Representing
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming Rodney Adelman, Region VII Vice President
Greetings, Colorado NARFE members. I am your new
Region VII Vice President, succeeding Frank Impinna as of November 1, 2014. Frank did a great job during
his two years in office, and I thank him for his service to NARFE. One of my goals in office will be to
carry on his efforts in working toward making the necessary changes and improvements to NARFE, to ensure a viable and influential
organization fighting to preserve our earned employment and retirement benefits. In
past Colorado NARFE News articles, I have described my career and NARFE accomplishments and provided my reasons for
running for the position of Region VII Vice President. Now that I have taken office, what are my plans?
First, as stated above, I will be working with the other NEB (National Executive Board) members to offer proposed changes
to the membership that may help ensure the future viability of NARFE. These proposed changes are expected
to result from a strategic planning effort by the NEB. Ultimately, NARFE’s membership, through their
voting delegates, must authorize the changes necessary to keep the organization moving forward. Our continuing
membership decline should make it clear to every NARFE member that changes in our structure and operations are urgently needed. Second, I will continue to urge the NARFE leadership to embrace the latest technology
in an effort to attract younger and more tech-savvy members. As we have seen over the past few years, our
online, real-time Online Activities Module (OAM) is replacing the old monthly, printed membership and financial reports. Members
can now join and update their membership records online, receive weekly legislative updates and a “newswatch”
in their email, and participate in legislative and membership webinars. Prior to the last National Convention,
candidates for national and regional offices participated in online forums. And on the horizon, there is
the potential for streaming National Conventions and Executive Board meetings, and possibly online voting. And
finally, we all recognize the phenomenal growth of eNARFE (approaching ten percent of our total membership), intended for
those that communicate electronically. Third, we must find a way to reverse
the thirty-year trend of declining NARFE membership. There is no silver bullet; most traditional organizations
are suffering the same fate. But there are options that other organizations have successfully embraced
and at least slowed their membership losses. We must be willing to try these options, including expanded
membership eligibility, expanded organizational mission, and expanded revenue sources. Fourth, we must continue our leadership role in the legislative arena on behalf of Federal employees, retirees, and
other annuitants. We need to demonstrate the effectiveness of and enhance member participation in NARFE-PAC,
the Political Action Committee for NARFE members. And we need to welcome the support and participation
of NARFE members of all political leanings - Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, libertarian or statist.
Remember, NARFE’s mission is advocacy. Finally, with
all of today’s technology available, we must do better in maintaining effective communications between NARFE’s
leadership and its members. Your Colorado NARFE News is a good example of using new (old) communications
avenues to keep in touch with both our tech-savvy members and our older, traditional members. We must keep
our membership informed of the proposed changes to NARFE that are necessary for the organization to continue to protect our
earned employment and retirement benefits. While I was a member of the Future of NARFE Committee and support
the Committee’s recommendations, I welcome your ideas for improvement. I
look forward to working with you and for you, the NARFE members of Region VII (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming). Rodney L. Adelman
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