While their active teacher colleagues headed into the classroom on a bright September morning, recently retired educators made their way to CEA headquarters for a different kind of learning—one filled with laughter, games, and good company.
Over breakfast and friendly competition—Connect Four, Giant Jenga, and even a quirky mashup of ping-pong and Yankee Swap—they traded stories, made connections, and went home with fun prizes from CEA swag to a Starbucks gift card to a year of CEA-Retired membership.
Anne Varrone-Lederle, the recently retired former president of the Wallingford Education Association, was among the new retirees who came out for this morning’s event.
“I wanted to see what CEA-Retired has to offer and enjoy some camaraderie with teachers who are in the same place that I am—trying to figure out that transition to retirement when everybody else is back in the classroom,” she said.
Varrone-Lederle is kicking off her retirement with travel, including a cruise this fall that will take her through the Panama Canal. She plans to stay involved with her profession by taking part in the CEF Holiday Bear Project and potentially continuing to work in education.
Retired New Milford special education teacher Heather Morin is spending a lot of time with her grandchildren while debating going back to the classroom since she works in a shortage area and the position she retired from has not yet been filled.
“I came today to see what kinds of things I might be able to get involved in since I currently have lots of time,” she said. “I’m finding out about all of the benefits of CEA-Retired membership and the work that’s being done to support teachers across the board, which is what it’s all about.”
CEA-Retired Membership Chair Mary Kay Rendock shows Jim Buchta how CEA’s digital membership cards work.
CEA-Retired President Mary-Beth Lang says that this is the second year CEA-Retired has held a Game Day. This year the group focused on attracting new retirees, and all participants were in their first or second year of retirement.
“We’re really interested in building membership and engagement,” Lang said. “All these people that are brand new, we want to bring them in and we want them to join in any level of engagement that they’re comfortable with.”
CEA Educational Issues Specialist Elizabeth Sked says that she suggested the Game Day idea to CEA-Retired leadership as a lighthearted and relaxed way to ensure members can get to know one another and learn about CEA-Retired membership.
“We wanted to make sure new retirees can engage with each other, and games are a fun way to do that,” she said.
CEA-Retired’s Fall Conference will take place September 30 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville and will feature State Treasurer Erick Russell as a guest speaker and include a keynote by former teacher and author David Olio, sharing his powerful story about academic freedom. County Meetings will follow in October.
Find out more about CEA-Retired.
If you’re a retired Connecticut educator and not yet a member of CEA-Retired, join today.
