Board of Directors Amends Criteria for Retired Member Status

The STC Board of Directors voted recently to amend the qualifications for Retired Member status. This action came after the subject was raised at the Annual Business Meeting during the 2012 Summit in May.

Previously, members had to be 67 years old and completely retired from working, in addition to having been an STC member for at least 10 years, to be eligible to renew at the Retired Member level. The Board reduced the age minimum to 65 and also adjusted the criteria to allow members who are working an average of 20 hours a week or less to qualify. The requirement to have been an STC member for 10 years or more remains.

Connie Kiernan was one of the members who brought this issue up during the Summit, and she praised the decision. “I’m getting old. It’s ugly, but it’s the truth,” Kiernan said. “After 45 years of working, health issues and a failing economy, significantly decreased home value and retirement savings, I can’t afford to retire. I’ve been an STC member since 1989 and don’t want to lose my connection to my colleagues and friends and all the learning opportunities that STC offers, but $195 (or more) each year for membership renewal is getting harder to spend. That’s why, at the Society’s Annual Meeting in May, I was such a vocal advocate for the Board reconsidering the requirements of ‘retired member' status. I am grateful to the Board for their thoughtful discussions and the revised policy they have enacted. Thanks, STC Board of Directors, for helping to keep us ‘oldies but goodies' a part of this wonderful community of professionals!”

STC President Alan Houser applauded the members who brought the issue to the Board's attention. “This action underscores the importance of the Society's annual business meeting, as not just a formality specified by the Society's bylaws, but more importantly as a venue in which members can raise concerns and bring issues before the Society Board of Directors. Two recent Society initiatives, student voting and adjusted requirements for retired membership, came directly from member input at the annual business meeting.”

If you have any questions regarding the qualifications for Retired Member status, please email membership@stc.org.

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