VRTA Spotlight

In this Email:

A Message From the VRTA President
VRTA Member Benefits Information
Today's Interest Rates
Get a Home and Auto Quote
It's up to Us
Important VRTA Dates to Remember

February 2026

A Message from YOUR VRTA President, Karen Whetzel -

Moving Forward Together!

Our vision: All retired school personnel will be safe, productive, informed and financially secure in retirement.

Our mission: to be the voice, resource, and connection for all retired school personnel.

Thanks to all of the VRTA DISTRICT Presidents who are sharing this SPOTLIGHT publication each month with LOCAL UNIT Presidents, and to all VRTA LOCAL UNIT presidents who are then sharing it with their members. (That’s the distribution system we use since MailChimp has a limit on number of addresses!) Thanks to Creekside, which publishes and sends out the Creekside Spotlight each month!

I sent an email message to all District and Local Unit presidents when our in-person VRTA Lobby Day was cancelled in January explaining that VRTA still doesn’t have email addresses for over half of our members. Thanks to those who responded by sending email lists for your local units to Weldon Martin, Treasurer, at hooman4949@gmail.com or mailing lists to him at 1049 Martin’s Lane, Fincastle, VA 24090! Please keep email lists and updates coming to Weldon so that when the VRTA 2026 Spring newsletter comes out, the newsletter editor, Susan Martin, can send a message to members to go online at vrta.us to see the newsletter. The Spring newsletter will NOT be mailed out as a hard copy as we used to do. (Individuals who do not belong to a unit can send your email address directly to Weldon!)

Please let the Legislative Committee know who has made contact(s) with General Assembly members in lieu of in person Lobby Day. Contact Legislative Co-Chair Bea Morris at beam1340@verizon.net or Co-Chair Tina Whitaker at lucy7232@aol.com. (If you aren’t getting their email updates, contact Bea!)

The VRTA Spring Delegate Assembly meets on April 28 and 29, 2026, at the Doubletree by Hilton in Midlothian. Each local unit can have 2 voting delegates; I will be asking for names of delegates in March, but if you know them now, you can send them to me! Let’s have each unit represented!

District Presidents, VRTA Committee Chairs, and VRTA Past Presidents are on the VRTA Board of Directors which meets April 28 at 9 am. Let me know if you will be attending, or send me the name of the alternate representing your district. It is important for EVERY district and local unit to be represented.

VRTA elects officers at the 2026 Spring Delegate Assembly. Here are the nominees: President Elect, Mary Jane Mutispaugh, District F; Vice President, Larry Hardesty, District N; Secretary, Loula Brox, District T; Treasurer, David Palanzi, District N. Current President Elect Drucilla Pollard, District C, will become President on July 1, 2026. Nominations can also be made from the floor. Voting will be held and new officers for 2026-28 will be installed at the Spring DA.

This is my 20th President’s Message in the Creekside Spotlight. My term as president ends on June 30, 2026. THANKS to all who have supported me, made suggestions, gave me constructive criticism! The time has gone by so quickly!

Thanks to all who are checking out the President’s Facebook account: Karen Whetzel VRTA President as well as the official VRTA Facebook page for which Communication Chairperson Nina McClanahan is the editor. If you don’t have Facebook account, you can see the VRTA Facebook page on the website at vrta.us.

If I can help you, your local unit or your district in any way, please email me at kswhetzel@gmail.com or call me at 540-740-8589! I love to hear from members and leaders!

Karen Whetzel

VRTA President

Phone: 540-740-8589

Email: kswhetzel@gmail.com

Scan the QR code on your smartphone or click it to look at Karen Whetzel's VRTA President's page!

If you ever wonder what it means to have VRTA benefits? Visit the website – vrtabenefits.org to see what benefits are available to you.

Gena Young

540-722-2529, ext. 120

genay@creeksideadvisors.net

Haylee Combs

540-722-2529, ext. 121

hayleec@creeksideadvisors.net

Insurance Advisory Services

Home & Auto
Medicare Products
Long-term Care
Life Insurance
Fixed Indexed Annuities

Financial Advisory Services

Retirement Income Planning
Pension Survivorship Analysis
Portfolio Management

Phone (540) 722-2529

Toll-Free (800) 467 5425

Email: savenow@creeksideadvisors.net

IT’S UP TO US

For weeks we have been inundated with information about a constitutional amendment to redraw Virginia’s congressional maps. Why is this such a big deal? It seems so far removed from the things that touch our daily lives. There are so many different districts that some may be confused to the point of thinking it doesn’t matter. It is a big deal, and it does matter. Perhaps the following will clear up some of your questions.

