DOTRA'S ... DotLine ...

DOTRA's ANNUAL PICNIC IS ON !!!

Join us on Wednesday September 12th at the Valley Road Picnic Grounds in Lambertville for a great day of food, fun and games. The picnic this year will be a catered affair complete with all the traditional summertime foods. Cost is a minimal $15.00 and you are guaranteed to have a fun-filled casual celebration with your DOTRA friends and former colleagues.

DOTRA TO TRY ITS LUCK AGAIN IN ATLANTIC CITY

Back by popular demand, Fran Geurds has arranged another trip to Atlantic City via a luxury bus, on Thursday October 11th. With the Casino to be announced just prior to the departure date, DOTRA members will be travelling via a luxury bus seating 32 persons in setups of comfortable tables for four. The bus/casino package will cost $27.00 each, including all food and drinks on the bus, tips plus the best casino package offer.

DOTRA BOARD MEETINGS

DOTRA Board meetings are help monthly on the first Tuesday of the month. We will will hold our next regular Monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 7th.

Dutch treat lunch at 11:30 - 12:30. Meeting starts promptly at 12:30 !All members are welcome!!

Future Meetings -

HOLIDAY BUS TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY AND DINNER

Social Chairman Dolores Murphy has prepared a wonderful Christmas Holiday bus trip for DOTRA members and guests. The group will travel to New York City on Thursday, November 29th to see "A Christmas Carol" at Madison Square Garden. Following the show, the bus will proceed to the FLORENTINE GARDENS RESTAURANT in Westwood for a special Holiday dinner. Thanks to friends of Dolores who own the FLORENTINE, a special menu will be offered to the DOTRA group. Anyone traveling on the DOTRA Holiday trip several years agao will remember the special meals and service and fun we had.

See the attached flyer for all details and send it in early to guarantee a ticket for this traditionally successful event.

SAVE WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 5TH FOR DOTRA'S ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY AT GIOVI'S. MORE INFO TO FOLLOW NEXT ISSUE !!!

DOTRA'S 10th ANNIVERSARY LUNCHEON & ANNUAL MEETING
Special Report by Dee Wisneski

On Wednesday June 6, 2001 DOTRA celebrated the tenth anniversary of its founding with a very special luncheon at Roman Hall. Following the friendship hour, the festivities got under way with a salute to the flag, invocation given by Marion Bodnar and Adrian Lincoln's snappy welcoming speech. DOTRA President Dick Hobson, then introduced our guests: DOT Commissioner James Weinstein, Assistant Commissioner Al Ari, Assistant Commissioner Kate Immordino, the Commissioner's Chief of Staff Laurie Gutshaw and Executive Secretary Meg Frampton.

As a special feature, Andrew Jaeger from the Credit Union spoke to our group about the various financial services available to us at the Credit Union. After lunch was served, Commissioner Weinstein acknowledged the founders of DOTRA: John and Lois Summers, Guy LoBue, Chet Andres, Frank Szarnecki, Ken Hey, Warren Turner, Bob Mitchell, Francis "Bob" Fitzpatrick, Walter Gable, Adrian Lincoln, Richard Hulsart, Andy Kraemer and Gloria Allen. Commissioner Weinstein followed up with an "off- the -cuff", very well received, presentation about our organization. The Commissioner also discussed the Memorial established for the NJDOT employees who gave their lives in the line of duty. Following the Commissioner, Kate Immordino gave us an overview of proposed legislation regarding the upward revision of pension benefits for New Jersey's retirees.

During the Luncheon Adrian Lincoln presented Guy LoBue with a plaque to honor Guy for all the work he has done to establish and further the DOTRA organization. Congratulations and well done Guy!!

We would like to sincerely thank DOT Commissioner James Weinstein and his staff for all of the encouragement and consideration given to DOTRA in the past.

COMMISSIONER PRAISES DOTRA

Dear NJDOT Retirees:

I am pleased to extend my congratulations to the NJDOT Retirees Association on the celebration of its ten-year anniversary. Your dedication and commitment serve as a model for both past and present employees of the Department.

It is remarkable to think that just ten years ago, the NJDOT Retirees Associatopn was merely an idea. You have certainly made a dream come true for many of our former employees, with more than 400 current members. Participation in this organization has afforded its members an opportunity to keep in contact with former colleagues and, most importantly, to build upon the relationships created during the time you spent with this agency.

We are extremely fortunate to have benefited from your involvement in various NJDOT functions and fundraising efforts. Individually, and as a group, your efforts are making a difference. In particular, we are proud to recognize the significant contributions made to the construction of the Employee Memorial, which will honor NJDOT employees and co-workers who lost their lives while performing service to this state.

Thank you for keeping the spirit and traditions of the Department of Transportation alive. Congratulations and best wishes for the continued success of this organization.

