game,
all for FREE?
Well, we have a great deal for you! Shepherd’s Center of Winston-Salem has collaborated with Break Time Billiards and Sports Bar to offer this opportunity. This is a great way to get out of the house and socialize a bit. And, food is there for purchase at Break Time!
In order to participate, you only need to meet the following requirements:
1. Must be at least 65 years of age.
2. Live in Forsyth County.
3. Must get free tickets from Break Time Billiards or Shepherd’s Center.
4. Must take ticket to Break Time Billiard’s counter to receive your free lessons and to play pool. Sign in sheet is at the counter.
Once you have your ticket, you can play during program hours:
Monday–Thursday from 4–6:00pm
Friday from 12–6:00pm
NCRGEA member and District 3 Community Advisory Board (CAB) member, Robin Kelly, is a certified pool instructor and he is there to greet you. To schedule lessons, call Robin at: 336-466-0683. He instructs during program times and is excited to work with you and teach a sport he loves.
For additional information regarding the program, please contact Shepherd’s Center at 336-748-0217.
No doubt, this is a great opportunity to stay active and engaged! We are hoping that you will take advantage and enjoy mingling with others around this sport! NCRGEA membership is not required, so please include your retired friends. Robin may ask you to pose for a picture for our newsletter.
The info flyer is available here, and as always, if you have any questions, please email deryl@NCRGEA.com or phone 919.834.4652 or 1.800.356.1190.
Deryl Davis Fulmer
NCRGEA Community Liaison