LLRTA HISTORY

The Sangamon County Retired Teachers’ Association was organized
December 5, 1957, in Springfield, the first chapter in Central Illinois. Ellen Rourke was President/Director, and dues were $1.00.

In 1958, the chapter added five counties (Cass, Macoupin, Menard, Morgan, and Scott) and was re-named West Central Retired Teachers’ Association (WCRTA). WCRTA began immediately to lobby for greater pension benefits for retired teachers.

April 27, 1978, WCRTA divided the six counties into 3 units: Land of Lincoln Unit (Menard and Sangamon); Tri-County Teachers Unit (Cass, Morgan, and Scott); and Macoupin County Unit.
October 26, 1978,
Land of Lincoln RTA (LLRTA) became official with 191 members in the unit and a dues of $2.00. Gerald Brown was its first president, and two general membership meetings were held in the spring and fall.

In 1983, the first biennial LLRTA Directory was published and edited by Wilma Leasman, after which Bob Bierma served as editor.

In 1989, the February and August meetings were added, and dues were $5.00. The first newsletter,
The Land of Lincoln Log, was issued; it was edited by Bob Bierma. Barb Archer was editor in 1994.

In February of 1997, LLRTA once again had a newsletter; it had changed from a single page to several pages and was edited by Kay Caruso, who was assisted by Cindy Davies. The name of the newsletter changed to
LLRTA News
under Kay Caruso. Carol Sobeck was editor in 2005, followed by Helen Holm in 2006, and Stella Taft in 2007.

Walt Smith served as Membership Chair from 1989-2000, during which Unit #43 grew to be one of the largest of the 94 IRTA Units. Life membership was added in 1990 for $45.00. Sandra Carlson served as Membership Chair from 2000-2005 and was responsible for computerizing the membership data. By 2004, dues had increased to $20.00 for annual and $90.00 for lifetime; they were raised in 3 phases from 2001-2004. In 2005, dues were increased to $25.00 for annual and $150.00 for lifetime. Siri Hartsfield served as Membership Chair in 2006- 2007, followed by Audrey Roman in 2008.

PAST PRESIDENTS


Gerald Brown 1979-1980

Orval Floyd 1981-1982

Mary Culver 1983-1984

Ranson Hines 1985-1986

Walter Smith 1987-1988

Allen Utech 1989-1990

Dale Barthel 1991-1992

Joe Hebron 1993

Jean Quinn 1994

John Haworth 1995

Sheila Stone 1996

Gilbert Deimel 1997-1998

Helen Dunn 1999

Kay Caruso 2000-2004

Ray McHatton 2005

Margaret Niederer 2006

Cheryl Benner 2007-2010

Bill See 2010-2011

Margie Deffenbaugh 2011-2013

Don Davis 2014-2015

​Lynne Robinson 2016-2018