OPRI - Oregon PERS Retirees

Board

Current board members:
(Updated Nov. 18, 2008)

Kathleen Beaufait of Salem (Chair) - Represents state retirees on the board. She retired in 1994 as Chief Deputy Legislative Counsel after 34 years with the Legislature's legal office. She also has served as vice-chairperson of the board. Her current term as a board member expires in October 2010.

Pat West of Salem – ( Vice-chairperson ) Represents local government retirees on the board. He is a retired Salem firefighter and also is active in other retiree groups, including the PERS Coalition. He retired in 2001 and his term on the OPRI board expires in October 2009.

Richard Garrett of Portland – Represents local school district retirees. He retired in 2003. He had been a full-time teacher in the Portland Public Schools from 1975 until his retirement. From 1997 to 2002, he was the elected president of the Portland Association of Teachers. He also served for seven years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Oregon Education Association. His term on the OPRI board will end in October 2009.

Russ Gregory of Corvallis – Represents local school district retirees. He retired in 2001 after being a full-time faculty member at Linn-Benton Community College from 1975 until retirement. He was twice-elected to serve terms as faculty association president and also was Developmental Studies department chair for several years. His term will expire in October 2010.

Bob Oleson of Wilsonville – Represents state retirees. He was the public affairs director and lobbyist for the Oregon State Bar for 25 years. Since retirement four years ago, he has been operating a consulting company specializing in policy and organizational projects for non-profits groups and professional organizations and small business associations. His term will end in October 2011.

Pierre Van Rysselberghe of Eugene – Represents the courts on the board. He retired in 1999 as a Circuit Court Judge in Lane County. He was elected to a full term on the board in November, 2008. His term will expire in October 2011. In August, the board amended its by-laws so that the person who fills this position does not necessarily need to be a court retiree.

Gary Tiedeman of Corvallis -- Represents higher education. He retired in 2003 from Oregon State University where he had been on the faculty since 1970. Tiedeman’s field was sociology. He was chair of the sociology department for 16 years and also had served as president of the OSU Faculty Senate. Tiedeman’s term will end in October 2011.

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OPRI BOARD NEWS – At its November meeting, the board re-elected Kathleen Beaufait to serve as chair for the next year and Pat West to serve as vice chair. The board also re-elected Pierre Van Rysselberghe to a full term on the board representing the position that may represent either court retirees or state agency retirees.

The board reviewed the continuing economic bad news and its potential impact on budgets at the state and local level when the Legislature convenes in January and begins work on budgets. The proposal to seek an ad hoc increase for long-time retirees to restore some of their lost purchasing power will go forward during the session, but the exact formula to be submitted still is under study. The board also heard a summary on the outcome of the election in legislative races and ballot measures, most of which failed to pass.

The board also reviewed several detailed OPRI financial reports and also received a copy of the 2008 audit report. The board also approved asking OPRI members to contribute to the OPR-PAC next year. A request for contributions will be included in the January 2009 Newsletter and also will be posted on this web site.

Board members were advised that about 300 members have so far requested to receive future newsletters via e-mail rather than through the postal service. (Posted Nov. 18, 2008)

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BOARD MEETING – The next OPRI board meeting will be Jan.19, 2009 at the Public Affairs Counsel office, 867 Liberty St., NE, Salem, Or. Since the Legislature will be in session, the meeting will begin an hour earlier than usual at noon. This will permit PAC personnel to attend any afternoon hearings that may be scheduled.

The board normally meets on the third Monday of the month. (Posted Nov.18, 2008)

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