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he Berrien County Chapter of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel (MARSP-BCC) is one of
83 in-state chapters (there are also 20 out-of-state chapters). Through their membership, chapter members
support MARSP's mission to preserve, protect, and enchance benefits and provide societal support
that creates a dignified retirement for current and future public school retirees.
We are an organization focused on communication. Like MARSP,
we communicate with members using a newsletter, website, e-mail, telephone, and meetings. Both MARSP and MARSP-BCC have
individuals able answer questions and solve problems related to retirement benefits. Each year MARSP-BCC sponsors
a retirement planning workshop that provides retirement and insurance information to those planning to retire and
insurance information to those already retired.
We know that retirees who are knowledgeable about
their retirement benefits and the legislation that affects those benefits are better able to use those benefits wisely
and to influence the actions that affect those benefits.
Communication is a primary purpose of the four annual MARSP-BCC luncheon meetings;
however, the meetings and committee activity also provide an opportunity to socialize and keep in touch with
friends and colleagues. The goal is to help retirees make the most of their retirement years.
We are an effective organization because of our volunteers.
As with the other chapters, the board and committee members of MARSP-BCC are volunteers. The MARSP-BCC volunteers
serve the needs of more than 500 chapter members. Membership dues enable MARSP to have an executive director
and five paid staff to serve the needs of more than 45,000 members; however, the MARSP officers and committee members are also volunteers.
Additional information about who we are can be learned
from the chapter documents below. The bylaws describe our chapter's governance, the committee descriptions indicate ways
member volunteers become involved, the list of scholarship recipients shows our commitment to the future of education, and the
chapter history provides an overview of our activities since the chapter began in 1968.
(Upper Right) Rochelle Strunk (left), 2011-2013 chapter president, presents Patricia Wightman-Fisk (right) the 2012 MARSP-BCC Award for Dedicated Service.
(Upper Left) Membership Committee Chair Sinie Bass Wilburn, recipient of the 2019 MARSP-BCC Award for Dedicated Service.
(Middle Right) On June 13, 2023, two Dorothy Hawks Scholarships totaling $3,500 were presented. (Left to Right) Vanessa Crisenbery and Hannah Harrison.
(Lower Left) June 10, 2014, program: Michael Kline, "Al Capone and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre."
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