From Rene Rodgriquez, President, VCCCDRA
It occurs to me from some emails that I have received that some of you may not know who Don Medley was. Don founded the VCCCD Retirees’ Association 25 years ago in 1994, and due to this fortunate occurrence, we were able to mount a successful united front against the Ventura County Community College District to protect our retiree healthcare benefits 14 years ago.
Because of the suit filed in 2007 and the settlement reached in 2010, retirees have saved thousands of dollars in premium savings that they didn’t have to pay when active ASCC college district employees were required to pay part of the premium when premium costs exceeded the district cap, to mention one aspect of the settlement agreement. Additionally, Don remained an active member of the VCCCDRA Executive Board, maintaining the membership records from the inception of the organization until a few months before he passed away on August 26, 2018.
Gary Johnson wrote a full blown tribute to Don Medley in a recent VCCCDRA newsletter, which can be accessed through the link below: http://vcccdra.org/html/documents/MonitorFall2018final.pdf which I encourage you to read.
Please submit your pledges as soon as possible. The link is included below in a reproduction of the email sent out on May 20, 2019. If ALL retirees submitted a one-time minimum pledge of $25, we could increase the scholarship to $800 annually.
The email sent out on March 20, 2019 follows.
May 20, 2019
Dear VCCCDRA Retiree,
At the VCCCDRA Annual General Meeting held on March 20, the following proposal was made:
“Shall the Retirees’ Association explore how many retirees would be willing to make a minimum of a one-time $25 pledge in support for the establishment of a Retirees’ Association sponsored, endowed $500 annual Don B. Medley scholarship?”
A motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved by those attending the Annual General Meeting on March 20 for the Executive Board to explore whether there is support by the general membership for the establishment of such a scholarship.
We are thereby sending you this email to see if you would be interested in making a pledge towards the establishment of this scholarship.
If so, please click on the link below to enter a one-time pledge of a minimum contribution of $25:
https://forms.gle/LWHYn71fRM2pGug5A
Note: for anyone interested in more details regarding how the idea for a Don Medley scholarship came about and the deliberations that took place, the following background is provided.
1. A few months ago, a Retirees’ Association Executive Board member brought the idea of sponsoring a scholarship on behalf of our founder Don Medley. An Ad Hoc Scholarship Committee was formed, chaired by John Woolley to look into the matter and report back to the Exec Board.
2. After much discussion at two separate meetings, the Exec Board decided to propose that the Retirees’ Association explore with the general membership the idea of sponsoring a scholarship on behalf of Don Medley. 3. The main concern is the funding of the scholarship. It would take approximately one-half of the membership to make a one-time $25 contribution to establish a permanently endowed annual $500 scholarship. 4. There are other questions that need to be resolved, but funding the scholarship seems to be the main concern.
5. The Executive Board decided to pose the following question at the VCCCDRA Annual General Meeting to be held on March 20: “Shall the Retirees’ Association explore how many retirees would be willing to make a minimum of a one-time $25 pledge in support for the establishment of a Retirees’ Association sponsored, endowed $500 annual Don Medley scholarship?”
6. A motion was made to that effect at the general assembly and passed unanimously.
7. At a subsequent Exec Board meeting, it was decided to pose the question first to those retirees who have an email address.
If you have any questions, please respond to this email.
Sincerely,
Rene G. Rodriguez
President, VCCCD Retirees’ Association
