President Dick Wilken’s Message
Greetings. I hope you are having a great summer.
We are looking forward to returning to in-person General Member meetings at the War Memorial Building on July 12th. We are still asking those attending our in-person meetings to show proof of vaccination upon entering. Masking is optional. Since I will be out of town, Vice President Mike Bresnahan will chair the July meeting.
As I write this, the final donation totals for our REA Summer Virtual Food Drive is not yet available. Based upon our previous virtual Food Bank drives, I am optimistic we will reach our goal. For the many of you that donated this year, thank you for your generosity, again demonstrating that REA members are ‘Still Serving the Community.’
We are very pleased to roll out Online REA Membership Applications on our website. This significant project was headed by Vice President Mike Bresnahan and Webmaster Mary Ann Stepnowsky. We contracted with our partner, SDPEBA, for the application programming and with our Web Developer, Edward Kado for modifications to our web site. This new capability will help us grow our membership by greatly simplifying the process for applying for membership and authorizing SDCERS to deduct REA dues from our pension payments. For those not online or preferring to go ‘old school,’ we will also use physical forms. Our thanks to the Online Membership Application Project Team members.
Last month we presented our members with a new REA membership benefit, DayTripper Tours. We are now bringing two additional excellent benefits to our members starting July 1: Osher @ SDSU, a non-profit education program for adult learners. And BenefitHub, a web-based Discount Marketplace which provides numerous discounts and deals. Thanks to REA Board Members Stacey LoMedico and Chris Brewster for taking the lead in bringing these opportunities to REA. Read more information on these below and visit the new Benefits Tab on our website.