Month: March 2019

Categories
Obituaries

Bill Robinson’s Passing

Bill Robinson

It is with deep regret and sadness that VCCCDRA announces the passing of long time friend and colleague, Bill Robinson. Bill most recently served as Vice President of the VCCCDRA Executive Board. His obituary was published in Sunday’s (03/24/2019) Ventura County Star. 

You may read Bill’s obituary below or at this link, where you may leave a memory or condolence for the family.

Categories
VCCCDRA News

90th Birthday and Ojai Art

March 18, 2019.

In this week’s blog:

  • Bill Shilley’s 90th Birthday Celebration
  • Tanya Burke, one of seven owners of the Ojai Valley Artists Gallery
  • Reminder, 25th Annual VCCCDRA General Meeting, March 20, 2019
Bill Shilley and family
L-R, Annabell Shilley (Bill’s granddaughter), Bill, and Kristin Shilley (Bill’s daughter) at Bill’s 90th Birthday Celebration.

Bill Shilley’s Birthday
February 24th was the date that over 100 guests celebrated Bill Shilley’s 90th birthday at The Tower Club in Oxnard. Bill Shilley, retired from Oxnard College in 2007 as the founding professor of the Addictive Disorder Studies Program (ADS).  The event’s emcee was Kristin Shilley, Bill’s daughter. Bill thanked his family and many friends in attendance. He expressed particular gratitude to Tanya Burke (one of three Oxnard College’s former and current CTE, or Voc Ed, deans in attendance). Bill thanked Tanya for her vision in bringing the ADS program to OC as an approved program, a program that has benefitted hundreds of students many of whom are now professionals in the field.  Happy Birthday, Bill!

Also in attendance was David Frain, who was an exchange instructor from Brighton, England, who taught at OC in the mid 1990s. David had the distinction of traveling the farthest to the birthday celebration.

Tanya Burke and the Ojai Valley Artists Gallery
In beautiful Ojai, on Ojai Avenue, is the Ojai Valley Artists Gallery (OVA). OVA Arts is a unique gallery of contemporary art and crafts. Owned by 7 local artists, one of whom is our own Tanya Burke (retired dean of vocational education, Oxnard College), the gallery displays work by 40 Ventura and Santa Barbara County artists and offers classes and special events. OVA’s mission is to contribute to the cultural and economic vibrancy of our community by creating a profitable gallery and teaching studio for emerging and established local artists to exhibit their work. In addition to being one of the owners, Tanya also works at the gallery where samples of her beautiful knitting are on display. The OVA Gallery is located at 238 E. Ojai Avenue, Ojai and is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm.

VCCCDRA Annual General Meeting
The General Meeting will be on March 20, 2019 from 2pm to 4 pm, in the Board Room of the VCCCD District Administrative Center, located at 761 East Daily Drive., Camarillo. Download the Agenda for March 20 2019 meeting.

If you have a hobby or passion or an upcoming significant event that you would like us to feature in the Blog, please email your info to Carmen Guerrero, cguerr49@gmail.com.

Visit the VCCCDRA website.

Categories
Health Benefits

Current Status Tier II, Health Benefits, prepared by Gary Johnson

Ventura County Community College District
Benefits of Tier II Retirees
January 31, 2019

FACULTY (hired 7/1/1990- 6/30/2001)

Shall receive District provided coverage to the age of 65, at which time the retirees’ medical care plan shall be replaced by Medicare and a Medicare supplemental plan, which provides comparable benefits, and which is provided and paid for by the District. Dental and vision coverage will continue to be provided (as for active faculty).

(To date the District has not selected or provided a Medicare supplemental plan and continues to provide Tier II retirees with the same Anthem Blue Cross PPO plan or Kaiser plan provided active faculty. When Tier II retirees provide the District evidence they have paid their Medicare Part B premium, they are reimbursed that cost by the District.)

ASCC (Administrators, Supervisors, Confidential and Classified) (hired 7/24/1990 – 6/30/2000)

Shall receive District provided coverage to age 65, including medical, dental and vision. At age 65. the District coverage shall be replaced by Medicare paid for by the retiree, and the District shall provide a Medicare supplemental plan. (Comparing “Medicare supplemental plan” here to 4/22/1998 – 4/21/2001 SEIU contract language, it appears the above supplemental language means “Medicare supplemental plan” as stated in the AFT contract language)

SEIU contract language for Tier II retirees (now apparently covering all ASCC) is silent on dental and vision care after age 65, which could be taken as the District not intending to provide it. However, the District — to date — has continued to provide dental and vision coverage to ASCC retirees after age 65.

Like with faculty, since the District has not yet selected or provided a Medicare supplemental plan, it continues to provide ASCC Tier II retirees with the Anthem Blue Cross PPO plan or Kaiser plan provided active employees.

All retirees can choose between the Anthem plan and the District Kaiser plan.

All retirees must meet age and years of service requirements to be eligible for District paid retiree health benefits.

Prepared by Gary Johnson, VCCCDRA Benefits Committee Chair

To visit the VCCCDRA website, click here.

Categories
Obituaries

Thomas Dalton’s Passing

Tom Dalton

Thomas William Dalton (Tom), age 61,  passed away in his home in Santa Barbara on Feb. 6, 2019.  He was a learning disabilities specialist and professor at Ventura College.

To read Tom’s obituary please use this link.

Categories
Obituaries

Anita Lorenzana’s Passing

Anita Lorenzana

Anita Lorenzana passed away on January 20, 2019, at the age of 94.  She worked in the Admissions and Records Office at Ventura College from 1954 to 1989.

