Dues paying members are Sustaining Members in the Retirees Association By-Laws. Sustaining members have many benefits because they are current on their annual dues or have become Lifetime Members.
Run for Board of Directors – each year the term of three members of the Association Board expires and elections are held to fill those seats and any other vacancy that has occurred during the year. Sustaining members are eligible for to run for a seat on the Board. Nominations, including self-nominations, usually occur in August and September annually.
Vote for Board of Directors – the ballot to vote for the Board is sent to all Sustaining Members in late November or early December annually. Voting occurs in December, and we announce the new Board members in January. Board terms are three years.
Apply for Station Mini-Grant – the Association will support Sustaining Members who do volunteer work on Service stations with small grants to purchase materials or other needs related to their volunteer work. We review grant applications in February and August each year for award in the following month. The Board is also working on an additional opportunity to fund mini-grants related to youth hunting and fishing events associated with Service stations.
Travel Opportunities – participate in an annual survey and conference call on where you want to travel nationally and internationally. During the annual call, the group tries to arrive at a consensus on at least one national and one international location for the following year. Some travel is leisure travel to popular locations and some is for the purpose of volunteering at perhaps a refuge in the US or a game reserve in Africa. The only requirement for participation in this group is to check the Travel interest on the membership form. Travel opportunities totally depend on a member to do the coordination either entirely or thru a travel agent/company. To receive alerts about the annual survey and call on travel interests or travel opportunities, the Travel interest area must be checked on your membership form.
Reunions – Reunions of all members are held every 18 months or so at a variety of locations in the US. While Sustaining Membership is not required to attend a Reunion, it is strongly encouraged. Help in selecting the Reunion location and program emphasis is solicited from those Sustaining Members who check the Reunion interest box on the membership form.
History – the Association has eight non-voting members to the Service History Committee (one from each Region). Periodically, a committee member steps down. New members will be selected from those Sustaining Members in that particular Region who have checked the History interest on the membership form.
Communication and Membership – the Association may have Sustaining Members (ideally one per Region) appointed as liaisons to the Regional Directors and the HR divisions. The purpose of the liaisons is to improve awareness of the Association among current employees and to learn how the Association might be of assistance to the Regions. Regional liaisons are eligible for mileage expenses in carrying out their roles.