In their first-ever virtual annual meeting, some 335 NEA-Retired delegates, representing more than 320,000 members, elected new and familiar faces to serve as NEA-Retired leaders. This year’s meeting, held June 29 – 30, was conducted remotely, as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted communities across the United States. Voting was conducted by mail, with results announced in August.
Sarah Borgman of Indiana was reelected to her second three-year term as president of NEA-Retired. Leading the organization since 2017, Borgman has worked to keep members engaged, involved, and informed. Her goals early on were to develop meaningful partnerships, to help members feel a deeper sense of ownership over their association work, and to try innovative ideas.
Borgman held true to her words. She developed better communication systems through her monthly “President to President” newsletter—which goes out to all NEA-Retired state presidents and staff—and her “Sarah Says” column, included in the newsletters of many state retired groups. She has created opportunities for members to serve on virtual committees—way before the coronavirus made “virtual” a buzzword! Moreover, she has placed an emphasis on fundraising for the NEA Fund for Children and Education, NEA’s political action committee (PAC), by recruiting state retired PAC captains and continuously reaching out to all members. This past year, NEA-Retired raised nearly $100,000 more than the previous year!
Clearly, her efforts are making a difference. “One of my proudest moments was when several staff and top leaders said more than once, ‘We can tell NEA-Retired is in the house!’” Borgman says. “I’ve worked hard to build relationships, and it wasn’t difficult, as I’ve had so much support from staff and NEA leadership.”
Building on a strong history
NEA-Retired members are certainly a force. The group was created by 49 educators in 1983. Since then, the organization has led the way on Social Security, Medicare, and pension protection. NEA-Retired has also worked to loosen the shackles of the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision in U.S. law, which together deprive nearly 9 million public service workers of Social Security benefits they have earned. Today, NEA-Retired represents 354,000 members.
Borgman’s goal for 2020 – 2021 centers on membership. While some states already have an excellent membership program, and a few states have continuous membership, many states need a structured plan. Borgman will work toward developing a specific membership drive and will engage with state presidents to help grow membership.
Borgman adds that she is committed to making NEA-Retired a viable, contributing membership category in the NEA family. “I have retired leadership to help, absolutely the best immediate staff supporting and assisting, and over 320,000 members to be part of that team!” she says.
New members of the NEA-Retired Executive Council
The NEA-Retired Executive Council is made up of the president, vice president, and secretary of NEA-Retired, as well as six elected NEA-Retired members. This year, in addition to the presidency, two Executive Council seats were up for election. New to the team are: Tom Wellman, of Las Vegas, Nev., who spent 32 years as a classroom teacher and counselor; and JoAnn Smith-Mashburn, of Odenville, Alabama, who was a classroom teacher for 10 years and a library media specialist for 25 years.
