Newsletter
of
the Honeywell Retiree Social Club of Arizona
NOTE:
This online version is a reformatted sub-set of the
full version sent to paid-up members, with updates
to event information since the Bridge was
distributed. For example, it does
not contain names of recent retirees, new members,
or members who have passed away, nor does it
contain the list of member email addresses which
is sent out from time to time. Finally, there will typically be a
delay of a week or so before a new month's version
is posted here; if you want to get the Bridge as it
comes off the press, become
a member and request the full-color PDF
version, the eBridge, which is sent by email. Note
that Honeywell outsources the distribution of the
black-and-white paper Bridge. It is typically
delivered about two weeks after the PDF eBridge is
delivered by email, so apart from news being a
little old, members receiving only the paper copy
may miss out on first come, first served signup for
upcoming events.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day and July
4th holiday!
Please note: This is the last Bridge
Newsletter until the September issue.
Past President's Perspective
Ed Taschner is ill
at present, so I am writing this month’s
perspective. We have had a very successful and
active club year, with twelve events on our
calendar, some of which were repeated. We
started with Oktoberfest (thanks to Dawn
Orgill, Linda Darnell and Gwen Scheetz), and
had several very popular visits to the Amazon
Fulfillment Center (thanks to Ed Taschner),
and to Tovrea Castle (thanks to Keith Hughes.)
We had Valentine’s Day at the Races (thanks to
Vic Fragnito), a fascinating visit to the
Southwest Airlines maintenance hangar (thanks
to Keith Hughes), a windy, but nevertheless
enjoyable, Eastern Caribbean Cruise, (thanks
to Barbara Rippstein), and the year culminated
in a very enjoyable and well-attended picnic
at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park—thanks
to Linda Darnell, Gwen Scheetz and Dawn Orgill
for making this a success, and to all the
organizers and helpers for all the events,
including those not mentioned above. Our
scholarship program is also enjoying success;
see below for more information.
I want to follow up on Ed’s
call to members for help leading our Club. We
are losing two valuable Board members due to
personal/family issues, and your club could
use your help in replacing them. We are
looking for two of you willing to help provide
direction for the club. There is not a lot of
work involved—simply a commitment to attend
six to eight meetings per year, provide your
thoughts to the Board, and vote on issues
requiring a Board decision. The term is three
years. Please contact me at 480-580-5585 or mbarkl@cox.net,
Linda Darnell at 602-538-9559 or ldarnell@ix.netcom.com
(limited email May 18-29), or contact anyone
on your
Board if you are interested or know
someone who might be a candidate.
The Club has a team for our
next Oktoberfest, but we need a leader for it.
This is a one-off commitment—once Oktoberfest
is over, you are done! To find out more,
contact Linda Darnell (limited email May
18-29), at 602-538-9559 or ldarnell@ix.netcom.com.
On the topic of volunteering,
we have a great opportunity in November, when
there will be a Honeywell-sponsored community
housing/shelter event. The date and the
details are not yet set, but if you contact
Doug Metzger at 602-319-6637 or doug.metzger@cox.net
he will put you on the emailing list for
information updates, and there is no
commitment in doing this.
Thank you so much for being a
member; we have 2017-2018 event plans under
way, but welcome any suggestions for events,
and look forward to seeing you again in
September. Enjoy your summer, whether in the
Valley, or escaping the monsoon elsewhere.
Enjoy your Summer!
Mary Barkl
The Bridge
MISSION
STATEMENT
Honeywell
Retiree Social Club (HRSC) is a social
organization in Arizona for Honeywell
International, Inc. retirees. This
organization will be open without
regard to prior class of employment,
race, creed, sex or geographical
residence.
HRSC will provide activities, programs
(such as Fix-It Guys and Scholarship
Program) and projects of interest to
retirees and spouses. It will
facilitate effective communications
between members, other Honeywell
retiree clubs and Honeywell
International, Inc. It will provide
opportunities to renew acquaintances
and promote fellowship among retirees,
and will assist retirees in
maintaining and enhancing the image of
Honeywell International, Inc., in the
eyes of the public.
From the Editor
A variety of
information for members can be found on the HRSC
website hrcaz.org;
just click the menu buttons at the left of most
pages. For example: HONEYWELL HISTORY provides
the history of Honeywell (now from multiple
sources), ARCHIVES offers back editions of the
online Bridge, minutes of board
meetings, Treasurer's reports and Webmaster's
reports, and EVENT SCHEDULE has the latest
information on upcoming events. The PHOENIX AREA
ATTRACTIONS page has been updated and now has
many new attractions—have a look, you might find
something that interests you.
