ALUMNI CONNECTIONS October 2016 See more photos on page 2. NEWS FOR AND ABOUT RETIREES AND FORMER EMPLOYEES OF CITGO. 2016 Fall Luncheon Meeting... A Real Blast From The Past, Present & Future! Just imagine if you were to get a group of retired CITGO folks together at a truly unique and special venue to visit, eat BBQ, and then listen to the exciting and wonderful past, present and future developments in their hometown s downtown district! Well that is exactly what happened on September 12, 2016, in the Stokely Event Center in Tulsa. Ramona Falzone, with Charlotte Loomiller and Carolyn Stewart s help, put this wonderful CAG luncheon and event together. The luncheon was open to all CITGO Alumni Group members and their guests. The group was welcomed into a colorful venue with walls and ceiling featuring large signage from the oil industry and well-known Tulsa businesses. An antique car, vintage game machines, and Ronald McDonald on a bench, gave guests many photo opportunities. Two great group pictures were taken by the Stokely staff and given to the group as momentos. Guests were delighted by Rib Crib s delicious BBQ, served by a motley crew of CITGO chefs, aka board members. Continued on page 2. PERSONAL PROFILE Mike and Mary Haddican Retirement Is Just A Different Busy For Mary Haddican By Cynthia Patterson Mary Haddican has not let any moss grow on her shoes since her retirement as Manager of the Credit Department. Some of you may recall her presentation to the CITGO Alumni group on her work with the National Energy Policy Institute. In 2013, a second study was published by her group. At that point, not much momentum was occurring, and Mary had an opportunity to move into work that truly resonates with her heart. She grabbed the change and has not looked back. In her own words: For the past 3 years I have been working at Catholic Charities as the Project Coordinator (chief cat-herder) for a new non-profit entity called Porta Caeli House. In the early 1980s, Catholic Charities opened St. Joseph Residence, a home for people dying of AIDS. Over time, medical treatments improved to the point where that home s purpose was fulfilled. It was shut down, and the decision was made to create a home for people dying from any disease. In a sense, Porta Caeli (Latin for Gate of Heaven ) Continued on page 5.
PAGE 2 The CITGO Alumni Connections 2016 Alumni Fall Luncheon... Continued from cover. Nothing Bundt Cakes supplied the unbelievably scrumptious miniature bundt cakes for dessert. Roger Rowe was the technical hero of the day by repairing the electronic equipment for the facility so the speakers could show their presentations. CAG President Kent Powers secured the excellent featured speakers, Elliot Nelson CEO of the McNellie s Group and Bob Ball Economist for Tulsa Regional Chamber. The luncheon crowd listened to Elliot Nelson talk about the personal and political struggles and the resulting accomplishments he and the city leaders have had in revitalizing Tulsa s downtown area. When Elliot started out with his McNellie s restaurant downtown, he said there were only 6 to 8 restaurants in downtown Tulsa serving the nearly 40,000 downtown workers who frequent the area at lunch and after work. That number has now grown to around 84 places to eat and drink in the downtown area! These establishments draw many downtown workers after work and area residents on the weekend. The downtown residential and dining developments have been and will continue to be amazing for area dwellers and Tulsa visitors. After Elliot got the CAG crowd excited about the positive downtown developments, Bob Ball, an Economist with the Tulsa Regional Chamber, reviewed the Tulsa budgets, financial commitments and projects for downtown Tulsa. It will be interesting to see what exciting things will transpire when the new Tulsa mayor, G. T. Bynum, takes office. The Fall CAG luncheon was a roaring success thanks to the board s team efforts. Top that off with two very interesting speakers taking place in the stunning venue of the Stokley Event Center. Continued on page 3.
PAGE 3 The CITGO Alumni Connections 2016 Alumni Fall Luncheon - More Fun Photos... Continued from page 2. Continued on page 4.
