Whitley Area Retired Teachers Association working to secure benefits, give back to the community

WPD Chief Jason Caddell spoke at a recent WARTA meeting

The Whitley County Area Retired Teachers Association (WARTA) is a group who meets regularly to make sure their pensions and health insurance benefits remain secure. That is their main objective, but it is far from their only concern.

“We are non-political, and we work every single day to make sure that our pensions are guaranteed and that we have health insurance,” current WARTA president, Meg Judd, said recently. “That is our priority, but there are many opportunities for service projects as well. We keep in touch with our schools and local family resource centers, and we provide donations to many different charitable organizations.”

Judd said that WARTA is one of 118 local associations that fall under the Kentucky Retired Teachers Association umbrella. For a small yearly fee, retired teachers living in the area can join WARTA and be a part of a group that, in total, includes over 30,000 members.

“There are many benefits to being a member,” Judd said. “It is important to stay in touch, and to have those regular one-on-one interactions with other people. We need more people to come and be a part of what we’re doing so that we can continue to offer more to our schools, and to our community.”

Judd explained that, while WARTA currently has a large number of dues paying members, most of those members are not taking an active role in many of the in-person meetings and events that the association regularly hosts. For the reason, she encourages both new and existing members to come out, and get involved.

“It’s all about being able to give back,” Judd said. “There are a lot of opportunities for volunteer work in churches, schools and elsewhere in the community.”

In addition to the volunteer work, WARTA tries to bring in special guest speakers to make presentations at their meetings. These speakers range in background and interest, with the most recent being Williamsburg Police Chief Jason Caddell, who stopped by in October to talk about the dangers of identity theft.

If you are a retired educator in Whitley County, and you would like to focus your energy into areas that you weren’t always able to when you were active day-to-day in the classroom, Judd and company invites you to attend WARTA’s next regular meeting, which has been scheduled for December 14 at the Whitley County Cooperative Extension Office in Goldbug.

This is a meeting that you certainly won’t want to miss, as it will also serve as WARTA’s annual holiday potluck luncheon. Start time is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.

Judd said she can also be reached by calling (606) 521-6546.