Do you have
a new address or e-mail? Be sure to send us
the updated information. Do
you have any questions or comments?
Address them to the editor at the email
or street address below.
The HRSC email address is Hotline@hrcaz.org
and the street address is
Honeywell Retiree Social Club
1860 W Rose Garden Lane
Phoenix, AZ 85027-2704
Any comments or claims made within the
publication are solely the responsibility of the
author(s) and do not necessarily express the
views of Honeywell Inc. or the Directors,
Officers, Staff or members of the Honeywell
Retiree Social Club of Arizona.
Great Teaching Opportunity at Scottsdale
Community College!
Patricia Dueck,
Engineering/Computer Science Program Director at
SCC, recently announced that SCC will be hiring
experienced engineers to instruct SCC students.
She specifically wants to interview retired
Honeywell engineers with a Master's degree to
teach these courses:
Introduction to
Engineering
Computer Coding
Electrical
Engineering
Any engineering discipline should be suitable
for the first course. For the other two,
Patricia is looking for someone with an
Electrical Engineering degree, although for the
level of instruction required, other engineering
disciplines may also be adequate. Patricia will
be able to assess for your particular Bachelor's
and Master's degrees and work experience.
Those of you who are
interested in finding out more about this great
opportunity are encouraged to contact Patricia
directly at:
We
can
help Honeywell retirees or surviving
spouses with fix-it jobs around the house
that you are not able to accomplish. This
will hopefully keep the job from being a
budget buster for you.
Call us at the appropriate number
below and leave a clear message giving job
information, your name, telephone number
and nearest cross streets.
East Valley 480-820-9604
North Valley 480-765-4466 602-765-4466 or
480-510-9304 during the summer months
We can
probably help and will get back to you
as quickly as practical.
We
furnish the labor at no cost to you; you
furnish the cost of the parts.
Below is a list of
volunteer Fix-It Guys from both the East
and North Valley.
East
Valley
Mike Briske
Frank Holman
Warren Koepsel
Charlie Paine
Bob Davenport
Nick Hughes
Stu Mitnik
Ken Probert
Mike Griffin
Jim King
Chuck Mottet
North
Valley
Gene Kupka
Roy Newbold
Ed Skutecki
Clint Langford
Lee Rippstein
Dan Schott
Bob Farney
Wally Secosky
Are You
a Fix-It Guy?
The Fix-It Guys are looking for a person who will take
over Clint Langford’s position as coordinator for this
much called upon group of volunteers. He is having to step
down due to health reasons. Clint has been heading this up
for almost 15 years and his crew has helped over 300
retirees many times.
Therefore, if you’re interested in joining this band of
volunteers, please contact Clint at 602‑80‑2350 to get all
of the particulars on this position. It will be well worth
your time in not only helping some of your former
co-workers but also keeping the Fix-It Guys services
available for future calls.
Honeywell Retiree Clubs
Scholarship Foundation
The
Scholarship program for 2017-2018 academic
year closed on April 1. Awards will be
made in the May/June time frame. We will
publish articles on each of our recipients
over the next few months.
Information can
be found on the website at hrcaz.org.
Click on the Scholarship tab, (found on
the left side of the page). Our
Foundation Board Members are also happy to
help. You can call or email your
Scholarship Board Member at:
The first 10 of 150
club members toured the castle. Demand has been so
great we had to arrange 9 tours and having attended
the first one I can see why. There is a fascinating
history to both the grounds and the building that I
will not reveal before others have gone. Suffice to
say it was an enjoyable visit. (Keith Hughes)
Sponsored by the Sperry
Retiree Club
Tovrea Castle
Tour, January 20, 2017
On a cold and cloudy
day on Jan 20th, 2017 we had 22
people tour the Castle in the first of four
exclusive club only tours. The group learned
about the history of the castle and the
surrounding area.
Southwest Airlines
Tour – Jan 26, 2017
Fifty club members from Air Research, Garrett, Allied,
Honeywell and Sperry clubs toured Southwest Airlines
Maintenance Facility. The two 737-700 aircraft in the
hanger were undergoing their 500 day overhaul so we
were unable to go aboard but our host, Kevin Bowman
did a fine job explaining the facility operation and
the history of the airline. We learned how the tail of
the 737-700 aircraft is too tall for the hanger so
they lift the nose wheel up to drop the tail to get
the aircraft in the hanger.
