MAINE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION RETIRED
MAINE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION RETIREDMAINE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION RETIREDMAINE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION RETIRED~Promoting the economic, professional and social welfare of retired educators.
MAINE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION RETIRED
~Promoting the economic, professional and social welfare of retired educators.
Home Page Content (Scroll down to find these features.)
Announcements
Pictures from 2025 Meetings and Events
Upcoming Events, Cancellations, Convention Registration, Awards and Grants
A Message From Our President & Association Review Initiative Committee (ARI)
Legislative News
The Clarion
Dental Plan
AARP Maine
Helpful Links (Including Link to NEA-Retired)
About Our Website and to Contact Us
Find Us and "LIKE" Us on Facebook
Site Disclaimer
73rd MEA-Retired Convention & Annual Meeting on May 1, 2025
New Slate of Officers
Molly Smith, President; Julie Gomez, President-elect; Roger Roy, Treasurer; Marilyn Burton, Secretary; and Barbara Hammond, Information Coordinator
MEA-Retired at MEA-RA May 17-18, 2025
MEA-Retired is very well represented!
From right to left (front row): Grace Leavitt, Molly Smith, Barbara Bricker, Julie Gomez, Gary McGrane
From right to left (second row): Ben Paradis, Doug Larlee, Marilyn Burton, Kay Grindall, Belinda Micucci, Jen Perry, Roger Roy
A Message From Our MEA-Retired President
I am asking you for your willingness over the next year to fully engage in and embrace the Association Review Initiative (ARI). This initiative was born from an activity that four of our members, Bob Jean, Susan Grondin, Debbie Killam and I undertook October 2024, titled Six Weeks to Power. We set out to learn more about organizing in the hope that we could enrich our association by making community connections. A effort to build a network with like-minded folks who also work to improve the lives of retired public employees and educators, to improve and protect public education. The team learned many things from our training, gaining tools for our organizing work. Following the completion of (ARI) in the next year there is a plan to access Six Weeks to Power grant money and coaching support to develop a campaign of outreach making community connections. The major determination from our work was… before we can reach out to work with others, we need to take some time look inward.
The vision is to improve the lives of all retired educators, both current and future by enhancing opportunities and by promoting positive outcomes in the areas of communication; economic well-being; physical, psychological and emotional health. With the goal of strengthening the Maine Education Association of Retired Educators, the team undertook the task to create and initiate a plan, developing a process to revitalize the organization and to increase member engagement consistent with its stated mission. The (ARI) team sees this as an organic process. The journey and member engagement in this process will lead us and thereby determine its outcomes. The Board of Directors has approved ad hoc committee status. A chair will be named at the June 2nd Board of Directors Meeting, and the original team members have agreed to remain as committee members with the addition of at least 2 other committee members. If you are interested in serving on this committee, please contact President Smith.
A Member Survey was developed and has been completed by our Executive Council and the Board of Directors. Solicited suggestions of improvement have been incorporated. After a period of information and promotion the survey will be distributed to ALL members to gain their input. Expect this to be coming your way most likely in September. In the meantime, the Association Initiative Review Committee, once up and running this summer will be drafting a timeline, developing specified topics, activities, methods of engagement, and establish funding. This plan will be communicated with affiliates and individual members through the Clarion, our website, presentations with affiliates upon request, and ongoing scheduled association meetings.
We need all of you to share your voices, perspectives, insights and ideas to make this initiative a success. Over the coming year there will be numerous opportunities to engaged in focused conversations as well as less structured occasions to review the Association’s Mission, structure, governance, and all issues relevant to retired and future retired educators to insure a resilient and responsive organization.
Molly A. Smith
President, MEA-Retired
Maine Education Association Retired
35 Community Drive, Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 622-5866
If you would like to contact Molly, please use the contact form on the bottom of the Home page.
Legislative News
Legislative News Is Time Sensitive
The 132nd Maine Legislature’s first regular session convened on December 4, with a statutory adjournment date of the third Wednesday in June. The 132nd Maine Legislature session adjourned on June 18, 2025. During this session, the Democrats controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate, by slim margins. Governor Janet Mills is in the last two years of her final term.
Go HERE to get links to the latest information. Go HERE to go to the State Legislature's Home Page.
The Clarion is recognized at 2024 NEA-Retired Annual Meeting
Left to Right: MEA-Retired President Bob Jean, NEA-Retired President Anita Gibson, Jean Dobashi, Hawaii, and Marilyn Warner, NEA-Retired Secretary, Florida.
The MEA Retired newsletter, The Clarion, gained additional national recognition when it again won first place in the “Established State Print Retired Newsletter” category. The Clarion won in 2020, 2021, and 2024. The name of our newsletter will be placed on the NEA-Retired Communications Committee’s “Hall of Fame” list. This recognition is awarded because we have won first place for three years.
MEA-R at the NEA-Retired Annual Meeting and RA, July 2024
Representing nearly 5,400 members of MEA-Retired at the NEA-Retired Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly in Philadelphia in July are left to right: Belinda Micucci, Yarmouth; President Bob Jean, Rockland; James Ford, Brunswick; Ben Paradis, Cross Lake; President-Elect Molly Smith, Lisbon; and Bo Zabierek, Sherman Mills.
Delta Dental Plan
Open enrollment for Northeast Delta Dental Insurance closed on December 13, 2024. Effective date for changes is February 1, 2025.
For additional information, go here. If you have questions about the dental plan as a member of MEA-Retired please contact Lisa Collins at the Caribou MEA Office. She can be reached by email at lcollins@maineea.org or by phone at 207.888.3804.
Helpful Links and Important Messages
LINKS TO:
NEA-Retired: https://www.nea.org/nea-councils/nea-retired
Link to the Social Security Administration at https://www.ssa.gov/.
To learn more about getting started with Medicare, link to Medicare at https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare
More information about the Social Security Fairness Act can be found at https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html
The Maine Public Employees Retirement System can be accessed at https://www.mainepers.org/
STATE-WIDE FOOD PANTRIES
The Good Shepherd Food Bank has a list and link to a map of state-wide food pantries here. You can also find the location of nearby food pantries in your community by calling your town office.
CDC Covid-19 page HERE
Maine CDC page HERE.
