Fall has officially arrived with the weather turning colder and the trees turning to autumn orange and brown.  Don’t forget to turn your clocks the first Sunday in November.

    We went to the Region 2B Retirees Conference at Sawmill Creek, Huron, Ohio for an update on information that could be very helpful to all retirees.  Registration was Monday September 23rd from 9:00 – 9:50 A.M.  At 10:00 Ted Fleming opened the meeting.  Bill Thomas led us with a prayer for all of our deceased UAW brothers and sisters.  Mike Palmer, Region 2B Financial Secretary, led with the Pledge of Allegiance.  At 10:30 Mike Walden, President of National United Committee to Protect Pensions, talked about the stock market crash and how it affected people’s pensions and home mortgages.  He spoke about the Butch Louis Act and how it protected billions of dollars of working people’s pensions.

    At 11:30, Norm Wernert from Ohio Alliance for Retired Workers gave us the history of Social Security.  President FDR signed this bill so we could live out our life with dignity and respect.  Norm said there are 435 members in Congress when the Inflation Reduction Act was signed to reduce our pharmaceutical drugs 75% to 80%.  Our Social Security needs to be expanded and the best way is to raise the income max from $168,000 to $400,000 and not by raising the age to 70.

    After lunch Indiana Chairperson, Jim King gave us a demonstration on how to win an election.  He said in order to win you have to go after the people who either don’t vote or won’t vote.  Ohio Chairman, Bob Masterson ran down all the numbers of retirees in Florida, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.  We spent the rest of Monday with the nomination and voting for Region 2B Vice President to replace Charlie Shepherd who stepped down.  Monday ended at 4:15 P.M.

    Tuesday September 24th at 8:45 A.M. President Ted Fleming continued with the conference meeting by declaring Brenda Smith of Local 1111 as the winner of the Vice President Region 2B Election.  She was opposed by Ron Bendixon from Local 685. 

    NaDiyah Freeman briefed us on fall preventions that occur mostly with elderly senior citizens.  Being physically and socially active can help you to be independent.  You may need bathroom grab bars, walk in showers, raised toilets etc.  These are very helpful.  Exercise at least 30 minutes a day at moderate, intensity, five days a week.  Have your vision checked at least once a year and raise up out of your chair slowly to allow your blood pressure to adjust and prevent dizziness.  Then we all done some exercises to check our balance ability.

    At 10::07 A.M. Fatina Perkins the Director of Community Outreach and Advocacy on Area aging, said to do your best to stay in your homes and communities.  Home care and Assisted Living is the next option.  She covered the Seven dimensions of wellness which are Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Spiritual, Environmental, Social and Occupational.

    If you think you need help, don’t hesitate to ask for it.  Please be careful and we hope to see you at our November Retirees Meeting November 7th at 10:30 A.M.

 In solidarity,