UC Retirees Association at Berkeley
October 2023 Report
Submitted by Patti Owen, President,
Elise Woods, Treasurer and CUCRA Representative
The UC Retirees' Association at Berkeley (UCRAB) has had a few activities since the last report. In July 2023, we coordinated with the other retiree associations on the Annual Renegade Retiree picnic. It was once again held at Tilden Park with UCRAB board members manning the grills, handling registration, and hosting a raffle which was a delight to the attendees. We had over 70 participants, with many new retirees. They were excited to meet other retirees and to learn about our associations.
In August 2023, retirees helped incoming students with Move-in-Day. Unfortunately, we were unable to track the number of participants, but those who we identified were assigned to help in the dorms. It was great fun meeting the students and their families.
On September 29, 2023, we hosted our first in person luncheon since the pandemic. The Berkeley Retirement Center moved into a new space in July, and they now have access to conference rooms which the associations can use. We took advantage of this free space and maxed out the space with 45 participants. We served box lunches and people had the chance to spread out onto the balcony which overlooks the Golden Gate. Many of those who regularly attended our luncheons in the past were so excited to be back, and the new retirees were able to meet new colleagues and create new connections. Our speaker was Ford Roosevelt, grandson of FDR, who serves as the Executive Director of the USS Potomac Society. He spoke about the USS Potomac which is based in Oakland; there are plans to offer a bay cruise on it in the spring 2024.
We have appointed a sub-committee of the board for event planning, including the identification of speakers for our "Lunch and Learn" program. Our next planned event is an afternoon meet and greet with a no-host bar at a restaurant near the campus.