Sincerely,
James Weinstein
Commisssioner

We welcome the following retirees who have recently joined our organization:

Ann Skaggs - Materials
William DeJoy - ROW
Michael Lemmo(LIFE) - Design

These are familiar names to some of our members. We hope to see you at our social functions and monthly meetings.

LIFE MEMBERS

The following DOTRA members renewed their 2001 membership as life members.

Carl Breccia
Don Hutchinson
Michael Kjetsaa
Edward Praisner
Jeanne Smith
Mary Stafford
E.R." Bob" Wokoun

CHAPLAIN'S REPORT
by Guy LoBue

We would like to be informed of any retiree who is ill, those who are in the hospital, anyone confined to their home, or any retiree who needs help in one form or another. Please call or send a note to Guy at 609-585-4979 or write to 19 Mount Avenue, Hamilton, NJ 08620.

Recent Obituaries:

Elizabeth George (95) MVS 1969
Nina Frasher (79) MVS ?
George J. Visokay (89) DOT 1973
Beatrice T. Systick MVS (85) ?
Viola Hutchinson MVS (83) ?
Ralph Colavita DOT (? ) ?
John A. Genovesi (76) DOT 1990
John Seaccetti (74) DOT ?
Marie A. Angelucci (79) MVS ?
David J. Goldberg, Commissioner (70) DOT 1970
Dorothy Wolinsky (85) MVS 1978
Rose C. Iseicz (69) MVS 1995
Margaret P. Ellis (95) MVS 1975
Raymond Workman (77) DOT ?
John M.Salt (57) DOT 2001
Augustus Vincent (85) DOT 1985

Recuperating at home:

We often hear of someone having been ill and hopefully are well on the way to better health by the time we publish our quarterly issue of DOTLine.

Don Hutchinson, Director is recovering at St. Lawrence Rehab Center in Lawrenceville.

Dick Hobson, President is undergoing surgery at St. Mary's at the end of July and will be recovering at home.

Hurry up and get well . We are sure that they would like to hear some cheery news from their DOTRA friends.

PRES.-Dick Hobson
1st VP -Guy LoBue
2nd VP- Walter Gable
TREAS -Frank Herrera
REC.SEC-Hazel Rockhill
CORRES.SEC-Dee Wisneski

DIRECTORS

Joseph Bodnar Dolores Murphy
Mary Stafford Don Hutchinson
Wilma Gruzlovic Peg Wieger
Chet Andres Fran Geurds
Adrian Lincoln

COMMITTEES

CHAPLAIN - Guy LoBue
MEMBERSHIP - Chet & Dot Andres
BY-LAWS - Chet Andres
HISTORIAN - Wilma Gruzlovic
ACTIVITIES - Dolores Murphy
DOTLINE - Dot Andres & Dee Wisneski
WEBSITE- Kristina Erin Kaye

DOTRA
P.O.BOX 77160
WEST TRENTON, NJ 08628

DOTRA's DUES OVERDUE
CHECK YOUR MAILING LABEL!!

Some time ago, DOTRA stopped mailing out renewal reminders to our members, relying on each member to check his/her mailing label for dues renewal status. Sadly, at this time we find that only 61% of our members have renewed their 2001 dues. Unfortunate for our Treasury, there are still 59 or 15% who are in arrears since before 1999. We continue to send these members a DOTLINE every 3 months.

DOTRA relies on its membership dues for minimal administrative costs, largely postage for mailings of DotLine, get well and sympathy notes and if possible, aims to defray some costs of our social gatherings. What a bargain for only $10.00 a year !!

Our Life Membership program has been so successful, we are beginning to wonder if this is an option we will be able to extend indefinitely. For a single time cost of $75.00, become a Life Member and don't worry about those Annual Dues. The Annual Dues option of $10.00 per year will remain as our main renewal procedure and you can still find your Annual Renewal Date on the DOTRA Mailing Label.

Help us out and accomplish your renewal today by completing the Application Form at the end of this issue. Check off the appropriate Renewal Box and forward to the DOTRA Mail Box.

DOTRA's ON THE INTERNET!!

Our DOTRA Website can be accessed at:

http://www.dotra.org or you can use the absolute shortest short cut by typing only dotra.org That's all there is to get here!

