Retirement Association of Portland State Portland State University—RAPS Post Office Box 751 Portland OR 97207-0751 Campus Public Safety Building Second Floor, Room 212 SW Montgomery at Broadway Office Manager Eben Yemoh Telephone: 503-725-3447 Email: rapsmail@pdx.edu Office hours: Remote: 10 am-2 pm Mon, Wed & Thurs. In office: noon- 4 pm Tues, 10 am-2 pm Friday Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.pdx.edu/raps Board Members Co-Presidents Janine Allen & Bruce Stern Secretary Brian Lewis Treasurer Ansel Johnson Members-at-Large Kris Kern, Cheryl Livneh & Michael Taylor RAPS Sheet Editor Doug Swanson Website Editor Steve Brennan RAPS Representative to Regional & National Retirement Associations Larry Sawyer Committees Awards Steve Brennan, Chair History Preservation Eileen Brennan, Chair Membership Pati Sluys, Chair Program Pat Squire & Dawn White, Co-Chairs Scholarship Vacant Social Nancy Eriksson, Chair The RAPS Sheet The newsletter of the Retirement Association of Portland State DECEMBER 2022 It’s December, which means it’s time for this year’s RAPS Holiday Brunch! RAPS MEMBERS are invited to gather at the festive Holiday Brunch on Thursday, December 8, at 11:00 a.m. at Augustana Lutheran Church. The church is located at 2710 NE 14th Avenue in Portland. There’s easy on-street parking; access to the church is on NE 15th Avenue. You can also reach the church on TriMet Line 8 Jackson Park/NE 15th. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. Andrew Garrett, our favorite chef, will be helming the kitchen again this year. He’ll prepare his usual delicious and varied brunch for us to enjoy while we toast one another with mimosas. We are offering the brunch at the same price as last year, $25. Please contact the RAPS office manager, Eben Yemoh, at rapsmail@pdx.edu or 503-725-3447 to make your reservation. Please put your check in the mail by Thursday, December 1. Make your check payable to the PSU Foundation and write “Holiday Brunch” on the memo line. Mail to RAPS, Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751. A fun and festive part of our Holiday event is the “Goodie Table,” which is filled with fabulous desserts, breads, books, gifts, and arts-and-crafts items made by RAPS members. If you’d like to bring something for the table, please set what you think is a reasonable price. And don’t forget to bring cash or a check to purchase a goodie to take home. All proceeds benefit the RAPS Robert Vogelsang Scholarship. Holiday Brunch at a glance When: Thursday, Dec. 8. Doors open: 10:30 a.m. Brunch begins: 11 a.m. Location: Augustana Lutheran Church 2710 NE 14th Avenue Portland Cost: $25 per person. Reservations: Call or email RAPS Office by Thursday, Dec. 1. ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, RAPS members and their guests have an opportunity to enjoy a guided tour of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. The tour begins at 1 p.m. at the museum, which is located in Fariborz Maseeh Hall, 1855 SW Broadway. The visitor entrance is on the first floor. The featured exhibit is “The Art of Food,” which offers more than 100 works in a variety of media. Works by prominent 20th- and 21st-century artists are showcased. Tour leader is Anna Kienberger, the museum’s education and communication coordinator. Schnitzer Museum tour set for December 2
2 RAPS SHEET n DECEMBER 2022 CO-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Voter turnout effort holds lessons for RAPS I AM SURE that I am not alone when I say I am glad the election is over. But voting is a hallmark of our democracy, and it is notable that voter turnout was strong again this election, particularly among young people ages 18 to 29 (according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University). While there are many reasons for this strong voter participation, a significant reason is the deliberate efforts to encourage voter registration and participation. A number of groups work to facilitate voter participation (e.g., The Civics Center, Voters of Tomorrow) through organized campaigns that involve one-onone outreach to prospective voters, but we should not underemphasize the power of individual initiatives. Efforts like those of my niece, Jamie. Jamie is a stone carver, and in preparation for the election, she applied her considerable skills to wood and carved the word “VOTE” into end of pencils. After highlighting the carvings with either red or blue paint, she visited the campuses of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her local community college. She randomly offered people she encountered a pencil. She let them select one highlighted in either a blue or red asking that, if they took a pencil, they agreed to vote. Jamie spent hours carving and distributing her pencils, and she will never know the extent to which her considerable efforts made a difference. But she took the initiative to act upon her commitment to our democracy. You may be wondering what voter turnout and my niece have to do with RAPS. Well, I think RAPS might benefit from taking a page out of the encouraging-voter-participation handbook. There are two important messages: 1. The impact of one-on-one interaction to move people to action, and 2. The power of individual initiative. RAPS has been, and continues to be, a strong organization. Since its establishment, it has played a significant role at PSU through its support of the university. RAPS also provides significant benefits to its members by connecting them to the university and their colleagues as well as providing an array of excellent programs. A testament to the strength of RAPS is how it continued to flourish under the restrictions imposed by the COVID pandemic. Increasing RAPS membership will only strengthen our organization. I suspect that there are many people eligible for membership who may not be fully aware of the benefits RAPS continues to offer its members. I encourage each of us to contact friends and colleagues personally to make them aware of the benefits of RAPS. Ask these prospective members to join RAPS. The membership applications is available on the RAPS website at psu-raps.org/projects or through our office manager, Eben Yemoh, at or 503-725-3447. —Janine Allen Upcoming RAPS events. JANUARY Thursday, January 19 William Comer, professor of Russian and director of PSU’s Russian Flagship Program, speaking on “Ground War: 10 Maps for Understanding Russia’s War in Ukraine.” In-person or Zoom to be determined. FEBRUARY Thursday, February 16 Jett Koda, recipient of the 2021-22 RAPS Robert Vogelsang Scholarship, now working as a medical social worker at Care Partners Hospice & Palliative Care, speaking on creating a forum for discussing death as a means of appreciating life. In-person or Zoom to be determined. ‘I think RAPS might benefit from taking a page out of the encouraging-voter- participation handbook.’
