I am honored to have been elected the new Board President for NCRGEA.
In NCRGEA’s 52-year history, I do not believe the organization has been better positioned to move forward than we are now. I base that optimism on five facts:
1. We have a very receptive audience in the current NCRGEA membership, which is just over 50,000. Our members, who are more engaged in their community and other activities than any previous group of retirees, want their organization to be more engaged as well. They want us to offer more benefits and activities for them and to be a
louder voice on their behalf in the corridors of power in Raleigh. If we do this for the current membership, we become more attractive to the other 300,000 plus state and local retirees in our state.
2. Our strategic plan offers us a road map to a better, stronger NCRGEA. All points in this plan are designed to improve our services to current members and to expand our reach with new members.
3. Financially, NCRGEA has the resources to implement our strategic plan. We must use our balance sheet to better meet the needs of our current membership, who helped grow our budget, while reaching out to new members.
4. With a new Executive Director and our long-serving staff in Raleigh, NCRGEA has the human capital to move us forward like never before.
5. Finally, with our current board and the most recent additions, the NCRGEA Board of Directors gives the organization the leadership to work with the new executive director and our staff, use our financial resources, and follow our strategic plan road map to focus on growing the organization by better serving our current membership while reaching out to thousands more.
These points are the source of my optimism for the future of NCRGEA and lead me to conclude, like the title of the 1980s song says, “The future is so bright, you gotta wear shades.”