Newsletter of Watauga County Retired School Personnel
Vol.XVI, No.3 December 2013__________________ntn1066@
December Meeting
Noon, Thursday, December 19, 2013
Deerfield Methodist Church
Cost per meal is $10, payable to Watauga Unit, NCRSP
Program: Music – lovely, seasonal music under the direction of Sondra Edwards
To make your reservation: Just let your caller know that you will attend. IF YOUR CALLER HASN’T CALLED BY SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, PLEASE PHONE MARGARET AT 264-2036.” SHE MUST REPORT SHORTLY AFTER THAT SO THAT GEORGE CAN ORDER THE FOOD FOR US.
To bring: as much non-perishable food as you can for the Hunger Coalition. Powdered milk, soup, oatmeal, pasta products, canned fruit and vegetables, ANY thing non-perishable will be acceptable. Did you know that more than 300 children receive food on Fridays to feed themselves during the weekend? PLEASE help.
Also to bring: a new or gently read children’s book for distribution to the children in this county through the Santa’s Toy Box Program. DO NOT bring books that have been marked in. We’re honoring the legacy of Dr. Seuss and the Read Across America program he loved. On that subject, if you would like to volunteer to read to kids, select an appropriate volume, put the first week of March on your calendar, and call your favorite elementary school – AND, AND, AND –
all your loose change. We want our scholarship program to continue, and for that to happen, we need all those lovely, noisy nickels and dimes and quarters.
DON’T FORGET: After our lunch, you will be able to purchase a second meal to take home for $5. As good as George’s food is, imagine how much you’ll enjoy sharing with a friend or spouse or having your own dinner already prepared!
President’s Message
It may seem cliché to talk about thankfulness at this time of year, but I know many of you have heard me say how blessed I am to have been able to spend my career doing what I love and having the opportunity to share what I love with so many others. I was in 11th grade at Watauga High when I suddenly realized what I wanted to do with my life. Watching Otis Strother as he attempted to guide us through the concepts of balance and phrasing, I said to myself, “That! I want to do that!”
Of course, I soon discovered that there was much more to being a teacher than just playing music. The first few years were difficult, but as I tried to teach the kids, they also taught me. Somewhere along the line, I realized that the plaques on the wall were not the most important part of my job. After about a dozen years or so, I stopped always describing myself as a “Band Director” and very proudly called myself “Teacher”. Funny thing was, we received even more plaques after that.
And now, as I am blessed to know and work with you. You, my fellow teachers, love the kids too, and care enough about our profession to keep making a difference. Please know that I not only thank you but also am thankful for you – and wish you the happiest holiday season ever.
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Keeping in Touch, All about Us
A note arrived recently from J Lou Carpenter’s daughter Kim. Because so many of us were/are students or friends or colleagues, the following information may be of interest to you.
J Lou and Bill moved to Taylor Glen Baptist Home in Concord about 10 years ago. After Bill’s death, she moved into the health care wing of Taylor Glen, where Kim visits regularly. She remembers her time in Boone and the friends she made here with great fondness.
If you would like to send her a card or a note, her address is
J Lou Carpenter
3700 Taylor Glen Lane
Health Care
Concord, NC 28027
If you are in the area and would like to visit, Taylor Glen is about one mile from Lowe's Motor Speedway.
We’re also pleased to note that R.G. Shipley was honored at the recent North Carolina State Fair. Don’t you just KNOW he has one enormous room in his home papered with the wonderful recognitions he and Agnes have received, every single one of them richly deserved.
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½ cp Bisquick
¾ cp sugar
4 eggs
2 cps milk
1 3 ½-oz can coconut
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp softened butter
1. Butter a 9-inch pie pan.
2. Combine all ingredients.
3. Pour into pie pan and bake at 400 degrees 25-30 minutes.
4. Ingredients will settle into crust, custard, and coconut topping.
With much appreciation to Mary Linda Dooley and her 20+ volunteers, the Watauga Unit of NCRSP hosted a very successful District 3 convention in late October at the First Presbyterian Church of Boone. Approximately seventy members of District 3 were in attendance, and to no one’s surprise, our unit won the award for the most members present.
Highlights of the meeting included an informative presentation on the new health care plans available to current and retired state employees presented by ASU Acting Director of Human Resources, Angie Miller. Angie took the time to answer attendees’ questions. Joe Shannon, accompanied by NCRSP member Beth Winkler, shared his musical talents on the accordian, dulcimer, and harmonica. Special guest speaker Terry Mitchell, VP of the state NCRSP, reiterated the issues and problems of teachers today and let us know that our only course of action is to contact our legislators and vote in local, regional, and national elections.
