Dear Fellow NARFE Member: 

Federal workers know the value of service – and no service is greater than that of the brave men and women who have died for our country. 

No matter where you served your federal career, it is likely your life has been touched by those who selflessly defend our country. So, to honor our fallen soldiers’ sacrifice this Memorial Day, we’re asking NARFE members to join us in recognizing these national heroes in our communities across the country.

Will you write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper sharing why you’re saluting our fallen heroes this Memorial Day? It only takes a few minutes. First, look up your local newspaper and submit the letter online by clicking here. You can also look up contact information on the editorial page or website of your local newspaper.

Your letter should include a few sentences from the heart about how much our troops’ work and sacrifice mean to you, or about a soldier whose memory you’re honoring. I’ve included a sample letter to the editor below to get you started.

Letter to the Editor Example

Memorial Day is about more than summer road trips and mattress sales. 

For years, I served our country alongside my fellow federal workers. In addition to serving every American, one of the federal workforce’s greatest responsibilities is to support and equip our nation’s men and women in uniform. My civil servant colleagues and I felt a great responsibility to provide for our troops, and we mourned each time we learned of a fallen soldier.

So to me, Memorial Day is sacred. On behalf of America’s federal workers – half of whom work directly with our nation’s military – we salute our fallen heroes and thank the men and women who are currently serving around the world to defend the United States.

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FORMER/CURRENT POSITION

Of the millions of America’s active and retired federal workers, half have dedicated their lives to supporting our nation’s men and women in uniform. If hundreds of you write to your local papers today, this recognition of our soldiers’ service by civilian federal employees could be seen in communities across the country just in time for Memorial Day.
Send your letter now.

This Memorial Day, NARFE pledges to continue doing all we can to support the men and women currently serving around the world to defend the United States. I hope you will join us.

Thank you,

Joseph A. Beaudoin
President
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
 

In keeping with the times, NARFE has made available online blogs and interactive forms which represent less paper waste, online NARFE pamphlets, the GEMS (Global Email Messaging System) Hotline which is a downloadable newsletter, email, and messaging service, and we are asking each member to get involved electronically.  This, however, is proving to be the hardest task as some of the older members aren't as computer-savvy or just remembering the early days data processing when detail was a must.  This is second only to recruiting young Federal Employees.

In Kentucky where we are located, each Chapter has a Blog which is used to provide their members of meeting information, fond memories,  and photo gatherings.

Federal employees ensure our food is safe and our air is healthy. Some spend their days fighting the spread of infectious disease, while others raise the alarm whenever a storm is coming.
We depend on federal workers in all 50 states to keep America strong. And they've already sacrificed pay and benefits to help solve our nation's budget woes, even though they didn't cause our economic crisis.
Yet according to recent reports, the federal worker retirement system “has emerged as a key target” in negotiations about our national debt. It's not right – and we need to speak out now.

1.    A voice on Capitol Hill;

2.    An award-winning monthly magazine and exclusive website access;

3.    Electronic alerts to legislation affecting your income and health care security;

4.    Access to NARFE’s Legislative Action Center, weekly Legislative Hotlines and a widevariety of information available only to members via our website;

5.    Exclusive access to a set of easy-to-use online financial planning tools and eseminar;

6.   Eligibility for college scholarships and disaster relief grants;

7.   Discounts on hotels, cruises, vacation tours, car rentals, bankcards and more.
 

Dear NARFE member,

In an effort to provide you with the latest tools to plan your retirement, I am pleased to announce that NARFE is now offering members exclusive access to an easy-to-use set of online retirement planning tools, including a retirement benefits calculator.

eSeminar Plus was developed by Economic Systems Inc. of Falls Church, VA, and is believed by many retirement experts to be the best available. Previously, the program was available only to federal agencies, but NARFE members can now have access for a small subscription fee.

