{"72911":{"#nid":"72911","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Silver Jackets Keeps Retirees Connected","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen it was time for Maureen Glass to retire from Georgia Tech in 2007, she was surprised to learn that there wasn\u2019t an organization for retirees. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI worked at Tech for more than 30 years and loved my job, my colleagues and the students \u2014 I even met my husband here,\u201d said Glass, the former administrative manager in what was the School of Polymer, Textile and Fiber Engineering. \u201cHow could I just stop being connected to Tech?\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo Glass \u2014 with the help of a few former colleagues, including former Associate Registrar Annette Satterfield and James Stevenson, emeritus executive assistant to the president \u2014 formed the Silver Jackets. The first meeting was held in 2007, with 12 people attending. The organization has since grown to include about 350 people who are both former faculty and staff members. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month during fall and spring semesters. Each gathering features a speaker, which in the past have included an architect who helped design the Georgia Aquarium and faculty members discussing their research. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI really enjoy how the topic of each meeting is different and interesting,\u201d Glass said. \u201cAnd I enjoy having lunch with everyone after the meeting. I get to see and interact with people I knew previously and people that I never knew.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe November meeting always includes a presentation by the Office of Human Resources benefits team that focuses on the year\u2019s open enrollment options. In December, the group hosts a Christmas lunch, with this year\u2019s lunch being held on Dec. 2 at 12:30 p.m. at Mary Mac\u2019s Tea Room. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach year, the Silver Jackets also volunteer for a fall and spring blood drive on campus where members are responsible for checking people in and providing the juice and cookies after the donation. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe know that it\u2019s difficult for people to commit to an organization when they retire \u2014 given second homes, grandchildren and many other distractions,\u201d said Jo McIver, president and former Tech registrar. \u201cWe just want retirees to know that there is a way for them to stay connected to Tech, if they want to.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EQuestions? Click \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:silverjackets@gmail.com\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E to email Silver Jackets. \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen it was time for Maureen Glass to retire from Georgia Tech in 2007, \nshe was surprised to learn that there wasn\u2019t an organization for \nretirees.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"When it was time for Maureen Glass to retire from Georgia Tech in 2007, she was surprised to learn that there wasn\u2019t an organization for retirees."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-11-22 10:53:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:42","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-11-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-11-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"72910":{"id":"72910","type":"image","title":"Silver Jackets","body":null,"created":"1449177962","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:02","changed":"1475894665","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:25","alt":"Silver Jackets","file":{"fid":"193719","name":"blood_drive_155-3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blood_drive_155-3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blood_drive_155-3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":333596,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/blood_drive_155-3_0.jpg?itok=st8gbIEc"}}},"media_ids":["72910"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/silverjackets.gatech.edu\/","title":"Silver Jackets"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"15076","name":"retirees"},{"id":"171139","name":"silver jackets"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}