A retired person remarked to a friend, “I’m so busy now I don’t know how I had time to work!” Have you ever heard anyone say that? I used to think that did not make much sense, but now that I am retired, I understand. The Maryland Retired School Personnel Association members are retired people who are very busy!  Since August, members of the Board of Directors have met, as have the members of the Legislative Committee, and the Membership and Public Relations Committees. Members of our locals have kicked off the new school year with meetings and luncheons, and there has already been a Leadership Workshop. We are busy renewing memberships and inviting retired school personnel who are not members to join. Why are we doing all these things? We do them because being retired does not mean we have nothing left to give.

​

Of utmost importance to a group like ours is membership. I have talked about building membership before; that is because it is our members who do the work of advocating, not only for our members, but for those who are in the same phase of life as us. It is our members who do projects that serve our communities. More hands make light work. And membership is power, too. The more members we have, the louder our voice will be. It will be louder when we lobby legislators to protect our pensions and to pass bills to protect seniors and their quality of life. Building membership is a challenge. For every member we lose, we need to pick up two new ones to grow. How do we meet this challenge? First and foremost, we need to simply ask retired school personnel who are not members to join us. If everyone asked just one or two colleagues or friends who retire to join, I have no doubt we would grow. Tell them about the things we do, and do not forget to mention that we stay connected doing the work and having fun. Direct them to the Maryland Retired School Personnel Association website, www.mrspa.org, so they can see the wealth of information about the benefits of membership. Perhaps your local has its own website or Facebook page where you show potential and new members that there is something for everyone in our local and state associations.

This time of the year there is no shortage of things to be a part of and do. It is election season, in a couple of months the legislature will reconvene for its annual session, the holidays are fast approaching, and a new calendar year is just around the corner. There is no shortage of things to do. Shall we get started making 2025 a successful year? Let’s work to increase our numbers, let’s connect with colleagues and communities, let’s find our niche, and enjoy doing things we love to do while making a difference, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of those around us. Bring in a new member, join the committee of your choice, and become an advocate, check out our travel options and see what adventures are available.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and look forward to meeting more of you in the upcoming months. Thank you for all you have done and will do, but don’t stop now. There is much left to do, and we are the ones to do it!