This was our third visit and if there is sufficient
interest we will arrange another visit in a few
months.
Tovrea Castle
Tour, February 11, 2017
In pleasant weather conditions, 23 of us were shown
around the Castle and its grounds by enthusiastic
volunteers from the Tovrea Carraro Society. Many
thanks to Keith Hughes for arranging this, and for
warning about the Loop 202 freeway closure; as a
result of his heads-up, everyone arrived by 10am! (By
the way, tour guides pronounce it "Toe-vree.") Kevin
Harris
Sponsored by the Sperry Retiree Club
"A
DAY AT THE RACES"
Tuesday
Feb 14,
2017
A balmy day, perfect for a horse race.Hearts were in the air and all of us brought
our special valentine.Forty-four
members and guests attended Honeywell/Sperry’s "Day at
the Races". We had participants from all three retiree
clubs, Honeywell, Garrett, and Sperry. I won all of
the races and most members at my table won as well.
The food was plentiful and good. Desserts were
fabulous and filling. Leaving I felt like I could not
wait until next year for this event.
See you next year!
(Vic Fragnito)
Arizona Broadway Theatre
Menopause the Musical
February 22, 2017
Sponsored by the Sperry Retiree Club
The
Sanderson Village and Museum
March
3, 2017
Sponsored by the
Sperry Retiree Club
Free Tour of
the ORPHEUM THEATRE
March 6 & 7, 2017
Eastern
Caribbean Cruise
March 5-12, 2017
Amazon
Fulfillment Center (Warehouse) Tour
March 10, 2017
30
members enjoyed a very enlightening tour of the
Amazon "PHX6" Fulfillment Center, whose area is
equivalent to 28 football fields… We started with a
video overview of the process from product delivery
at the fulfillment center to shipment, and then had
opportunities to observe the various stages of the
process at close quarters, with commentary over
headsets to overcome the quite high noise levels.
Many thanks to Ed Taschner for organizing this; he
came down to make sure all was well at the start of
the tour, even though he was not on it. (Kevin
Harris)
2017 Spring
Potluck Picnic
March 23, 2017
HRSC
Members on
Honeywell Aero Women’s Council April 4 Panel
The Deer
Valley Chapter of Honeywell Aero Women’s Council
(AWC) invited five former Aerospace professional
women to participate in a panel discussion attended
by current Honeywell employees regarding our
experiences during our careers at Honeywell. (Kaye
Eibeck, Linda Darnell, Sandy Thruston, Pam Kalish,
and Jan Greisiger).
Topics discussed were designed to highlight personal
experiences and enlighten current employees
regarding the history of women’s employment in
Aerospace. The employees that attended the
event were very appreciative of our participation
and that we had helped paved the way for them
through our determination and dedication to our
jobs.
AWC and the Women in Honeywell Engineering Network
(WHEN) expressed interest in continuing to include
retirees in their future events and activities.
Dave Elston’s April 5 Talk on his
Book
“A Year in the Grand
Canyon”
Dave
Elston, a third-generation Garrett employee and Grand
Canyon hiker extraordinaire, gave a talk at the Garrett
April 5 meeting based on
his latest book, “A Year in the Grand Canyon,” published
by Vishnu Temple Press. This
documents his over 400 days spent in the Canyon. He
provided summary highlights of his trips by chapter as
follows:
First Steps –
found a dead body on very first hike.
Thunder River –
hyperthermia is no fun.
Grandview Trail
and Horseshoe Mesa – know when to bail out.
Day Hike to
prove a point – after surgery, Dave had to find out
if he could still hike.
Rim to Rim –
information on ‘how to’ – South Rim water comes from
the North Rim – water delivery system was the
largest Park Service contract ever.
Powell Plateau
– unique – only access is North Rim – Anasazi
abandoned location ~ 1150.
Favorite East
Rim hikes – Soap Creek, Spencer Trail, South Canyon.
Clear Creek,
Chevaya Falls & Human Remains – Arizona’s
largest waterfall flows only seasonally – trail from
Phantom Ranch – area used extensively by Native
Americans.
Time: Train Leaves Clarkdale at
1:00 PM - Round trip takes approximately 4
hours
A first-class ticket is $85pp with
sandwich/snack style food provided on board
the train.
