Retirees Association Meeting Minutes

Present: Tom Eyssell, Sue Baber, Connie Jeffries, Dave Ganz, Cindy Vantine, Steve Spaner, Mimi
Duncan, Debbie Kettler, Helene Sherman, Clark Hickman
Ex-Officio Present: David Garin

Absent: Melissa Hattman
Ex-Officio Absent: Lol Barton

Meeting was called to order at 10:03 am by President Tom Eyssell.

The Minutes from December 13, 2024 were accepted as amended.

Report of the Alumni Association (Kevin Smith)

Holiday Luncheon total amount brought in through Alumni website: $1,785; total enrollment year
through Alumni website: $950. Enrollment stats for this year through Alumni website: 45 people (30
annual memberships, 4 lifetime, and 11 first year).

Kevin asked if there would be interest fromthe Board to have a certain number of Alumni Association
events be sent to the RA members (about a half-dozen per year). This would be targeted offerings relevant to retirees; retirees could “unsubscribe” from such mailings; it would offer more to Retirees, which has been a RA goal. The Board agreed to do this.

Kevin brought up the UMSL Skills Lab, a community outreach branch of UMSL that is a way for
community members to continue education through different courses. One of the directors at UMSL who
oversees the Lab would be interested to see if the RA would have any interest in a session each year, or
something similar. Kevin will pursue conversations with the director regarding logistics and pricing.

Treasurer’s Report (Steve Spaner)

1. Steve reported total assets as of March 19, 2025 as $15,224.11.
2. It was reported that the RA received a $377.95 interest payment on the $5000 18-month CD.
3. Steve re-invested $5000 for a 3-month CD at 4.5% interest.
4. The Holiday Luncheon cost to the RAwas $2,344.72, plus an additional expense (reimbursement)
to Debbie Kettler of $40.70 for table treats.
5. After expenses (including the re-investment of $5,000 in a CD), the RA Account Balance as of
March 19, 2025 was $7,838.69.

Communications Committee (Sue Baber)

Deadline for the spring newsletter is April 1, 2025. She wants to have the newsletter completed and sent
to members by May 1, 2025.

Planning & Events Committee (Cindy Vantine)

The spring Event will be a tour of the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum at 36 Millstone
Campus Drive in Creve Coeur. A lunch at Bel Lago From the Hill (11631 Olive) will occur following the
tour. As of the meeting, 24 RA members have signed up.

For the June annual meeting, the Board wanted a campus update for members concerning all the changes made on the north and south campuses.The Board asked Tom Eyssell to contact Chris Spilling to provide this update; if he is unavailable, to secure an appropriate replacement. It was decided to extend (a nonspeaking) invitation to Chancellor Sobolik. The cost will be $35 for guests/non-members and no charge to RA members. There will be a Cash Bar.

Steve Spaner suggested a fall event at a winery where the band “Garden Party” was playing.

Membership Committee (Mimi Duncan)

The Membership Committee began updating the Membership Renewal Form and decided on a date for
deployment. A postcard, with the same format as last year with new dates, will be sent to all annual
members. Google forms are developed with a spreadsheet of tasks, a notification list (including Kevin
Smith,Tom Eyssell, Steve Spaner and Mimi Duncan); and ID cards are sent using UMSL logo stationery.

The Chair is considering using the new UMSL RA e-mail for initial contact, including all members with
wording to suggest inviting new members to join; sending follow up emails; advertising the spring
luncheon and, in the future, including a new member survey link developed on the website.

Nominating & Selection Committee (Melissa Hattman)

Board members and officers whose terms are expiring in June have been contacted to determine interest
in continuing to serve and, if so, in what capacity.

The new online nomination system has been communicated out to all RA members from January-March
with final notification in April. The deadline for submission is April 15, 2025.

Retirees of the Year Award:To date, the call for applications has gone out on RA Facebook, RA email
blasts, at the February Staff Association meeting, and an email was sent to all current UMSL faculty and
staff. Deadline to submit nomination packages is April 1. The committee will be meeting April 7 to
review and made awardee selections to be sent to the Chancellor’s office.

Report of the President (Tom Eyssell)

The March 3, 2025 Breakfast Meeting, “Five Common Mistakes of Estate Planning,” was a full house.

The next Breakfast Meeting, “Senior Scams and Financial Exploitation,” will be held on April 16, 2025.
Retired FBI Agent, Tina Richter, will present.

The UMSL RA email mailbox for mass communications is in progress. UMSL IT no longer supports the
old “Listserv” technology.

Tom will meet with the Staff Association on April 24 to inform them about the RA and the possibility for
employees who are planning retirement to join before actually retiring.

Tom is creating an ad hoc committee regarding communications to address these issues:

• More frequent communications?
• Increased use and social media
• Future event planning
• Criteria on when to blast information
• How often is “regular?”

Old Business (Tom Eyssell)

It was moved to move the May 21st Board Meeting to May 7th.

PASSED: unanimously

Other Business (Tom Eyssell)

It was announced that UMSL is now an official polling place for St. Louis County Board of Elections.
This announcement was sent by email blast from the campus to all faculty and staff.

An inquiry was made to Tom Eyssell by an UMSL retiree as to whether or not RA members can attend
Board meetings.The person inquiring implied that RA Board Meetings fell under Missouri’s Sunshine
Law.Tom is going to consult with the UM legal department on this, but there were no stated objections to
RA members attending Board meetings.

Submitted by: Clark Hickman, Secretary