We are an association of retired teachers and university professors. Our aim is to help retired members who are in financial crisis, give scholarships to high school students in our county who want to study teaching at the university, influence legislation, and to volunteer our time in helping others while keeping ourselves meaningfully occupied. Please donate support OCREA activities.  About OCREA Orange County Retired Educators Association is a non-profit organization, an affiliate of the Florida Retired Educators Association (FREA) and the National Retired Teachers Association. The Association was formed in 1958 and has grown significantly in over 60 years. We are an association of retired teachers, university professors and any person who has retired from the education field. Our mission is to promote professional, intellectual, and social well-being of our members, encourage community involvement through volunteerism, and provide educational scholarships. Please donate today to support OCREA activities. Our Objectives To operate for educational and charitable purposes. To promote the health and safety of retired educators in Florida, as well as their social, professional, educational, and economic well-being. To help retired educators to maintain their identity with the educational profession, retain their professional concern for the education of young people, and promote lifelong learning for mature adults. To encourage positive involvement in the community and respond to community needs through existing OCREA programs. By volunteering their time and energy, retired educators have something to look forward to. To provide social opportunities for fellowship among retirees. To assist in preparing active educators and prospective retirees for retirement by promoting and assisting in pre-retirement seminars and workshops. To provide leadership in promoting and monitoring legislation that will affect current and future members’ retirement and health benefits and educational issues. To provide scholarships to high school seniors planning to become teachers. To provide scholarships for educators who wish to continue their education in a master’s degree. To raise funds and donate them to several activities and scholarships. To promote the local programs of the Florida Retired Educators Association and the National Retired Teachers Association. To disburse OCREA funds in the furtherance of the objectives of the Association, as set forth above and in accordance with Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue code of 1976. Our Activities Members of our local association, OCREA and our parent FREA, participate in many activities and projects to promote our mutual goals. The following are just a few of them. We support the state legislative committee in various ways. Some of our legislative activities include visiting, calling, writing, and emailing legislators concerning our positions on issues pertaining to retirement legislation and other educational issues that are important to us. We donate regularly to several activities to support both state and local scholarships. Monetary collections at all meetings, and fund-raising activities at district and state meetings are just a few of our activities. Volunteering our time to assist others such as working in schools, hospitals, or churches, tutoring non-English speaking individuals, and serving as docents at local museums and meals-on-wheels, keep our spare time occupied. Providing desserts, other goodies, and household and personal items to The Russell Home for atypical Children and The Ronald McDonald House for families of hospital patients is a popular project. We also collect pop-top tabs for their collection.

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Orange Couty Retired Educators Association - OCREA has several committees, each of which consists of one (1) or more persons. Each committee has its own chairperson. Committees include: By-law Cultural Affairs, The Editorial Team, Hospitality, Information Services, Legislative, Membership Committee...Join Us Orange County Retired Educators Association Committees and Chairpersons OCREA has several committees, each of which consists of one (1) or more persons. Each committee has its own chairperson. By-Laws Prince Kelley Review the OCREA bylaws and submit recommendations for changes. Credit Union Representative Mary Ly nn Williams Represent retired educators’ interests at the Addition Financia l Credit U nion. Communicate information to the membership. Cultural Affairs Joanne McNamara Provide members with information concerning local cultural activities. Encourage mem bers to participate in local cultural events. Serve on the Program Committee. Editorial Team Yearbook: Jennifer Cunningham Kim Stutsman, Ed. D. Janice Quint Prepare, edit, and publish the OCREA Yearbook Newsletter: Janice Quint Publish the Newsletter: "The Retired Educator." Historian: TBD Take pictures of meetings and events and post on social media . Fifth Grade Essay Competitions Debbie Smith Coordinate and set up the 5th Essay at local elementary schools. Hospitality Suzanne Lincoln Coordinate refreshments at all meetings. Plan for the decorations for the February potluck luncheon and May Luncheon. Schedule member volunteers for "Thought of the Day", door greeters,, and food table centerpiece at the general Meetings. Legislative Claire Stephens M onitor and report on the health of the Florida Retirement System (FRS) Identify and report issues critical to FREA which are being discussed in proposed legislative bills and activities. Membership Cathy Tapley Recruit retired educators and other related personnel to join the local and state association. Collaborate with the Treasurer to keep accurate membership records such as new members, renewals, address changes, deaths, etc. and report updates/changes to the F REA office. Update, print and bring member name tags to general meetings. Serve of the yearbook editorial team. Information Services Pat Franklin Acquire and disseminate current information to members on Personal Safety Health Issues Insurance, Medicare and Social Security Retirement coordination with OCPS and FREA. Necrology Tom Ard Maintain a list of names of deceased members during the year. Conduct necrology service at the Spring Luncheon. Nominating Committee Chair - Christine Woods Submit names of members to be considered for election as officers and directors of OCREA. Parliamentary Committee Christine Woods Advise, when needed, on all matters of the parliamentary procedure according to Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised. Serves as By-Law Chair. Programs Monica Johnson Sue Brown The Vice President shall serve as Program Chairperson. Responsible for planning and presenting meeting programs. Publicity Nancy Pelser-Borowicz Submit information concerning local and state activities to the news media. Volunteer Services Monica Johnson Communicate opportunities for volunteer services in the community, including literacy training. Collect, record and submit to FREA the total number of volunteer hours served by OCREA members. Select a volunteer of the year and submit appropriate information to FREA. Webmas ter Dick Quint Serve as the primary contact fo r all aspects of the OCREA website. Maintain a functional and easy-to-use website. Update website content in a timely manner.