We don't need payment until September,
but we urgently need RSVPs to
get our own 1st Class car.
We will need 30 people to go on the
trip to get our own dedicated 1st Class Car
that is handicap accessible. Sign
up now, so we will know if we have enough
people to get this dedicated car and the
discounts.
If you are interested in this fun trip,
please contact
Giving Back, with Honeywell and
RTVOS
on a Community Housing/Shelter Event.
November, 2017 date TBD
Sign up now to receive email
updates with no obligation.
Calling all able
bodied retirees!!!
Get a T-shirt and a
free lunch, courtesy of Honeywell!!
In line with our “giving back” culture, your Board
has embraced an opportunity to work with Honeywell
Aerospace supporting Rebuilding
Together, Valley of the Sun (RTVOS), a
charitable organization based in Tempe.
RTVOS and Aerospace are planning a working event
this coming November. It will be
a community housing/shelter event, performing tasks
like maintenance and clean-up for folks who are
unable to do so for themselves. It's a great
opportunity to support those in need in the valley,
while spending quality time with other retirees and
active employees. The specific tasks, as well
as locations and dates, will be chosen by Honeywell
and RTVOS. There will be a variety of work
available to accommodate different skill
levels. Tools and materials will be
provided.
Please place a marker in your calendar to help this
noble effort to give back. Our point of contact for
this event is Doug Metzger, who has a list of
interested people who will be contacted when we have
more details. Your name on this list is NOT a
commitment. We won’t ask for a commitment
until we have more details about the activity,
dates, and locations. Please contact Doug at
602-319-6637 or doug.metzger@cox.net
to get your name on the list. Also indicate
what area of town you are in, as this may help to
determine the location chosen.
Sponsored by the
Sperry Retiree Club
TRAVEL WITH BARBARA RIPPSTEIN
FARTHER NORTH TO ALASKA
Our group has been north to Alaska
before, but this trip is different. It is
offering options. You get to choose how you want
to see Alaska and how many days you wish to spend on
this trip.
13-Day Options Starting August
5, 2018
Princess offers two different 13-day
cruisetours.
You will start with 2 nights in Fairbanks, then travel
by motor coach to the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge
for 2 nights. There you can tour of Denali Park
Tundra Wilderness watching for glimpses of Mount
Denali as well as bear, moose caribou and Dall sheep.
The next stop is at Mount McKinley Princess Wilderness
Lodge for an additional 2 nights. Relax at the
Lodge hoping to catch a view of Mt. Denali, the
highest peak in the United States. You can
choose from a generous offering of outdoor activities.
The Connoisseur Tour includes most meals and
enhanced sightseeing. It is escorted by a
Princess host.
The Denali Explorer has the same
transportation and stays at the same lodges. You
have the choice of your dining and tours for an
additional price.
10-Day Option Starting August
8, 2018
10-day trips can also be arranged by Ford
Travel. This option also starts in Fairbanks for
2 nights, and then travels by motor coach to Denali
Princess Wilderness Lodge for 1 night.
Rail Travel - August 11, 2018
All the cruisetours (that means either the
13- or 10-day option) will enjoy the scenic rail
journey through some of the best wilderness in the
Great Land on the Direct-to-the-Wilderness rail
service. Once in Whittier (outside Anchorage)
you’ll step from the train onto your ship for the
beginning of your unforgettable 7-day cruise.
Cruise-Only Options Starting
August 11
Those who wish to only
take the cruise will meet the cruisetours in Anchorage
(Whittier) on August 11 to board the Star Princess for
the cruise. We will cruise through Hubbard
Glacier and Glacier Bay. We will make stops at
Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan before sailing to
Vancouver where we will disembark on August 18.
Because there are so many options, I invite you to
contact Ford’s Travel. They will send you
brochures, more information and prices.
Ford’s World Travel, 13593 Camino Del Sol, Sun
City West Tel. 623-975-1800
HRSC Email: Hotline@hrcaz.org
Honeywell Retiree Benefits: 1-877-258-3699 - honeywell.com/sites/retiree/ The Bridge - Published
monthly except for June, July, and August.
HRSC annual dues: $5.00
(multiple-year memberships recommended)
NOTE:
HRSC-sponsored programs
and events, where payments are required in advance,
will provide refunds anytime there is no cost to the
Club. We will make every effort to provide refunds
when requested; however, for some events funds have
been committed by the HRSC and will not be refunded.