Next year we will be meeting in Mitchell County – and thanks again to Mary Linda, her team, and everyone in the Watauga Unit who made this event such a success.
(In Honor of Dr. Seuss) Think left and think right
If you are on the unit’s email list, you have already received this notice and, we hope, have already planned to make your donation. If this information is new to you, please read carefully.
At the direction of the NCRSP Administrative Council, our state president, John Hoffman, has announced a 2014 NCRSP Outreach Project in connection with the next NCRSP state convention to be held in March in Hickory. The project itself is a way to reach out to the victims of Super-Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in early November 2013, especially the children.
Our donations will help to provide shelter, food, medical attention, and more of the basic human needs of children and their parents. To contribute, please make a check payable to the American Red Cross and mark Typhoon Haiyan Relief in the memo line. Bring your check to our meeting in December or mail it to Dot Barker, 451 Poplar Hill Dr., Boone NC 28607. Again, write “Typhoon Haiyan Relief” on the memo line.
If you wish to donate after our December meeting, you may take your check to the local Red Cross Chapter or mail it to American Red Cross National Headquarters, 2025 E. St., NW, Washington DC 20006, but PLEASE let Dot know what you are sending. She is responsible for keeping a record of our donations and making a report at the state convention.
Our plea once again is that you cast aside unnecessary modesty in the name of helping both the Watauga Unit of NCRSP and NCRSP itself. Keeping up with the dozens of ways in which each of us volunteers in our community is not vanity; it is simple record-keeping, and it may well be the kind of record-keeping that convinces our legislators of just how valuable we are to the schools in North Carolina.
Please, please, please compute the time you spend helping out in our area, record those hours in the enclosed form, and bring that form with you to the meeting.
Bring your completed form to the December meeting or mail it to Eula Mae Fox, 199 Watauga Dr., Boone NC 28607, by December 31.
NCRSP Community Participation - Volunteer Hours 2013
Name _____________________________
Category
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Jan
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Feb
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Mar
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Apr
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May
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Jun
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Jul
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Aug
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Sep
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Oct
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Nov
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Dec
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Total
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Education
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Other
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Total Hours in All Categories ________
If you have some skill, beginner-level absolutely acceptable, perhaps you would be interested in one of these crochet or knit projects to keep your hands busy and your lap warm this winter.
The Red Scarf Project, red scarves for foster kids
Size: approximately 60” long and 5” to 8” wide. Scarves should be long enough to be wrapped around the neck, with tails long enough to be tied in the front.
Style: Think unisex collegiate. Fringes are optional. Your scarf should drape, tie easily, and be soft.
Color: Red! Burgundy, cherry, russet, red stripes with other colors, or multicolor hues including red are all acceptable.
Finished & tagged: Yarn ends should be securely sewn in. For a personal touch, attach a tag saying “Handmade for You” with your first name, city, and group affiliation, if any. Donors have also included washing instructions, messages of encouragement, gift cards, and more.
Mail to: Foster Care to Success, Red Scarf Project
21351 Gentry Drive Suite 130
Sterling, VA 20166
21351 Gentry Drive Suite 130
Sterling, VA 20166
NOTE: Scarves are accepted between September 1 and December 15 annually. As we have limited storage space, please send your scarves only during this time period.
The handmade red scarves in each of our Valentine’s Day care packages become treasured keepsakes that our students wear for years. The Red Scarf Project offers a unique opportunity to use your creativity to give a truly personal gift to one student as he or she moves forward to graduation and a brighter future.
Knit Your Bit, scarves for veterans in our VA hospitals
Knit Your Bit asks that the scarves be knit, crocheted, or sewn in male-friendly colors. May the veteran who receives it wear it in good health.
Send your scarf to: The National World War II Museum. Knit Your Bit Campaign, 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130.
Looking for a unique and simple way to make a difference to education? Go to www.donorschoose.org (that’s org, not com), a site where teachers across the nation can post the needs they have in their own classroom. Donate a little or a lot. Donate in honor or in memory of a colleague, your kids’ teachers, or even one of your own mentors in education. Click through your choices, select one close to heart, and remember how you felt when you provided your own books, pencils, bulletin board materials, videos, recordings, and on and on and on.