Which districts are subject to change and what is the purpose of changing districts?

Only Virginia’s congressional districts in which Congressional Representatives to the House of Representatives in Washington will be subject to change, not the districts in which state senators and delegates represent constituents in Richmond.

The Republican Party wants to increase its thin majority in the House of Representatives. At the suggestion of President Trump that Texas redraw its maps to increase Republican majority by five members, they did. Then California redrew its maps to gain five seats to offset the Texas redistricting. Other states with majorities of both Republicans and Democrats began their redistricting process. The November election changed Virginia’s governor from Republican to Democrat as well as the majorities in the state Senate and House of Delegates from Republican to Democrat.

Virginia has 11 Congressional Districts. Six of these have Democratic Representatives, and five have Republican Representatives. Since the current election trend seems in the Democrats’ favor, most political analysts believe that, without redistricting, the Democrats would be likely to gain two or three Representatives to Congress, but with the proposed gerrymandering, they possibly could win 10 of the 11 seats.

Why is it so important to have the majority in Congress?

The U.S. Constitution provides for three branches of government, executive, legislative, and judicial, so that there are checks and balances, regardless of the party in the majority. However, it seems that emphasis on party loyalty and politics has become more important than legislation and policies that benefit the people and following the requirements of the Constitution and U.S. laws. It is believed that not having one party with the majority in all three branches would provide a better balance.

Does the governor have a role to play in this process?

Yes and no. An amendment begins as a resolution that must be passed in each chamber in two successive sessions with an election of the House of Delegates between the sessions. The governor does not have veto power over a resolution. However, a bill must be passed by both chambers authorizing a referendum, a vote of the people. Since this is a bill, the governor must sign it. Although the governor could veto a referendum bill, no Virginia governor ever has. Governor Spanberger believes that having gone through this procedure, the people should have a voice. She has said little about it but did sign it into law Friday, February 6. April 21, 2026, has been designated as voting day for this referendum. However, Republicans appealed the legality of this hurried procedure, and redistricting is now waiting for a ruling from the Virginia Supreme Court.

The other three referendum bills – the automatic restoration of rights of convicted felons who have served their sentences, guaranteeing access to abortion and other reproductive health care, and same-sex marriage – have been signed by the Governor and will appear on the ballot in November.

Is it wise to approve of this redistricting? Things to consider:

Democrats in state elections in Virginia as well as in other states seem to be winning with the current voting districts.
Several states that lean toward each party have redistricted or are considering it.
Voters may not vote along strict party lines as they have in the past.
Because redistricting is confusing for some voters anyway when it’s done every 10 years, some may decide not to vote at all. This redistricting plan would be in effect only for voting in November 2026. After the census in 2030, Virginia would revert to districts being decided by the commission procedure in 2021. Gerrymandering done this year would be eliminated and Congressional Districts would be the same as they are now.
An election is costly to localities in time and money.
The proposed district map could hurt some Democratic candidates who would be drawn in the same district.
Just a few years ago approximately 80% of Virginians voted to have fairer elections by establishing a non-partisan commission to draw district lines and to take politics out of the process as much as possible. It seems hypocritical for both parties to say now that because of circumstances it’s all right to change the rules for our advantage. Would this become a precedent? Is it right to abandon principles for what is perceived to be practical? Do the ends justify the means?

Bea Morris

VRTA Legislative Co-Chairperson

Email: beam1340@gmail.com

Important VRTA Dates to Remember

Monday, March 30, 2026: Spring 2026 VRTA newsletter deadline (which will be electronic only, posted on vrta.us in color!)

Tuesday, April 28 & Wednesday, April 29, 2026: VRTA Spring Delegate Assembly at the Doubletree by Hilton in Midlothian, Virginia.

Tuesday, June 30, 2026: Deadline for submitting District/Unit Combined Annual Report and 2026-27 District and Local Unit Officer info for the Directory to Leigh McKay with copy to Daphne Miller. Also deadline for submitting VRTA Community Service Report to Louise Mont-Adams, and NRTA With Our Youth award application to NRTA

Tuesday, September 29 and Wednesday, September 30, 2026: VRTA Fall Conference at the Doubletree by Hilton in Midlothian