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