In Memory

 The passing of a friend is a difficult time for anyone, but the memory of a good person is a blessing forever. In order to honor and remember our TI friends who have died and to express our feelings at their loss, TIAA mails a sympathy card to the immediate family upon learning of a death. However, former TIers became like an extended family as we worked together and built bonds that last throughout the years. In order to recognize and remember all of the deceased TI retirees, we have taken information from TI and created a list of these people.  This lists their name, city, state and date of death and is posted on the TIAA website for our members to access. To access, go to www.tialumni.org/in-memoriam/.  Great care has been taken to list the known information. If you notice any errors or omissions, please contact us at admin@tialumni.org or 214-567-8444.

TI Donates DLP ® Projector

TIAA has begged, borrowed, or rented projectors for our various meetings for years.  Now, thanks to the generosity of Kent Novak, Senior Vice President and General Manager, DLP Products, we own our own new DLP projector.  With the cost savings this provides, we can now schedule an extra seminar or two for our members.  Thanks, TI.

Free Eye Exams

The Senior Source has just announced that the Knights Templar is underwriting free eye exams through Aug. 31 for people over 65 years of age who cannot afford an eye exam.  Eyecare America is an organization of 7,000 ophthalmologists across the country who do free eye exams and one year of free follow up for eye medical problems.  Their goal is to raise awareness about age-related eye disease, including cataracts.  By age 65, one in three Americans has some form of vision-impairing eye disease. Most do not know it because there are often no warning symptoms, or they assume that poor sight is a natural part of growing older. By detecting and treating eye disease early through annual, dilated-eye exams, seniors can preserve their sight.  If you know of someone Eyecare America can assist, please call 1-800-222-3937.

TI’s Corporate Citizenship Report

Building a Better Future, TI's third-annual corporate citizenship report, is now available online at www.ti.com/csr. TIAA members may be interested in reading the complete report, which details the company's annual social and environmental activities and performance. A companion to TI's 2008 Annual Report of financial performance, the report underscores TI's continued commitment to corporate citizenship. "There are two things that didn't change in 2008: our commitment to corporate citizenship and our passion for building a better future," said Rich Templeton, TI's chairman, president and CEO. "We believe being a good corporate citizen is a competitive advantage – and a sustainable business model." According to Trisha Cunningham, TI's director of worldwide corporate citizenship, "We report our results to show our commitment to doing what's right."

Thanks, Hector

Our Administrative Vice-President, Hector Cardenas, has stepped down from this office as of June 30 to pursue some of his other interests, although he plans to remain active on some of the TIAA committees.  Hector has been active in TIAA since he retired from TI years ago and we wanted to let him know he is really appreciated. His leadership and ability to get things done have been an inspiration to us all, and really helped make TIAA the success that it is.

Don’t Sizzle This Summer

Extreme heat conditions in North Texas have proven to be dangerous for the elderly, the very young, and those with chronic medical conditions who do not have access to air conditioning. Each year, Dallas County Health and Human Services operates a Heat Emergency hotline for people who do not have working air conditioning in their homes, or who may know of someone who does not have a working air-conditioning unit. The hotline 214-819-6001 is answered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Persons who need assistance with paying their electric bills during the summer months should also call this number.

VA Reopening Health Care Enrollment to Veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is expanding access to health care enrollment for certain veterans who have been excluded due to their income. Over the next four years, they hope to provide enrollment to more than 500,000 veterans. Under a new regulation effective June 15, VA will enroll veterans whose income exceeds current means-tested thresholds by up to 10 percent. These veterans were excluded from VA health care enrollment when income limits were imposed in 2003 on veterans with no service-connected disabilities or other special eligibility for care. There is no income limit for veterans with service-connected disabilities. Veterans who have applied for VA health care but were rejected due to income at any point in 2009 will have their applications reconsidered under the new income threshold formula.  Those who applied before 2009, but rejected due to income, must reapply. To view the VA announcement,  visit www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/.

August TIAA Travel & Events

Dallas Holocaust Museum – Thursday, Aug. 13 – The Dallas Museum for Holocaust Studies is dedicated to the memory of six million Jews who died during the WWII Holocaust in the belief that by keeping the memory alive, no such atrocity will ever happen again. A dramatic entry through a boxcar that actually transported Jewish victims to the concentration camps brings home the magnitude of this horror. Our tour is scheduled from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. If we have enough attending or if we can combine with another group, a survivor will speak to us. We will leave the LBJ DART station on the 9:42 a.m. train. A senior DART day pass is $1.50. We will get off the train at the West End station and walk 2 blocks (0.1 mile) to the museum (admission $4 for seniors). Afterwards, we will eat lunch at a West End restaurant at our own cost. We should return about 2 p.m. Please register by Aug 6.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram – Wednesday, Aug. 26 – Join us as we visit the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Printing & Distribution Center . We’ll tour a museum that traces the newspaper’s history from the early 1900s and the days of hot type and mule-drawn wagons to the present computer age. Then we’ll see a newsprint storeroom that holds 6,000 rolls of newsprint that weigh a ton each, nine robots that move the rolls that hold eight miles of paper, and a warehouse bigger than a football field. We’ll view the pressroom and the offset printing presses that print 1,000 newspapers a minute. We’ll leave Texins Activity Center at  8:45 a.m. and take the 10 a.m. tour which lasts approximately an hour. After the tour, we’ll eat lunch at Mi Concina in Sundance Square at our own expense and return about 2 p.m.  Price is $10 for members and $11 for nonmembers. Please register by Aug. 19.

Contact Jessica Stewart at admin@tiaa.org or 214-567-8444 to register.  Payments are due seven days prior to event.  Make checks payable to TIAA and mail to TIAA, P. O. Box 740181, Dallas, TX  75374.