Tales From Retirees
Welcome to MPERA TALES FROM RETIREES page. Here, you can enjoy stories from your fellow retirees. If you would like to submit a story, please send us an email at mpera@mt.gov. Put Tales From Retirees in the subject line. We may even print your story in one of our Directions for Retirees newsletter!
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Mike writes: "As the former Executive Director of MPERA, I never gave it much thought about being a retiree. After actually retiring and after the proverbial time it took to realize I was not on vacation; I began to ask myself, what was I going to do to keep me busy? I thought the first thing I should do is answer a simple question. What am I passionate about?
Two areas immediately came to mind: my Irish heritage and being a baker. Now for those of you that know me, the Irish heritage interest is a given but - - the baking interest? Coming from a large family, our mom would bake bread when I was little. Can you just imagine the aroma of the bread coming out of the oven? I can, and the baking passion I have to credit my mom for. So today I work part time as a baker in a small bakery in town and loving every minute of it.
My passion for my Irish heritage has led me down several paths. First, my family history is important to me. In my extended family I am the keeper of the family history. I joined the local genealogical society and also volunteer part-time at the library helping other people research their family histories. I have met my cousins in Ireland through the knowledge I obtained in researching my family. Secondly, I am very involved in the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The AOH is a Catholic; Irish-American fraternal organization founded 175 years ago. I just returned from the AOH national convention and was elected a National Director of the AOH. The last person from Montana to be elected to the national AOH board was over 100 years ago.
The last area that is important to me is the retirement benefit I receive as a retiree. The retirement benefits we receive should be important to all retirees. We are our best spokesmen when it comes to protecting our benefits. Each of us should communicate with our own legislators as to how important our benefits are to us. Another good idea is to join a retiree organization that will advocate on your behalf. There are several retiree organizations available. I have joined the Association of Montana Retired Public Employees (AMRPE) and I am also a board member. AMRPE's mission is to advocate with the legislature, and the PER Board and keep their membership informed about issues that affect our lives and our pensions. Retiree associations will help in the legislative process to protect the benefits we have currently and plan to receive in the future.
As you can see my initial question was answered as to how to keep busy. My passions and interests have kept me very busy. I hope you are enjoying retirement as much as I am."
My passion for my Irish heritage has led me down several paths. First, my family history is important to me. In my extended family I am the keeper of the family history. I joined the local genealogical society and also volunteer part-time at the library helping other people research their family histories. I have met my cousins in Ireland through the knowledge I obtained in researching my family. Secondly, I am very involved in the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The AOH is a Catholic; Irish-American fraternal organization founded 175 years ago. I just returned from the AOH national convention and was elected a National Director of the AOH. The last person from Montana to be elected to the national AOH board was over 100 years ago.
The last area that is important to me is the retirement benefit I receive as a retiree. The retirement benefits we receive should be important to all retirees. We are our best spokesmen when it comes to protecting our benefits. Each of us should communicate with our own legislators as to how important our benefits are to us. Another good idea is to join a retiree organization that will advocate on your behalf. There are several retiree organizations available. I have joined the Association of Montana Retired Public Employees (AMRPE) and I am also a board member. AMRPE's mission is to advocate with the legislature, and the PER Board and keep their membership informed about issues that affect our lives and our pensions. Retiree associations will help in the legislative process to protect the benefits we have currently and plan to receive in the future.
As you can see my initial question was answered as to how to keep busy. My passions and interests have kept me very busy. I hope you are enjoying retirement as much as I am."