PAGE 4 The CITGO Alumni Connections 2016 Alumni Fall Luncheon - And Even More Photos... Continued from page 3. IN MEMORIAM Marvin Larson Accounting Department
PAGE 5 The CITGO Alumni Connections 2016 Alumni Fall Luncheon - And Just A Few More Photos... Continued from page 4. Mary Haddican... Continued from cover. is a legacy of St. Joseph Residence. Porta Caeli is similar in mission to Clarehouse; Tulsa will be the first city in the nation to have two such homes for the dying. There will be volunteer opportunities in a number of areas at Porta Caeli House, from caregiving to bringing or serving meals; from greeting new guests and their families to keeping up the gardens; from routine office tasks to helping with special events, and more. Some will require a weekly or monthly commitment; some will be as needed or on call. The volunteer needs will be posted on the website: www.portacaeli.org. I would encourage anyone who thinks they might have an interest to check it out. My role has included assisting in the fundraising ($7 million), design and construction planning, building phase, and operations planning. Construction will be finished in November, and doors should open late November/early December this year. At that point, I will resume my retirement. It has been a challenging and rewarding 3 years. In case some of you have wondered where Mary has been lately, for about four months this year she also served as interim Director of Finance and Operations for Catholic Charities during the audit season! She learned a lot and with the help of a great staff successfully completed the audit with flying colors! Even so, she does have some spare time hobbies: travel, reading, and gardening. With family and friends on both coasts, she and Mike (retired from Blue Cross) look forward to visiting other parts of this country and more traveling abroad. After the years when all she read were Dr. Seuss and A.A. Milne, she has a lot of books to catch up on, and especially enjoys her book club. She struggles to keep the vines at bay in her garden. Both kids are out of college now and on their own; all parents can rejoice with that accomplishment! In recent years, Mary and Mike have enjoyed the CITGO outing to Drillers ball games and were sorry to have missed this year s get together. Mary also stays active in her church, is a long-standing member of the Catholic Business and Professional Women of Tulsa group, and in recent years has become involved in Stand in the Gap (learn more at standinthegap.org). When asked about a favorite memory from the CITGO Tulsa office, Mary replied, I wish I had a picture of the time we wrapped everything in Charles Faigle s office in aluminum foil. What a sight!
PAGE 6 We want the CITGO Alumni Connections to offer information from and about ALL retirees and former employees of CITGO. If you participate in activities with other CITGO Alumni in your area, we want to hear from you so we can share what you re doing with the rest of our membership. Please send announcements or updates you would like to see in the Newsletter to cornelia.schlecht@cox.net. The CITGO Alumni Group s membership year runs from January 1 through December 31 and dues are paid once during that period. If you haven t paid your $10.00 membership dues for calendar year 2016, now is the time to do it. By paying your dues, you will receive copies of the CITGO Alumni Connections newsletters to keep you up to date on news and events of the CITGO Alumni Group. Send your $10 membership fee (Made payable to the CITGO Alumni Group) to: Carolyn Stewart 7509 E. 91st Pl. Tulsa, OK 74133 bstewart47@cox.net Please include your E-mail address and/or any mailing address updates with your payment. THANK YOU. If you pay your membership dues in cash, please attach your name to the cash so Carolyn will know who she received the payment from. Please send newsletter article contributions for the CITGO Alumni Connections by e-mail to: Ray Yarroll at rpyarr@cox.net or by U.S. Mail to: Ray Yarroll 7421 E. 74th St. Tulsa, OK 74133 The CITGO Alumni Connections Save the Date! Monday December 12, 2016 The CITGO Alumni Group Cordially Invites You To Our Annual Holiday Dinner Meadowbrook Country Club 9300 E. 81st St. Tulsa, OK Socializing begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by a buffet dinner. RSVP: rsvpcitgoretiree@gmail.com Spouses/Guests are welcome. Please RSVP for them also. Please send $25/person payable to CITGO ALUMNI GROUP to: Carolyn Stewart 7509 E. 91st Place, Tulsa, OK 74133 Visit the CITGO Alumni Group website for the most up-to-date list of new retirees. Reminder... Our CITGO Alumni Group e-mail directory is available on our website http://www.citgoalumni.org/ Simply click the directory tab. The password is the current day s date (for example 10252016... tomorrow it will be 10262016, etc.) If you have any questions or corrections, please let us know.