Giving Thanks

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and I’m already thinking about the
turkey and dressing, or is it stuffing? Do you have dressing or
stuffing? Around our house, we stuff the turkey with dressing.
How crazy is that? But you have to admit, whether you stuff the
turkey or have the dressing on the side, that “stuff” needs to have stuffing
(or dressing) all year round. You can buy something out of a box
and prepare it on the stove, but it’s just not the same! I’m thankful
for stuffing/dressing!

I’m thankful my daughter is with Cheryl and me this Thanksgiving.
Although she lives only about 90 minutes away (she’s a history
professor at High Point University), we don’t see her in person very
often. We FaceTime and all that, but being together makes all the
difference. Alas, our son will not be with us. He’s in the US Army
serving overseas. I thank him for wearing the uniform and serving his
country. Knowing him, he will find a great way to enjoy the holiday
and eat some delicious food. It won’t be turkey, I’m sure, but he will
get by!

Speaking of turkeys, I see where the President pardoned two
turkeys. They get to live out their years (I guess they do) on some
farm somewhere. Good for them, but I just wish he would pardon
all the federal workers who were let go this year and give them
their jobs back. America runs on its federal workers, but in this
case, America (the President) ran over our federal workers. We’re
the worse for it!

As you know, the National Executive Board (NEB) met in
November. We got a lot accomplished, but there is still work to be
done. The minutes will be out in the near future, and you can see
what transpired. One thing I will say is that we have allocated more
money to federations and chapters for membership recruitment
and retention. A shout out to the Kentucky and Tennessee
federations for their recruitment efforts (in conjunction with Street
Level Studio (SLS), NARFE’s marketing and branding firm) over
the last couple of months. They increased their membership by
over 20 new members, and there is still a month to go in their
campaign! I urge all our members in Region X to increase their
recruitment efforts and contact SLS on how to start a successful
event. You might even want to contact Linda Heaton, TN
Federation President, or Steve Saylor, the KY Federation
President on what they’ve done to help kick-start your own
program!

If you’re reading this, you know the Region X website (microsite) is
up and running! I want to give a shout-out to Debbie Fisk, the VA
Federation President, who is our Webmaster. She has done a
remarkable job setting it up and keeping it up to date. Also, we
need to recognize Peter Eckhoff, the Region X member of the
Configuration Advisory Board (CAB) for his technical expertise in
the behind-the-scenes work necessary to get the website up and
running. Region X is fortunate to have them working with us!
I can’t let this edition of Little Bobby’s Babblings go without
reflecting on the Region X Conference held in Pigeon Forge, TN,
back in October. We had over 60 attendees who were fully
engaged. They made the conference a success. We had
excellent, dare I say superb, speakers. We had some terrific
breakouts on membership, advocacy, and IT, led by Bob Hardesty
of West Virginia, Doug Clapp of North Carolina, and Debbie Fisk of
Virginia. We had a great time, and we even have pictures! You
can find them here on the Region X website! I’ve even arranged
for the group picture to appear in the NARFE magazine, hopefully
in March. As successful and fun as the 2025 conference was, I’m
confident the 2027 event in Virginia will be even more exciting.
Virginia, the ball is in your court!!

I will end by saying 2025 has seen NARFE and Region X accomplish
great things! Together, we saw the end of WEP/GPO. As
egregious as the government layoffs, firings, and RIFs were, and
as preposterous as the government shutdown was, we are still here,
fighting to protect our earned rights, pay, and benefits. The road
may be long. It may be full of potholes. It may seem like our
efforts are wasted, but NARFE Region X continues to lead the
way! NARFE Region X–18,000 Voices Strong!

Little Bobby
Region X Vice President