We have a lot to look forward to this summer: warm weather, perhaps vacations, getting together with friends and family, joining our fellow retirees at picnics or meetings.
Be sure to check out the Chapter Meetings page in this newsletter to see when your chapter is getting together. Join your fellow retirees if you can for fellowship, information, and good food.
I plan to attend some of the other June chapter meetings in addition to that of my local group — the Knoxville Chapter.
Liberty Phillips, TVA’s Retiree Communications Consultant, will be attending as many of the chapter picnics as she can and will catch up with the other chapters at upcoming meetings. She will be bringing an appreciation gift from TVA for all members attending either the picnics or the meetings, if they don’t have picnics.
We appreciate TVA for providing Liberty to help keep us as retirees informed. Chapters that are interested will also have a TVA manager who will speak on TVA’s appreciation of retirees, both for what retirees have done to make TVA successful and for how retirees are contributing in their communities.
Liberty also is leading the TVA team that is planning the annual TVA Retiree Appreciation Luncheon on Sept.13 at 10 a.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center. (See “SAVE THE DATE!” on page 16.)
I hope you will attend if you can. It is a great event with many exhibitors, many retirees, and interesting TVA speakers. Exhibitors include our insurance providers, students active in robotics programs in their school (see article on robotics in this issue), BVI (our partner and funding organization for most of our service projects), and numerous TVA organizations showing the interesting work they are doing.
You will be getting information later about how you and a guest can sign up for the luncheon. Although this event is given by TVA to show its appreciation for retirees, WE appreciate TVA for sponsoring this event for us each year.
I would like to stay with the appreciation theme. I want to thank all the chapter officers, Valleywide officers, and TVARA staff for what they do to ensure that we retirees continue to gather for fun and fellowship and service. They and chapter members are what make this organization vibrant and successful.
TVA is continuing to emphasize community projects in each of the five TVA regions (North, East, West, South, and Southwest (Mississippi). We are working with the TVA regions and with BVI to keep on identifying projects that positively impact local communities. If you have an idea or ideas for projects in your area, talk with your chapter president or other chapter officers to discuss your idea(s).
I’m excited to announce we have an updated TVARA website: mytvara.org. Thanks to a generous contribution by BVI, we were able to have professional website designers update our website as they updated the mybvi.org website. Please take an opportunity to look at it.
You will find information about activities for all the chapters, information on retirement and benefits, information on TVARA activities, and news articles from TVA, and can see past TVARA newsletters. You will also see how to pay your dues and pay online through PayPal if you like, as mentioned in this issue.
Enjoy this newsletter.
There are listings of fun events to attend this summer.
There are articles about robotics and STEM grants, where TVA and BVI are contributing to the education of our youth. We as retirees have an opportunity to volunteer in these efforts.
There are updates on the financial wellbeing of the Retirement System and updates on benefits.
There are articles about significant TVA projects and activities, including the Washington Office Update. TVA has decided to close its Kingston plant by the end of 2027. There is an article that talks about what is next for the Kingston site. And there is coverage of a new facility in which TVARA, TVA, BVI, and others are involved, to help train students and professionals to perform home weatherization projects.
Enjoy your summer, also, and make the most of it!