A meeting of the District 8 Retired Teachers Association will be Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. in the atrium of Natchitoches Central High School. Both active and retired educators are encouraged to attend. The guest speakers are Dana Vicknair, director of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL), and Rodney Watson, director of the Louisiana Retired Teachers Association (LRTA). Important updates will be given concerning retirement and legislative issues concerning both retired and active educators in Louisiana.
Vicknair is the director of the Teachers’ Retirement system of Louisiana, which has more than $19 billion in assets and serves more than 180,000 members. She joined TRSL in 1995 and was chief financial officer for six years before her appointment as director in 2018. Before joining TRSL, Vicnkair worked as an accountant for the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System (LASERS) and was responsible for the oversight of membership eligibility, contribution reporting, contribution refunds, and service credit purchases. Vicknair received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. She is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and has served on its Committee on Retirement and Benefits Administration. She is also a member of the organization, Women in Management.
Watson is the Executive Director of the Louisiana Retired Teachers Association, a membership organization representing the interest of the retired teachers of Louisiana. He was appointed to this position in 2015. Watson holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Louisiana State University Shreveport, with master’s plus 30 hours from LSUS and Centenary College. He started his teaching career in Bossier Parish and then served in administrative positions in Bossier and Caddo Parishes. In 1993, Mr. Watson joined the Louisiana State Department of Education, rising to the position of Confidential Assistance to Superintendent Cecil Picard. He later served as interim superintendent of Caddo Parish Schools and Louisiana Assistant Superintendent of Education of the Office of Educator Support. After his retirement, Watson had teaching positions at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and at Tulane University. He has membership in many professional organizations, including the Louisiana and American Societies of Association Executives and the Association of State Retired Teacher Executives.
Membership in LRTA is not required to attend. Dues for retired teachers are $30 per year and may be deducted once annually from retirement checks. Dues for active teachers (associate members) are $12 per year. Membership is not required to attend this meeting.
The District 8 Retired Teachers Association includes the parishes of De Soto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine and Winn.
