PARIS — OCEA-R (Oxford County Education Association-Retired) will meet on October 18 at the First Congregational Church of South Paris at 17 E Main Street. Sign-ins begin at 10:30 a.m. A brief business meeting will start at about 11 a.m., followed by lunch. We will welcome candidates for office in this year’s election. We will launch our annual Scholarship Raffle to help us provide scholarships for high school graduates in the spring.

Our September meeting was held at the West Paris Universalist Church. We were grateful for the excellent lunch organized by Sandra Poland and served by members of the church. Our president, John Kimball, informed us of the pre-retirement meetings sponsored by the Maine Education Association. These meetings are for anyone planning to retire in the next five years. The times and places for these sessions can be found by calling 1-800-451-9800, or you can pre-register online.

We were also informed of the annual convention of Maine’s retired teachers to be held at the Augusta Civic Center, on May 1, 2025. The theme of the 73rd annual convention will be “Everyone’s a Leader.” These gatherings of retired teachers from all over the state are informative and provide the opportunity to learn about the many retired teacher activities and programs taking place throughout Maine.

A highlight of our September meeting was the presentation of Robin Chiarello concerning her book “The Blue Lobster Visits the Eye Doctor.” Robin lost her son when he was young. His eyes were donated and made it possible for another person to see. Robin encourages people to take care of their eyesight and to consider such a donation to give the wonderful gift of eyesight to someone in need. She hopes her book will inform young people of the importance of eye appointments and lessen anxiety about seeing an eye doctor. The book won the Mom’s Choice Award.

John Kimball told the group about the trip he and his wife took to Normandy. He described what they saw there and how it impacted them.

Be sure to vote! The election is coming soon!

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