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News Title 02 Full Name MAR. 23, 2023 I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. Click Preview to see my content. To update me, go to the Data Manager. I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. To update me, go to the Data Manager. The Data Manager is where you store data to use in your site pages, or collect data from site visitors when they submit a form. This collection in the Data Manager is already set up with some fields and content. To customize it with your own content, you can import a CSV file or simply edit the placeholder text. You can also add more fields which you can connect to other page elements so the content displays on your published site. Remember to sync the collection so your content is live! You can add as many new collections as you need to store or collect data. With Presets, we’ve handled the page set up for you, but you can create the exact same functionality in your other site pages. To connect page elements to data, the first step is to add a dataset to the page and choose the collection you want to use. From the dataset Settings panel, you can filter or sort the available items, decide how your users can interact with the page (read/write), and more. Next, select the element you want to connect to the data, and choose the field you want to connect it to. So simple! If you want to add even more capabilities, enable Developer Tools to use JavaScript and APIs to add custom interactions and functionality to your site. To see what’s possible and get answers to your questions, check out the Wix Code Forum. < Previous News Next News >

Learn More About Our Higher Learning Education for High School students who wish to pursue a career in teaching, technical students, and teachers who wish to pursue a post-graduate degree in education can apply for the scholarships using the applicstion forms available on this website. Scholarship Programs We offer a variety of scholarships to support your educational goals! High School Seniors: Explore our academic scholarship and the Ernst and Ruth Hawk Education Scholarship, specifically designed for those interested in a teaching career. Technical Students: Pursue your technical education with the help of our dedicated scholarship program. OCPS Teachers: Further your education with our scholarship for teachers seeking a postgraduate degree. Applying is easy! All application forms can be found conveniently on this website. Don't forget! This website also provides information for the FREA state essay contest for fifth graders. Retired Educators Foundation of Orange County The leadership of Orange County Retired Educators Association (OCREA) formed a nonprofit foundation to manage funds received from the sale of property that was purchased to house retired teachers. The interest, after expenses have been paid, is used for scholarships. The Foundation has identified three non-renewable types of scholarships: Academic Scholarships for Orange County Public School (OCPS) graduating seniors. Technical Scholarships for students from Orange Technical College. Educators Scholarship for an OCPS teacher working on a graduate degree. The number of scholarships given, and the dollar amount is dependent on the interest generated from the funds in the Foundation account. This scholarship program is managed by an OCREA Committee. It was named for Ernest and Ruth Hawk, long-time local promoters of teaching scholarships. The goal is to support young people who wish to become teachers. The recipient of the local Florida Retired Educators Foundation nomination will also receive this one-time-only scholarship of $1,000. Monies to fund the scholarship are raised from the Little Red School House donations and the sale of used books. Ernest & Ruth Hawk Scholarship The FREF Foundation Board is made up of nine directors elected from OCREA membership and the current OCREA President (Ex Officio). In turn, they elect their own officers. REFOC Board of Directors: David Magee, Chair Christie Woods, Vice Chair Janice Quint , Treasurer Nancy Beasley, Secretary Christie Woods, Ex Officio Cynthia Hubbard Kim Stutsman Gwen Mercer Gary Moser Claudia Vogt District VIII Trustee Debra Dykes Kornhaus unionlady4ever@gmail.com FREF Local Committee Chair Kim Stutsman stutsmankim85@gmail.com

