District Community Connections

Tracie Eubank on October 9, 2023

LivingPower September/October 2023

By Deryl Davis Fulmer

Members attending the September NCRGEA Fall Conference in Greenville

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

Building a North Carolina for the Future

Tracie Eubank on October 8, 2023

LivingPower September/October 2023

By Tim O’Connell


Much of this legislative season has focused on a few key policy areas but none more than healthcare and education. As the debate on various bills related to these topics filled the lawmakers’ calendars, North Carolina received the nation’s topic ranking for its business climate by CNBC for the second year in a row. This pinnacle of recognition provides a vantage point to look back to understand how we earned this ranking and simultaneously look forward to how we must use it to shape our future — a future that includes a dramatic change in our population.

The NC Office of State Budget and Management data shows that over the next 15 years, the population of those over 65 will swell to 2.7 million. That is 1 million more than the current number in this age group. To give context to this number, imagine every single person living in Cumberland County, Mecklenburg County, and Wake County as 65 or older. Returning to the state’s top business ranking, there are many to thank for this status: our lawmakers over the decades, entrepreneurial innovators, small business owners, and you, as a retired government employee, who laid the foundation during your working career. The roads you built, the students you educated, the communities you protected, the workforce training programs you delivered, the parks and recreation programs you provided, the economic development you fostered, the healthcare services you administered, the building permits you issued, and on and on, making North Carolina an attractive option for businesses to thrive.

In his book North Carolina Beyond the Connected Age: The Tarheel State in 2050, economist Mike Walden provides a budgetarily descriptive view of a potential “generational clash” between funding education for our youth and funding the healthcare needed to serve the increased demand for North Carolina’s over-65 population. Clearly, as successful as North Carolina is in business, it has the opportunity to lead the nation in successfully educating its younger people and successfully providing care for its older population. We are fortunate to live in a state where leading industries are healthcare, pharmaceutical research, education, and technology — giving our political leaders, government entities, and business communities a head start in bringing resources together to address this future, with much less chance of a “clash” if we so choose.

You now have an important role in advocating for this future with your elected leaders and potential supporting agencies. I encourage you all to familiarize yourself and get involved with the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services’ comprehensive initiative called All Ages, All Stages NC: A Roadmap for Aging and Living Well. Key areas of the plan include Strengthening Communities for a Lifetime, Optimizing Healthcare, Supporting Older Adults and Their Families, and Affording Aging. All of these areas are ones that NCRGEA directly or indirectly supports and lobbies for on your behalf at the legislature.

I invite you to visit the website for All Ages, All Stages NC to find more details, including how to easily fill out an online form to join a stakeholder workgroup.

You were an integral part of building North Carolina into what it is today. Now you have an opportunity to continue that building by contributing your wisdom and expertise as you advocate for North Carolina’s future.

Hitting the Road with NCRGEA

Tracie Eubank on September 11, 2023

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!

REGISTER HERE FOR LOCAL MEETINGS!

A Message from Executive Director Tim O’Connell

Tracie Eubank on August 30, 2023

August 30, 2023


Today, I write to you as our state prepares for the advent of Hurricane Idalia. We North Carolinians are not strangers to such events. Many of our NCRGEA members played significant past roles in developing emergency preparedness plans, participating in rescue operations and frequently working through long and stressful recovery efforts in their communities — even when their own residences and families were impacted. Our thoughts are with all the current public service employees charged with these responsibilities in North Carolina and beyond with this pending weather event.

I encourage you to monitor the tracking of #HurricaneIdalia through your preferred weather information source and review the information provide by the State of North Carolina at www.readync.gov.

Wishing everyone the most positive outcome, and once again express our gratitude to the public service staff who will be working on behalf of us all with Hurricane Idalia’s projected path toward North Carolina.

Sincerely,

Tim O’Connell
NCRGEA Executive Director
www.NCRGEA.com

Local Outreach | District 8 @ Raleigh NC

Tracie Eubank on August 22, 2023

October 11, 2023 @ 9:30 am – 11:00 am

NCRGEA is back on the road with seven in-person meetings and we are fortunate to have our good friends from the NC Department of Insurance’s Senior Health Information Insurance Program (SHIIP) to advise on your open enrollment processes and our representatives from AMBA to offer information on supplemental dental and vision programs. These meetings will be a great opportunity to get your questions answered by subject matter experts.

Location:

Five Points Center For Active Adults | 2000 Noble Rd. | Raleigh NC 27608

Interested in attending? Click the Register Now button or call 919-834-4652 or 1-800-356-1190. For further information, please email info@rgea.info.

FREE

RGEA

(919) 834-4652

View Organizer Website

Local Outreach | District 8 @ Raleigh NC

Tracie Eubank on August 22, 2023

October 10, 2023 @ 9:30 am – 11:00 am

NCRGEA is back on the road with seven in-person meetings and we are fortunate to have our good friends at the Humana Neighborhood Center advise on your open enrollment processes and our representatives from AMBA to offer information on supplemental dental and vision programs. These meetings will be a great opportunity to get your questions answered by subject matter experts.

Location:

Humana Neighborhood Center | 4430 Fayetteville Rd. | Raleigh NC 27603

Interested in attending? Click the Register Now button or call 919-834-4652 or 1-800-356-1190. For further information, please email info@rgea.info.

FREE

RGEA

(919) 834-4652

View Organizer Website

Local Outreach | District 8 @ Raleigh NC

Tracie Eubank on August 22, 2023

October 10, 2023 @ 6:00 am – 7:30 am

NCRGEA is back on the road with seven in-person meetings and we are fortunate to have our good friends at the Humana Neighborhood Center advise on your open enrollment processes and our representatives from AMBA to offer information on supplemental dental and vision programs. These meetings will be a great opportunity to get your questions answered by subject matter experts.

Location:

Humana Neighborhood Center | 4430 Fayetteville Rd. | Raleigh NC 27603

Interested in attending? Click the Register Now button or call 919-834-4652 or 1-800-356-1190. For further information, please email info@rgea.info.

FREE

RGEA

(919) 834-4652

View Organizer Website

COMBINED with 12:30p.m. event : Local Outreach | District 3 @ Winston-Salem NC

Tracie Eubank on August 22, 2023

October 5, 2023 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm

NCRGEA is back on the road with seven in-person meetings and we are fortunate to have our good friends at the Humana Neighborhood Center advise on your open enrollment processes and our representatives from AMBA to offer information on supplemental dental and vision programs. These meetings will be a great opportunity to get your questions answered by subject matter experts.

Location:

Humana Neighborhood Center | Hanes Commons Shopping Center, 1045 Hanes Mall Blvd. | Winston-Salem NC 27103

Interested in attending? Click the Register Now button or call 919-834-4652 or 1-800-356-1190. For further information, please email info@rgea.info.

FREE

RGEA

(919) 834-4652

View Organizer Website