3 RAPS SHEET n DECEMBER 2022 RAPS Group Reports Book Group THE BOOK GROUP met on November 22 and discussed This Is Happiness by Niall Williams. Almost never have we discussed a book that everyone liked so much. The book is set in a small town in Wales, just as electricity comes to the town, bringing the promise of change to a town that is long settled in its ways. The writing, we noted, is elegant, almost poetic. And interspersed in this dreamy mood of the Welsh countryside are wonderful scenarios that tempt one to laugh out loud. Underneath the writing and the humor are multiple layers for discussion, for change exposes many issues. We had a spirited discussion, and many of us left wanting to read other books by this author. Our next meeting is on December 20, when we will discuss Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders Are Made by David Gergen. An Amazon review describes the book as “a powerful guide to the art of leadership.” The first part of the book focuses on the process a potential leader follows in developing self awareness and self confidence. Then comes the outer journey, of persuading others and overcoming obstacles. In developing these ideas Gergen examines the work of notable leaders, both modern and from earlier times. Perhaps a new group of leaders in RAPS will arise from our reading. The Book Group meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. Traditionally we have met in the homes of various members; currently we are using Zoom for our discussions and plan to continue in this way for a time. All RAPS members are welcome to join the group. —Joan Shireman Bridge Group THE BRIDGE GROUP has begun playing in person after a long pandemic hiatus. We need additional players; do you want to join us? We need to establish a suitable time to meet. Which days and weeks work best for your schedule? I would like to hear from any interested RAPS members or others you know who might want to play in our group. The RAPS Bridge Group does not require RAPS membership. Your friends and relatives would be welcome to join us. Please rattle your social and family networks to see if you might be able to shake loose a bridge player or two. Please contact Steve Brennan, 503-889-0146. My email address is: the.steve.brennan@gmail.com. —Steve Brennan Hiking Group FIVE HIKERS did a 4-plus mile trail at Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park in the heart of Oregon City. The trail wound through big-leaf maples, fir, and giant western red cedars with views of creeks and waterfalls.The park has nicely maintained trails, ample parking, and clean restrooms. After the hike we lunched at the Singer Hill Cafe on 7th Street in Oregon City; the restaurant sports a wonderful living plant wall and a variety of soups, salads, sandwiches, desserts, and espresso drinks. Our next meeting will be in December to plan our hikes for the 2023 season; please watch for the schedule on the RAPS website and plan to join us. —Tom Dieterich RAPS MEMBERS have an enormous opportunity to add to the RAPS Robert Vogelsang Scholarship endowment, but you must act by December 31. The same anonymous donor who was so instrumental last year in challenging RAPS members to grow the scholarship issued another challenge last month. The new challenge offers three opportunities: n Every donation made between November 1 and December 31, 2022, will be matched at 50 percent. So the donor will add $50 to your $100 donation, for a total of $150. n In addition, if you haven’t given to the scholarship in the past three years, and choose to donate $100 this year, the donor will match your $100, making a total donation of $200. n Finally, if you increase your previous donation by 50 percent or more, the donor will match the donation by 100 percent. So if you gave $100 to the scholarship last year, and make a $150 donation this year, the donor will match the $150, making the total donation $300. To make a donation, write a check payable to the PSU Foundation, and indicate on the note line that the check is for the RAPS Scholarship. Then mail your check by December 31 to RAPS, Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland OR 972070751. (It is important to mail your donation directly to the RAPS Office so it can be counted toward the challenge.) Thank you! December 31 is deadline to meet the RAPS Scholarship ‘challenge’
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz