—2— President’s Message This is my last President’s Message for theRAPS Sheet. My term as president ends June 30, when Larry Sawyer takes over as president. I have enjoyed and learned a lot from working with RAPS board members and committee chairs. I am particularly pleased that MiMi Bernal-Graves, our office manager, will continue in that position for the coming year. Some of the highlights of this year include: Excellent monthly programs planned by President-elect Larry Sawyer, including inspiring talks by President Wim Wiewel at three of those programs. Celebration of Portland State’s Vanport history with speakers who had studied, taught, or lived at Vanport. Honoring three RAPS members who worked for more than three years on the History Preservation committee—Steve Brannan, Roger Moseley, and Gordon Solie. Dedication of Portland State: A History in Pictures at a well-attended ceremony at Millar Library. Honoring former RAPS president Mary Gordon Brannan with the well-deserved Outstanding Faculty Award for her continuing research, teaching, publishing, and chairing of the Pictorial History Book committee. Publication of the first RAPS Directory, facilitating contacts with members through e-mail and telephone. Cooperation with national and regional retirement associations, with participation by Larry Sawyer, Bob Vogelsang, and Vic and Beryl Dahl. I welcome new board members Clarence Hein, as president-elect, and Priscilla Blumel, as member-at-large. And I bid farewell to Bruce Stern, who, as awards chair this year, completed four years on the board, and to Jan DeCarrico, member-at-large, who also served on the Elections and Awards committees. I especially appreciate the work of Doug Swanson, editor of theRAPS Sheet, which you have been reading each month; and Bob Pearson, who has been our webmaster for the past three years. And thanks to continuing board members: Past President Bob Tufts, who chaired the Membership and Elections committees; Secretary Joan Shireman, for writing up minutes for each Board meeting; Treasurer Bob Vogelsang, who also has worked with the Scholarship Committee; and members-at-large Dawn White and Charlene Levesque. And here are my hopes for next year with RAPS. Since I will be membership chair, I hope each of you will renew your membership if it is expiring in June. I hope you will encourage a former colleague to join and participate in RAPS activities. I hope you will take seriously University archivist Cris Paschild’s request that we all make an effort to preserve PSU’s history. And I hope to see many of you at the annual potluck picnic on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Enjoy another beautiful Oregon summer! —Marge Terdal challenges, and solutions with respect to University relations. Examples of major shared concerns were parking and other privileges, office and meeting space needs, linkage with institutional administrative units, membership recruitment and dues, newsletter publication and distribution, engagement with academic and noninstructional programs, honoring members for notable voluntary service, and providing scholarships and other forms of student assistance. The group reached an affirmative consensus that the conference had been a worthwhile event that had enabled participants to engage in a “lively exchange of information.” Moreover, annual spring meetings were most likely to be useful and maintain continuity. Conference . . . continued from page 1 ‘RAPS Sheet’ is looking for your news This RAPS Sheet marks the final issue of the 20082009 academic year, but your intrepid editor is already looking forward to next year. President Marge Terdal suggested at a recent board meeting that The RAPS Sheet have a regular column that features the publications, presentations, and community activities of the membership—not unlike the “People, Presented, and Published” listings inCurrently, PSU’s weekly on-line newsletter. So if you’ve published something, presented something, or done something of some note in the community, send an e-mail to raps@pdx.edu. Be sure to mark it “for publication in theRAPS Sheet.” Publication resumes in September. See you then! —Doug Swanson, Editor
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