As the executive secretary, I wear many hats. My duties and responsibilities include overseeing the daily operations of the state office and making myself available to the needs of our members.

Our staff pitches in to get the job done no matter what! During the legislative session, as the principal lobbyist, I along with AERA Lobbyist, Paul Parker, are monitoring the bills that affect education retirees. Rest assured that I make certain that the concerns of our members are expressed at the State House. I am pleased with the progress we have made at AERA under my watch. It is my great privilege and honor to serve as Executive Secretary of the Alabama Education Retirees Association. I understand the importance of what this organization is working to accomplish and that the efforts of our staff, Board of Directors and members do make a difference for state education retirees. Remember, our door and phone lines are always open at AERA!

E-mail: jcharlesworth@aerainc.org 

My main duty as assistant to the executive secretary is serving as editor of our bimonthly newspaper, the "AERA Voice!" I do the editing, layout, and design of the publication, which is mailed to all our

education retirees and producing and mailing membership invitations several times a year as well as receipts to our members. Her office becomes a noisy place when she is printing membership statements! Vicki also handles all of the accounts payable and receivable duties. This includes producing a monthly financial statement and the AERA budget each year. One of Vicki's many duties is maintaining and updating the AERA website, so if you like what you see, let us know!

I'm the ‘Walmart Greeter' of AERA. Although my job description includes a variety of tasks, I believe in making each caller feel special and to provide the best service possible. It makes me smile when someone asks for our voice mailbox, I tell them that is something we probably will never have as we believe every member deserves our full attention. I'm also the ‘behind the scene' support staff member. As such, meeting preparations keep me busy. There is the Annual Meeting, nine District Meetings, Board and Committee meetings, staff meetings, etc. In the summer time, I'm responsible for the "free" local unit letters offered to all 81 local units. The letters need to be reformatted, printed, folded, stuffed, prepared for bulk mail, and then sent to over 66,000 education retirees. I look forward to assisting you by phone or email.

E-mail: vdewees@aerainc.org