A Place for all the Old Timers to Get Together

The Pioneer's Club

The Pioneer’s Club

Volume 2, Issue 3  

March, 2008

Remember:    Pass this Newsletter on, so everyone can see it!

And if you’re not on our mailing list, click here to join

 

Questions or Comments or Articles?

Just Email me at Tom@ThePioneersClub.org

To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here

 

 

Florida Picnic Cancelled

The Florida Picnic is Cancelled

 

I received the following email from Bill Goodman explaining the reasons.

 

Dear fellow RG&E Retirees,

       I an sad to announce the cancellation of the annual RG&E Retirees Florida Picnic on Monday, March 10th, 2008.

       For many years, this event has occurred in March.  The picnic has been held at Lake Seminole Park in St. Petersburg.  I only had to sign up for the shelter each year, and use of the park was free.

       However, this year the Pinellas County Parks Department has made major changes in its park use policy.  A group of this size is now required to pay a fee to use the park.  In addition, I am also required to furnish a Certificate of Insurance covering liability for persons in the group on park premises, and naming the Pinellas County Commissioners as additionally insured.

       Because of these new regulations, it has been decided not to hold this event.

       This yearly gathering was an opportunity to see long time friends, reminiscence and hear updates on family lives.

       Over the last 12 years, our Picnic Committee has enjoyed spending the time and effort needed to make this event successful.  We will miss it.

       I would appreciate you passing this information on to anyone you might know who has attended in the past or who might have be planning to come this year.


                                                                         Sincerely,

                                                                         Bill Goodman     

Web Site/Newsletter News

This isn’t exactly Web Site News, but every month when I email the newsletter, I get 10– 12 bouncing back with the reason “mailbox full”.

 

Most email services limit the amount of storage they give their users.  So if you’ are suddenly not receiving your copy, check how much space you have left.  It might have been returned to me.

 

With all the pictures and graphics I include in the newsletter, it gets a little fat. (Sort of resembling it’s writer) So be warned.

 

If you are  a new addition to our list and not receiving your copy, or your copy just stops, check your “junk email” folder.  In the never ending battle to stop spam, email filters are always evolving. And yours might be stopping your newsletter.

 

When someone is added to our mailing list, they should get a “Welcome Letter” , the past issues of the newsletter, and an electronic form to complete.  The form automatically adds them to the RG&E Alumnus Directory.  So if you know of someone who asked to join and didn’t get all this stuff, then I missed their email.  Please resend their information.

 

We keep growing. There are over 350 names on our email list and over 1400 in the directory.  The only way people join is through word of mouth. So keep up the good work.

I’m always posting things to our web site. So check it often. I try to remember to update the News Section when ever I add something to the site.  So you can start by looking there.

 

And if you haven’t noticed yet, by clicking on the underlined sections in this newsletter, you should be taken right to that part of the site or to a blank email form.

 

If there is something you would like to see included on our web site, I’m always open for suggestions.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bill Goodman and the rest of the committee for a job well done.  A lot of our members have very enjoyable memories from attending these events.

 

And I would like to nominate the Pinellas County Parks Department, and the Pinellas County Commissioners for this year’s “Grinch Award”.

Sam Poletta

I got a note from Vera that informed me of some really great news.

 

You remember Sam Poletta, retired head of the Employee Center and all things athletic at RG&E?

 

Well Sam was one of 12 persons inducted into the Section 5 Basketball Hall of Fame last December.

 

Now if Sam (or his wife Dot) will tell me the details behind this honor, I’d like to share them with everyone else. 

 

Let’s face it, it’s not every day a person gets this type of immortalization.

 

Well done Sam. Our congratulations go out to you.

Member News

As you all know, I am trying to keep the current RG&E Retiree’s Directory up to date.

 

In February, I got three updates to the address book.

 

The first one concerns Les & Ann Abbamonte (Trans).  They changed locations up here.

 

The second ones moving were Bill & Peg Dillon (Risk Mgt.).  They moved from Florida to Fairport.

 

The third ones moving are George and Martie Lappan (Corp Communications).  They moved to the Villages in Florida.

 

If you have any news  concerning our more than 1400 members, just email me by clicking here.

St Patrick’s Day

March 17th is right around the corner, so hurry out and buy your significant other a box of candy (Oops! Wrong holiday).

 

Well any way, get your green out and enjoy the day!

 

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Arnie and me.

Florida Picnic—cont.

I got a lot of email concerning the Florida Picnic.  All of it expressed regret at seeing this annual event coming to an end.

 

Within these emails were suggestions for other locations in the area that might accommodate us with out the fees and insurance requirements.  I send these on to Bill Goodman to share with his committee. 

 

If you have any suggestions, or ideas concerning saving this wonderful event, or just want to help, you can email Bill by clicking here.

 

FYI:  One of our members contacted his insurance company to see what was involved in supplying the Park Commission with the liability insurance they wanted.  His insurance agent informed him that the cost would be about $500.00 for a 1/2 day policy!

 

I know that a lot of our members either live or winter in Florida, so has anyone got a really big back yard, and wants a little company one afternoon? 

 

OK so it’s not that good an idea.

 

 

Veterans Remembrances

Memorial Day is only two months away and there is not a lot to report on anything commemorating RG&E veterans.

 

I put out a call for volunteer’s to conduct the service from our former RG&E Armed Forces Club members.  So far no one from those ranks has “stepped up” to conduct the service.

 

If anyone out there feels they would like to conduct a Memorial Day Service, please feel free to contact Arnie or me.  We’ll supply all the help we can.

 

While I haven’t personally seen it, I was told that the plaque honoring our war dead is located at the base of the flag pole at the Scottsville Road Center. This is a good location to conduct a service because of the available parking.

 

I have not approached the  Company to ask for permission to hold the service there yet.  I feel that there is no sense asking for permission, if there is no one to conduct the service.

 

This year, the traditional Memorial Day is Friday, May 30, 2008. (The federal holiday is observed on the last “Monday” in May to afford a three day weekend to everyone.)

 

Here is a link to a web site that explains the history of Memorial Day.

 

Our next chance to say thank you is November 11, 2008 at 11:00 am, Veteran’s Day. If we can’t make it in May, then I hope we can do something on “their” day.

Departed Members

Again it is with great sadness that I must report, I was forced to update the Obituary Page on the web site.

 

These friends and fellow co-workers will be missed by all who knew them.

 

I read the obituaries in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle daily looking for names that I recognize, or the remark that the deceased was a former employee of RG&E.

 

When I add the deceased to our Obituary Page, I also try to add a link to the newspaper’s web site.  That way you will be able to see the entire published obituary.  I will leave these links on our web site as long as they function.

 

I know that I don’t get the names of all those individuals who are no longer with us using this method, but it is all I have available to me.

 

If you know of someone I might not know about or have missed, please contact me and I’ll add them.

Big Band

I contacted Dave Payne to see what the Big Band was up to for 2008.

 

Well the answer was nuttin’.  They suspend their concerts for the winter after their Christmas season is done.

 

A lot of the band members go south for the winter, so there is really no one around to play.

 

Dave promised me a schedule of their concerts for the June newsletter, and I’m going to hold him to it.

 

So far I know of one concert.  Arnie and I have invited them to play at this year’s Rochester Picnic. So there’s one more reason to keep the  first Thursday in August (August 7, 2008) free.

 

If you’re still working, start planning your “sick day” now.

 

 

Meter Reading Memories

Most of these pictures weren’t labeled, but they all came out of a folder marked Meter Reading.

 

Note the cars in the background and the pants on one of the guys in the first picture below.