Once again, TI has kindly invited TIAA to visit the Dallas Arboretum as it kicks off the annual “Autumn at the Dallas Arboretum" festival (from September 23 to October 31) with one of the most spectacular pumpkin and gourd displays in the world. The garden has transformed itself via thousands of blazing-colored florals as 75,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash come together to form the nationally acclaimed storybook Pumpkin Village.
Our TIAA volunteers performed pre-event tasks for the 9/11 Heroes Run which honors the sacrifices of those heroes from September 11th and the wars since, including veterans, active duty personnel, first responders, and families of the fallen. We performed pre-event tasks, such as packet stuffing, and assembled emergency response bags relating to emergency preparedness for the Dallas County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). The 311 bags we assembled were handed out to those that ran the 5K run or the 1M fun run/walk this year.
Twenty-six former TIers and guests registered and braved the hot July night to attend the Shoot for the Moon event by Dallas author James Donovan. It was held at the Allen Public Library and dinner (topped off by a moon-shaped cake with craters!) was provided from their cafe. Most of us could remember watching a small, black-and-white TV screen and hearing, on July 20, 1969, "Houston, the Eagle has landed" -- and the world has not been the same since.
Even a dark and stormy day didn't prevent 85 TIAA members and guests from attending our Annual Meeting which was held at Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas on May 8, 2019 at 1:00 pm. Great refreshments were provided from the kitchen of Wolfgang Puck, courtesy of TI.
Linda Abraham-Silver, Chief Executive Officer of the Perot Museum, gave a highly informative briefing about the museum. TIAA President Debi Heaton then gave us an update on TIAA and reviewed many of the organizations activities over the last year.
TI retirees and a guest were invited to a special event at the new location of the North Texas Food Bank in Plano, Texas. As part of the TIAA United Way Campaign, TI made it possible for us to tour the new facility, enjoy lunch and help with a volunteer project while on site.
The TI Alumni Association/TI Golf Tournament, in support of TI’s United Way Campaign, attracted 100 golfers for the 20th-annual event at the Woodbridge Golf Club on April 8 in Wylie and raised $36,585 in donations and pledges. Contributions will benefit two worthwhile nonprofits − The Senior Source and United Way. TI and the Texans Credit Union were underwriters for the tournament, making it possible for 100 percent of the donations to go directly to the agencies.
Did you know that Roly-Poly’s (more commonly known in Texas as pill bugs) are listed as part of the family of lobsters? They have gills and the males carry a tiny drop of water next to their face for the female to put her eggs into? Yes, aquatic. Did you also know that once a bee has collected the pollen from individual bluebonnet flowers, the white part of the flower turns pink? Then the bee knows not to try that flower again. It was a fun trip, and very educational, for the TIAA members who signed up for this private, 90-minute tour on April 4, 2019. Fortunately,
On March 21, TIAA took a trip to downtown Dallas for our walking tour and it worked out well as our guide was a young architect who led us down Main Street and up Commerce Street pointing out buildings, who designed them, when they were built, what they originally were used for, and architectural features of the building. With a number of historic buildings built for banks or oil companies, it was easy to see the importance of these industries to Dallas. Many of the old buildings have been converted to residential use.
TIAA sold all of our tickets and we met at Dos Banderas in downtown Garland, for a great Tex-Mex dinner and then walked to the 8:00 pm performance at the Granview Art Center. This is a funny, two-act comedy which takes place in a fishing lodge in rural Georgia where Sgt. “Froggy” LeSueur has dragged his depressed and socially awkward friend, Charlie. Froggy has business with the bomb squad at the nearby army training base and Charlie’s wife has less than six months to live so she requested that Froggy take Charlie with him to America.
On Tuesday morning, March 12, nine TIAA volunteers gathered together at the Dallas SPCA center located on I-35 west of downtown. Our first order of events was to tour the large, modern facility both indoors and outdoors – even though it was a cool, rainy day. The weather was not a bother because we got close to the dog cages to see how well the pets were treated. Inside, there were dozens of cages for both dogs and cats – and even a few small mice! The SPCA even has a surgery ward and we watched as a veterinarian and his assistants treated six dogs who were not too pl