The Foundation has identified three non-renewable types of scholarships: Academic Scholarships for Orange County Public School (OCPS) graduating seniors; Technical Scholarships for students from Orange Technical College; and an Educators Scholarship for an OCPS teacher working on at graduate degree. The number of scholarships given, and the dollar amount is dependent on the interest generated from the funds in the Foundation account. Technical Scholarship Application If this application is incomplete or minimum requirements are not met, it will not be considered. This scholarship is for students who attend an Orange Technical College. The requirements are that you are enrolled in a six hundred clock hour or more Career Certificate Program and have completed a semester of work in a chosen field. If selected by the scholarship committee, the recipient will be awarded $1,000. Please use the form below to apply for this scholarship. Technical

The Retired Educators Foundation of Orange County, Florida, will award a $2,000.00 scholarship to a teacher working with students in the Orange County (Florida) Public Schools system who is pursuing a Master’s Degree and will continue to work in the classroom for a period of two years. Educators Scholarship Application The Retired Educators Foundation of Orange County, Florida , will award a $2,000.00 scholarship to a teacher working with students in the Orange County (Florida) Public Schools system who is pursuing a Master’s Degree and will continue to work in the classroom for a period of two years. Eligibility Limited to active OCPS teachers Currently enrolled in a graduate program at an accredited college/university and has completed a minimum of one course Requires a letter of recommendation from an administrator, supervisor, or individual who knows about the quality of the applicant’s teaching Requires an essay of fewer than 300 words discussing the following: The attributes or circumstances that qualify you to be a recipient of this scholarship Your educational and career goals Any clubs, chairmanships, professional associations, community, and or religious organizations may be included Scholarship Award The amount of this scholarship will be $2,000, one time only, and will be given to the recipient. Upon selection, the money will be awarded upon proof of enrollment in the program. Use the online Educators Scholarship Application form below to apply: Educators Apply

News Title 04 Full Name MAR. 23, 2023 I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. Click Preview to see my content. To update me, go to the Data Manager. I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. To update me, go to the Data Manager. The Data Manager is where you store data to use in your site pages, or collect data from site visitors when they submit a form. This collection in the Data Manager is already set up with some fields and content. To customize it with your own content, you can import a CSV file or simply edit the placeholder text. You can also add more fields which you can connect to other page elements so the content displays on your published site. Remember to sync the collection so your content is live! You can add as many new collections as you need to store or collect data. With Presets, we’ve handled the page set up for you, but you can create the exact same functionality in your other site pages. To connect page elements to data, the first step is to add a dataset to the page and choose the collection you want to use. From the dataset Settings panel, you can filter or sort the available items, decide how your users can interact with the page (read/write), and more. Next, select the element you want to connect to the data, and choose the field you want to connect it to. So simple! If you want to add even more capabilities, enable Developer Tools to use JavaScript and APIs to add custom interactions and functionality to your site. To see what’s possible and get answers to your questions, check out the Wix Code Forum. < Previous News Next News >

The highest office of the Association is held by the Executive Board which is composed of the Officers of the Association. The officers of the Association include President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and the Treasurer. They are elected by the Board of Directors into these roles. Orange County Retired Educators Association Board Officers and Directors OCREA Officers of the Association The highest office of the Association is held by the Executive Board which is composed of the Officers of the Association. The officers of the Association include President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and the Treasurer. They are elected by the Board of Directors into these roles. Board Officers 2024 - 2025 Janice Quint President Monica Johnson Vice President Kim Stutsman Recording Secretary Cathy Thompson Corresponding Secretary Jennifer Cunningham Treasurer Board of Directors The Board of Directors consists elected directors, five (5) of whom are elected to be the Officers of the Association. The Board of Directors is responsible for the administration of the affairs of the Association, formulating of policies and programs, and recommending the policies and programs to the Association members. Each Board member, including ex-officio members, serving on the Board have one vote. 2024 -2026 Suzanne Lincoln (2nd term) Pat Franklin ( 1st term) Chris Daniels (1st term) Christine Woods *Ex Officio - Past President 2023 -2025 Richard Gomer ( completing 2nd term of a resignation) Prince Kelley ( 1st term) Board of Directors Christine Woods 2022-2024 Dr. Gay le Hodges 2020 - 2022 Dr. Sharon Kochlany 2018 - 2020 Dr. Kim Stutsman 2016 - 2018 Dr. Ann Winn 2014 - 2016 Richard Gomer 2012 - 2014 Margie Wells 2010 - 2012 Sue Orth 2008 - 2010 *Carol Egolf 2006 - 2008 *Julia M. Greene 2004 - 2006 Tom Ard 2002 - 2004 *Phyllis Tacey 2000 - 2002 *Deceased Past Presidents