Membership and Officers - Hari Arora

Hari assumed the Presidency for 2008 from Harry and chaired the meeting. Jim was elected VP for 2008 and will continue as Secretary. Norm will continue as Treasurer for 2008. Gene Hengel resigned from the Steering Council and we will be seeking 1 or 2 additional Council members. Nominees should be referred to Hari.

Treasurer's Report - Norm Prenzel

Norm reported the current account balance to be $1,960.30.

Website Report - Paul Goodrich

Paul will add the following to the web site: Medicare Information from Hari, links to 4Generations Institute and Life Enrichment Center. Donna will add an article on the IBM Cook Book being sold by the IBM Club(corporate) with proceeds  to help sustain the Club. Paul plans some cleanup of the site content and format including deleting aged material with little or no user access and changing the article sequence from most recent to oldest.

Paul responded to 1 request for "Find-a-friend". The site averaged 770 unique visitors and 25,722 hits for the 4th quarter 2007.

Paul is looking for someone with up-to-date web site development skills to assist him.  Hari will check with 2 contacts for potential candidates.

Seminars Report - Harry Schauffhauser

The only seminar currently planned is the annual Medical Benefits Seminar which is very popular and especially needed and helpful for retirees becoming eligible for Medicare benefits. Harry will develop the flyer and registration form for the August mailing. Linda reported no progress in obtaining a resource from IBM HR to participate in the seminar. The format will be the same as last year and won't change if an IBM HR resource participates.

Retiree Data Base Report - Hari for Dick Soucy

The data base contains 723 entries with 5 new entries in the past couple of months. Paul reported generating about 370 emails from the data base with about 30 rejections.

Day at the Races Report - Judy Manowitz

The event will take place on March 8 in the Party Suite which will have wheel chair access via a new elevator. 75 tickets have been requested by Judy which can be increased to 100 if needed. The menu is roast beef and turkey. The price is $20 per person. Judy completed the flyer for the mailing and web site posting. 

Seminars Report - Harry Schaffhauser

The Medical Benefits and Round Table Seminar held November 7 was again a big success. Combined attendance was between 100 and 115. A separate session for those with 1 Medicare eligible spouse will be considered for this year. Hari stated the intention to pursue the formal benefits training next year as provided to IBM Benefits Counselors in Raleigh. He also stated the flyer this year will include offering ongoing assistance to retirees who request it.

Harry will contact Doug House and Chuck Fish to arrange for a Tax Seminar in February. A Long Term Care Seminar is also planned for March to be conducted by Dave Sowerby.

Judy offered to help Harry as needed with the resignation of Gene Hengel.

Volunteer Council Report - Mary Ann McCoy

Mary Ann reported upcoming events seeking volunteers: Gasparilla Classic - February 9, IBM Engineering Week - February 17-23, Black Family Technology Conference - February (committee working on).

Volunteers participated in the United Way Day of Caring at the PARC Thrift Shop in Pinellas County.    Donna coordinated the Child Abuse Council Holiday Store volunteer effort.   

Golf Event Report - Donna Fryza and Dianne Hartt

Donna reported the outing on September 24 was a big success with 44 participants of which about 50% were active IBMers. 100% of those responding to a survey rated the event excellent or good.

Dianne reported plans for a Spring outing sometime in May.

IBM Club Synergy - Linda Wizner and Donna Fryza

Donna has been assigned a part-time position as the IBM Club representative in Tampa. She will now be the contact and IBM coordinator for Retiree Club mailings, communications with active IBMers, and other Retiree Club and IBM Club activities. The structure of the IBM Cub has yet to be decided. A state-wide Florida IBM Club has been suggested with local chapters in Tampa and other locations. Hari suggested the Retiree Club become a sub-chapter of the local Tampa chapter.

Potential Social Events - Hari Arora

Hari suggested we have another picnic this year in October or November. Judy will look into potential other venues such as Phillippi Park in Safety Harbor and Lettuce Park near USF in Tampa.

Mailing and Mass Email

The next mailing will be in about 2 weeks to include:

•   Cover letter from Hari including mention of the planned golf outing for May. 

•    Flyers and registration forms for: Day at the Races, Tax Seminar, and Long Term Care Seminar.

•    Upcoming Volunteer Events.

Materials for the mailing will be provided to Donna for coordination with IBM.

Materials will also be provided to Paul for posting on the web site. Hari will provide Paul with a summary version of the mailing cover letter referencing events posted on the web site for mass emailing early February.

Next Meeting: Thursday, April 10 from 11 A.M. - 1 P.M. at IBM Harborview  

 Our club goal is to provide services to IBM retirees.