We are thrilled to be able to offer this outstanding service to you. We think ALL members, both active and retired, can benefit tremendously from Economic Systems’ online retirement calculator and financial planning eSeminars.

eSeminar Plus consists of three retirement planning and financial literacy modules that you can access over the Internet anytime, anywhere:

Federal Retirement Benefits for Employees (FRB – E): An easy-to-use federal retirement calculator that allows employees to estimate their federal retirement annuity, Social Security and Thrift Savings Plan benefits. Additionally, if employees are currently enrolled in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or CSRS Offset and returning to federal service within one year after separation, employees may make comparisons between their benefits if they remain in the CSRS or CSRS Offset or transfer to Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirement coverage.

Financial Benefits Maximizer (FBM): A self-service financial planning tool in which employees or retirees can develop calculations to project their household’s financial future. A complete financial planner, FBM goes beyond federal benefits to include other savings and investments, as well as expenses, to determine your current and future financial status and the extent to which you may meet your retirement income goals.

eSeminar: An employee self-service retirement and financial planning seminar that parallels a “live” seminar. eSeminar enhances your awareness of federal retirement-related topics as well as provide important personal financial management information in a flexible and easily navigated format.

Six-month subscriptions are available only to NARFE members for $29.95. To purchase a subscription, go to www.narfe.org.

Sincerely,

Joseph A. Beaudoin of Winchester, VA, was elected National President of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association in balloting today at the 31st Biennial NARFE National Convention in Grand Rapids, MI. He is the current National Vice President.

 Paul H. Carew of Pittsboro, NC , was elected National Vice President. Elaine Hughes of Asheville, NC, was elected National Secretary. And Charles W. Saylor of Towson, MD, was elected National Treasurer.

More than 1,100 delegates are attended the August 29-September 2 convention. More details and convention voting results will be posted soon.

From: National President

To:  NEB, Federation Presidents, Chapter Presidents, NARFE Members

At our 2010 National Convention, NARFE delegates approved a dues increase. Here is the new dues structure for NATIONAL DUES:

• One year National Dues - $40.00
• Two years National Dues - $72.00
• Three years National Dues - $102.00

The above is for National Dues only.  Chapters will continue to establish their dues and National will continue to collect those dues and remit them to the chapters.

Those members who are on dues withholding will receive a 15% reduction on National Dues.  Their annual dues will be $34.00 plus chapter dues of record.  Again, Chapters will continue to establish their dues and National will collect them and remit them to the chapters.

Finally, the National Executive Board (NEB) established a new First Year Membership Fee of $45.00.  Under our bylaws, “One-third (1/3) of the Membership Fee … shall be returned to the Chapters in lieu of the first year’s Chapter dues.”

Implementation target date for these increases is 1 January, 2011.
 

Margaret Baptiste
NARFE National President

Please watch your e-mail inbox next week for NARFE’s new electronic news brief, “NARFE NewsWatch.” NARFE has partnered with MultiView Inc. of Dallas, TX, to produce the weekly electronic newsletter.
The advertising-supported news brief will include a variety of stories on topics of interest to NARFE members culled from thousands of news sources. Some of the topics are: Finances, Legislative Update, Health, Second Careers, Travel and Retirement Trends. It also will include news from NARFE.
We are very pleased to be able to communicate with you in this new electronic format. The news brief complements our existing communications vehicles and widens our ability to serve our members.
The news brief also will be a means to reach out to prospective new members and enhance NARFE’s name recognition. So, when you receive “NARFE NewsWatch,” please forward it to friends and colleagues who are eligible for NARFE membership.
Each issue of “NARFE NewsWatch” will include a message for nonmembers to subscribe to the news brief free of charge or, better yet, join the Association and receive all the benefits of membership in NARFE.
To receive “NARFE NewsWatch,” members must have their e-mail addresses on file at NARFE Headquarters. Recipients will be able to “unsubscribe” to the news brief if they so desire.
 

 NARFE NewsWatch