Tennessee Retired Teachers' Association

The Union Co RTA membership team is chaired by Pat Walker. She is joined by Marilyn Toppins. Each year they create a list of potential members to contact by phone, email, or in-person. Their goal is to recreate three new members this year. They also discussed how to prevent dropouts of the members who no longer attend meetings. 

Name of the Local RTA:   Warren County Retired Teacher Association 

Person Reporting    Henrietta Kellum Lusk 

Position in Local  President 

Date of Meeting:    Thursday, December 14, 2023 

Place of Meeting: McMinnville, TN – The Webb House 

Type of Meeting: Membership Yearend Meeting  

Did you have a quest speaker? Yes 

Name of speaker: Rep. Paul Sherrell & Bill Dunn 

Position Held State representative & Former Commissioner 

Topic of Speaker: Education – The Voucher System 

Briefly Describe: 35 to 40 Members present. 

Presentation of education and Q & A session 

Devotional:  Opening Prayer led by Donald Jones  

Position: Chaplin 

Music:     Singing from the songbooks developed by  

Debbie Allen, WCRT Secretary  

November 9, 2023-- The executive committee of the Warren County RTA met at the home of Kerry and Terry Mulligan for a planning meeting that opened with a prayer led by Dr. Jerry Hale, past president.

September 14, 2023--The Warren Co RTA met on Thursday in the Magnolia Room at the Administration Building in McMinnville. President Henrietta Kellum Lusk presided over the meeting. Warren Co Director of Schools Dr. Grant Swallows served as the guest speaker. Dr. Swallows spoke about the events happening at Warren Co HS and other schools in the district. Safety is a primary concern for the schools. 85% of the seniors have registered to vote! The system is seeking volunteers to help with certain projects. The WCRTA meetings are advertised on Facebook and in the local newspaper The Sothern Standard and on the local radio station.

December 1, 2023-- Washington Co. RTA met on December 1st at the Food City Banquet Room in Johnson City and held their annual Christmas luncheon meeting. 

The Science Hill High School Chorus sang beautiful Christmas songs. The members and invited guests enjoyed a delicious meal catered by the Food City staff. 

Mr. Jerry Boyd, Superintendent of Washington County Schools, and Dr. Steve Barnett, Superintendent of Johnson City Schools, provided a legislative outlook about the upcoming session which will probably include a bill on adding a voucher to be used for public school students to attend private, home, or charter schools. The school letter grade report card was also discussed. Both directors took questions from the members. 

TRTA Executive Director Dr. Duran Williams brought greetings from the Nashville office and provided an inspiring message to the members. --Report provided by WCRTA Secretary Debbie Lester.

October 25th--The Washington Co RTA met at the Jonesborough Pizza Parlor. The members discussed and planned their upcoming Christmas luncheon on December 1. Members also discussed reaching out to members to bring canned goods to the luncheon to donate to Second Harvest. The Spring luncheon will be held on April 5. Members were also encouraged to write letters to area legislators during the upcoming legislative session. Meeting report submitted by Secretary Debbie Lester. 

October 25th--The Washington Co RTA BOARD met. Membership and new rosters were discussed. A report from the recent TRTA Regional meeting in Knoxville was provided to the board members. The members agreed to focus on “Fun and Food” not just meeting. The $1,000 scholarship fund has two applicants. Handwriting letters to local legislators by members was discussed. The Christmas luncheon will be held on December 1 at 11:30 at Food City. 

November 13, 2023--The Wayne Co. RTA met on November 13th at Dad’s Pizzeria in Waynesboro. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. Katy Wright read the devotional entitled “Shadows.” Linda Bowling offered grace before the meal. The minutes for the last meeting were read and a treasurer’s report was given.

WCRTA is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year! Dean Stegall read a short history of the founding of WCRTA from 1968. Lynn Warren spoke about his family’s history in education in Wayne County. Lynn’s grandfather, C.M. Warren, Sr., was one of the original members of the WCRTA. He served as a teacher and principal in the schools in Wayne County. Mr. Warren also later served as the school superintendent. --Report submitted by Reporter Kathy Wright.