History

Mrs. Rhoda Buckley and Mrs. Betty B. Hay, president of the District Retired Teachers Association, organized what is now the Hanover Retired School Personnel Association (HRSEA) at Elmont Elementary School on September 21, 1969.  Miss Bessie Motley, director of the Virginia Retired Teachers Association (VRTA), assisted in getting the organization started. The group originally operated under the name of the Hanover Retired Teachers Association (HRTA). The name was changed later to include all retired personnel connected with the Hanover County Public School System.

The organizational meeting of the association included fourteen (14) retired Hanover County teacher and two (2) state teachers. The charter members were:

  • Mrs. Rhoda Buckley
  • Mrs. Lucille Brooks
  • Miss Miriam Chisholm
  • Mrs. Pearl Coffey
  • Mrs. Christine Gravatt
  • Dr. Charles E. Myers
  • Mrs. Waverly McCauley
  • Mrs. Marguerite Oliver
  • Mr. Joseph Rotella
  • Miss Mary Schroeder
  • Mrs. Pearl Sweet
  • Mrs. Sallie Talley
  • Miss Clara Tiller
  • Mrs. Hallie Waldrop

At this first meeting the group voted to have two meetings per year: a luncheon meeting in the spring and a business meeting in the fall.

The second meeting of the association was held in the Patrick Henry High School Band Room on April 26, 1970. President Rhoda Buckley presided. The group set annual dues at fifty cents. Twenty-five members joined the new organization during its first year. President Buckley appointed a nominations committee and a committee to draft the governing documents.

The third meeting of the group was held September 21, 1970 at the Ashland Rescue Squad Building in Ashland. Officers elected at that meeting were Mrs. Mary Ruth Durham, president, and Mrs. Christine Gravatt, secretary-treasurer.

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