TELCO RETIREES ASSOCIATION, INC.
In November 2002 a one page article appeared in the Business Week Magazine, entitled RETIREES' REVENGE. The one page article featured an interview with Mr. C. William Jones, President of the BellTel Retiree Association (an organization at that time made up of over 90,000 members! (The organization began in 1995 when 1400 former New York Tel (NYNEX) managers challenged the CEO because there had been no retiree pension increases for a number of years. When their organization failed to receive any response from the NYNEX Corporation, they began organizing a full blown retiree association.
Intrigued with the concept of an independent retiree organization, Mr. Sumner K. Emery (Retired Division Manager) made contact with Mr. Jones and immediately began forming a Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell retiree organization.
Critical issues to be resolved were A CORPORATE NAME, A MISSION STATEMENT, THE ACQUISITION OF A POST OFFICE BOX, THE FILING WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR INCORPORATION AND NON-PROFIT STATUS, THE FILING WITH THE U.S. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE FOR NON-PROFIT STATUS, THE SELECTION OF OFFICERS (PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, TREASURER, SECRETARY AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS) REPRESENTING THE FORMER PACIFIC BELL/NEVADA BELL TERRITORIES.
Federal and state authorities required an extensive set of Bylaws prior to any approvals. A SET OF BYLAWS WAS DEVELOPED AND APPROVED MARCH 29, 2004 BY OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THE BYLAWS ENCOMPASSED THE FOLLOWING: NAME AND PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION, MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS, ELECTIONS AND TERM OF OFFICE, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, OFFICERS/BOARD OF DIRECTORS DUTIES, BOARD ELECTIONS AND ANNUAL MEETING, MEMBERSHIP DUES AND ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE, MANAGEMENT OF FINANCES, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND A STATEMENT OUTLINING DISSOLUTION.
Following months of negotiations with state and federal authorities, the TelCo Retirees Association, Inc. was approved for corporate status on January 7, 2004. We received U.S. Internal Revenue approval of our non-profit status on April 28, 2004 and non-profit approval from the California Franchise Tax Board on September 8, 2004.
THE TELCO RETIREES ASSOCIATION, INC. IS DEDICATED TO PROTECT, ENHANCE AND ASSURE THE CONTINUATION OF RETIREES' PENSIONS AND OTHER BENEFITS PROMISED BY THE COMPANY AT THE TIME OF THEIR RETIREMENT.
THE TELCO RETIREES ASSOCIATION, INC. WILL STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THE COMPANY TO RECOGNIZE THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY ITS RETIREES THROUGHOUT THEIR YEARS OF LOYAL AND DEDICATED SERVICE.
THE TELCO RETIREES ASSOCIATION, INC. WILL CONDUCT ONGOING ACTIVITIES TO INFORM AND EDUCATE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES AND ALL FORMS OF OUTSIDE MEDIA ON THOSE MATTERS AFFECTING ITS MEMBERS.
Currently, there are over 2100 former Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell retirees who have committed themselves to membership. (Annual dues were established at $34.) This amount was arrived at following discussions with other major Bell System retiree organizations (U.S. West, Southern New England Tel, AT&T and Lucent).
Based upon statements made by SBC corporate officers, there are approximately 30,000 plus retirees from the former Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell companies. MEMBERSHIP GROWTH HAS BEEN GIVEN A TOP PRIORITY BY THE TELCO RETIREES ASSOCIATION, INC.
The following Officers and Board of Directors represent a cross section of the "Old Bell System" - Plant, Commercial, Marketing, Directory, Accounting Administration, Traffic. We have also recognized geographical areas in California and Nevada in the selection of our Board members.
Officers
Chairman - S.K. (Sumner K.) Emery, Retired 1984, 37 years of service.
Presiden/CEO -Charles Gilbert, Retired 1983, 29 years of service.
Treasurer - Phyllis Hinshaw,
Secretary - Muriel Wick, Retired 1981, 37 years of service.
Board of Directors
Monte W. Baggs
Retired 1991, 31 years of service, Salinas
Lee Brown
31 years of service, Anaheim
(IBEW Directory Executive)
Dan Coyne
Retired 1987, 30 years of service, Anaheim
James Gere
Retired 1985, 34 years of service, Manhattan Beach
Charles R. Love
Retired 1983, 34 years of service, San Diego
Charles H. Muller
Retired 1979, 31 years of service, San Diego
Richard Reid
Retired 1981, 25 years of service, San Diego
Larry Love
Retired 1984, 37 years of service, Lincoln
Donna Portzer
Retired 1991, 30 years of service, San Ramon
All TelCo Retiree Officers and members of the Board of Directors are serving without compensation.
A Website (telcoretirees.org and telcoretirees.com) was established by the Association to improve communications with our membership as well as all prospective members. In addition, a Quarterly Newsletter is being mailed to those members without internet access.
Sumner K. Emery , President
November 29, 2005
MEMBERSHIPS
Membership in the TelCo Retirees Association, Inc., while not "exclusive", is primarily limited to retirees from the former Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell Companies (SBC). Membership is also open to any former Bell System Company retiree who would like to affiliate with our Association.
Click here for details on our Membership information page
SPECIAL PEOPLE
In every organization there are those individuals who can be counted upon, the people who always do more than they are asked to do, the ones who never consider failure and whose membership in an organization makes the job of leadership so personally rewarding.
During the early formative months of our TelCo Retirees Association, the need for start-up funds became critical. When the need became known, a number of retired friends and associates immediately offered assistance and within a week or two our fiscal crisis was resolved.
Because of their willingness to step forward at a critical moment in our organizational planning, I would like to share their names with our membership.
Jack Forman
Donald Lively
Donald Nydam
William Stovall
James Gere
Charles Love
John Parkhurst
B. L. Schaeffer
Robert Hinshaw
L.T. Marracci
Bruce Overson
Linc Ward
Robert Hoffman
Charles McAvoy
Chris Quartly
Mrs. O. Lee Williams
Richard Reid
Larry Love
The TelCo Retirees Association, Inc. gratefully acknowledges your support at a critical moment in time.
Charles Gilbert, President