Here is Anita’s obituary.

Categories
Obituaries

George Lanning’s Passing

George Lanning

George Earl Lanning, Jr., former math teacher, counselor and administrator at Oxnard College and Ventura College, passed on January 17, 2019, at the age of 88 years.

Here you may read George’s obituary.

Categories
VCCCDRA News

Changes … they are a comin’

As we enter the last month of the first quarter of 2019, we have a few changes coming, the end of winter, the beginning of spring and with that because of all the rain, perhaps another Super Bloom event in California, and the beginning of MLB (Major League Baseball). I love wild flowers and it is predicted that this year’s Super Bloom may rival the one we had a couple of years ago. I love baseball, especially Dodgers’ baseball, I definitely am looking forward to the new season. And, one more change, me, adding to a change to the VCCCDRA Blog.

So, … who is “me”, or who am I, to be grammatically correct? Rene Rodriguez invited me, Carmen Guerrero, to a volunteer position as your new Blogmaster (well the ‘master’ part is open for debate, LOL).

As a way of introduction for those of you who do not know me, I retired from Oxnard College in 2015 as Dean of Career and Technical Education. I began my career in VCCCD as a student worker at Moorpark College working for Cheri Ziegler in the Technology Division. Thru the years I worked through many levels, as a classified employee, secretary for Bill Lawson, Voc Ed Dean at Moorpark; a non-tenure track full-time faculty working at the Fillmore-Piru Vocational Center, reporting to Carlos Ramirez, that transitioned into a part-time teaching position in the Bilingual Vocational Education Program at Ventura College where I reported to Rene Rodriguez; then a full-time tenure track faculty position at Oxnard College reporting to Tanya Burke. After a few years as a tenured professor in Business, I accepted the dean position; then finally, retirement. Because some of these faculty positions were part-time, I also worked in the aerospace industry until I was hired at Oxnard College.  Altogether, this was a 47-year journey, yet it seems like only yesterday that in 1968 Moorpark College was still, sort of, brand new and I registered as a student in its second year of existence. Time does fly!

As retirees, this blog belongs to us. I would love to know what items of interest you would like to see included in the blog, such as happenings (events, performances, etc.) around the college district as well as happenings around the county. What about items regarding retirees themselves, such as significant birthday and other celebrations; hobbies, etc.?

I hope to hear your thoughts.

Visit the VCCCDRA website.

Categories
Obituaries

Priscilla Partridge de Garcia’s Passing

Priscilla Partridge de Garcia

Dr. Priscilla Partridge de Garcia, age 76, and former Counselor at Oxnard College, passed away on January 15, 2019, at her residence in rural Clarinda, Iowa.

Priscilla was a founding faculty member of Oxnard College, where she had a profound effect on students, faculty, staff, and the community.  Priscilla founded Women’s Day, where she invited women of note as keynote speakers to a day-long event that influenced students and all in attendance.  She also founded the Women’s Re-entry Center at the College and the College’s Foundation.  She was also a long-time board member on the County’s United Way Board.  In addition to her lasting contributions to the College, she also helped found the Ventura County Leadership Academy, an organization devoted to building leadership by increasing awareness, understanding and appreciation of a variety of critical issues affecting life in Ventura County. 

Here you may read Priscilla’s obituary.

Categories
Obituaries

Eursell Jett’s Passing

Eursell Jett

Eursell Jett, Grounds Supervisor at Ventura College and later at Oxnard College, passed away on January 14, 2019. 

Eursell served on the VCCCDRA Benefits Committee, and served as a named Petitioner and Plaintiff in the lawsuit filed on August 31, 2007, against the VCCCD to protect the healthcare benefits representing the Supervisor/Management Class.  We are indebted to Eursell for his service to the VCCCDRA.   

Here is Eursell Jett’s obituary.

Categories
Obituaries

Harmon Cogert’s Passing

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Re: Harmon Cogert
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2019 17:56:59 -0800
From: Rene <renegrodriguez@gmail.com>
To:Barbara Cogert <bcogert45@gmail.com>

Dear Barbara,

Please accept my condolences on the passing of your husband Harmon. I will be most happy to share this information with college district retirees by placing it on the VCCCDRA Retirees’ Association website (vcccdra.org). It is very nice to know of your association with the Ventura College Nursing Program and to know of the outstanding work that the Ventura College trained nurses provided your husband, and congratulations on your achievements as an employee of the district.

Rene G. Rodriguez

On 1/12/2019 1:58 PM, Barbara Cogert wrote:

I mention the passing of my husband, Harmon Cogert on December 11, 2018 because my family and I have established a Nursing Scholarship with the VC Foundation in his memory. He was fortunate to have received the finest care from RN’s; former grads and current students of the Ventura College Nursing program where I worked as an Administrative Assistant for 15 years. As a former Classified Senate President and the first VCCCD employee to receive the Board of Governors/Chancellor’s Office Classified Employee of the Year in 2011, Harmon supported me in all my endeavors to serve Ventura College and it’s students.

Thank you.

On Sun, Dec 23, 2018 at 9:31 AM Rene <renegrodriguez@gmail.com> wrote:

Barbara,

I’m so sorry to learn of the passing of your husband Harmon. Would it be all right if I passed this on to VCCCD retirees? If you have an obituary or information you would like me to share on our website (vcccdra.org), please send me the information. Could you also say something about yourself and your association with the college district. Thank you.

Rene

On 12/22/2018 5:50 PM, Barbara Cogert wrote:

My husband (Harmon Cogert) passed away on December 11 after a long battle with COPD and other lung issues.   Not the greatest time of the year to be in mourning.

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