Dial in and let us know how you like it. We would like your input. Also, members have indicated a desire to contact DOTRA members via e-mail messages. Record your e-mail address with DOTRA via the Web Site.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT DOTRA

There are lots of people who make DOTRA "work." From the Officers and Directors to those who pick up the mail from the Post Office Box and maintain and update our extensive membership roster. For instance, while Dee Wisneski (C&M) is our Corresponding Secretary, husband and member Chet Wisneski (Laboratory) takes care of the incoming mail, renewals and records. A major job is the maintenance of our Membership Roster and Data Bank which fluctuates around 400 members. George Woodruff (Data Processing) has been doing this for many years now - keeping each members' address and membership status up to date, adding new members, deleting those names who are no longer active and also printing out more than 400 Addess Labels every 3 months for mailing the DotLine. Then, there's the Activities Chairman Dolores Murphy (Central Services) who has worked hard to put together a great Social Calendar for 2001 and very diligently has followed up to assure those activities are successful events as far as attendance and value. Sometime we forget to recognize the people behind the scenes and should be taking time to acknowledge the valuable tasks they perform diligently. This kind of commitment is what makes our organization run !! Thanks !!

GREETINGS FROM THE NORTH
By Al Nass

(This article was received last March, just a little to late to include in our last edition of DOTLINE. We want to share it with you now- thinking about that cooler time period in which it was written.)

Hi All,

I keep reading about all the activities and fun everyone is having in the sunny south, so I thought I would write and tell you about some of the winter fun up here in the wilds of Vermont.

This time of the year is snowmobile time. There are about 5,000 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in Vermont and I can get on my machine in the yard and go anyplace in the state or into Canada, New Hampshire and New York. My Grandkids also live in the area and love to ride with me, so it often becomes a family trip.

Hunting is a very popular sport up here. I normally only hunt for deer, but bear, coyote and turkey are also very popular game animals. All kinds of shooting sports are also very popular. Rifle, shotgun and handgun shooting, as well as archery are practiced regularly. I just returned from the Northeast Kingdom (the three northeast counties) with the Boy Scouts. They had a winter weekend contest that required skiing, snowshoeing, archery and muzzleloading rifle. The kids had a great time and I enjoyed being an instructor. I also got to take the snowmobile and ride on some private land.

Skiing and snowboarding are the big winter activities. I live about 20 minutes from Okemo and 30 from Killington. Unfortunately, I cannot ski or snowboard, but my grandkids are starting to learn, so I will have fun watching them.

AL NASS
REGION 1
Maintenance/Netcong

ED.Note Thanks Al. We feel cooler already. Vermont sounds like a wonderful place to live and play.

HERE AND THERE
By Dot Andres

Summer time seems to have slowed down the Postman and there isn't much mail being received in the DOTRA PO Box. William Cassidy (ROW) included a note with his membership renewals for 2001 and 2002. He wants to be paid up ahead and also wants to maintain his membership status as the only member living in Maine. He's correct there. Our New England membership totals 4- NH 1, Maine 1, and Vermont 2 . Looks like our members prefer warmer climates when they leave the NJ area - Florida has 34, California 4 Arizona 2 , North Carolina 2, South Carolina 2, Virginia 2 and Tennessee 1.

Several of our members love Reunions. Don Hutchinson (Design) and Dick Hobson (Const) graduated from Hamilton High in 1949. When they held their 50th Reunion, it was decided to hold two mini reunions each year. A recent mini reunion took the 1949 class group up to northwest New Jersey to the Lakota Wolf Preserve. Located at Camp Taylor off of Route 94, it is run by classmate, Daniel Bacon. Dan has Arctic wolves,Timber or Grey wolves and Tundra wolves at the Preserve. When you arrive at Camp Taylor you can hike up or drive by mini-bus to the wolf area. Also seen were foxes and bobcats along with a narrative of Dan Bacon's experiences with wolves. Cost for visiting the area is $15.00.

Our 10th Anniversary /Annual Meeting was a gala affair with current NJDOT officials there to congratulate DOTRA members on their commitment to continue NJDOT connections. On the scene were Joy and Jack Freidenrich (Former Commissioner), Mike Kjetsaa ( C&M), Donna and Tom Ryan (Design), Doris and Ed Jones (Design), Stan and Doris Friedman (C&M), Bev and Jim Morrison (Design), Bernardine Pedersen (Design), Ann Carducci (Program)), Helen Rose (Support Svc.), Katherine and Harold Yaede (Design), new members Mike Lemmo (Design) and Ann Skaggs (Materials), Mary Mangine (Librarian), Dick Tompkins (FHWA), Helen and Bob Suess (Design), Helen Giba (Comm.Office), Judy and Frank Scymanski (Design), Janice and Andy Cella (ROW), Janis Stia (Support Svc.), Callie Olexy (Materials), Dely and Aruro Blanquera (C&M). Julia and Bob Kerr (Eqt), Dot and Wesley Meyers (Eqt.). Victor and Lydia Migliorino (Eqt.) were able to come down from Region 2 for the event. Ronnie and Bob Mitchell (Traff.Eng) were there. Attendees said it was good to see Warren Sunderland and Ted Kiselewicz (Bridge Design).

It's impossible to recognize all 125 plus guests who attended the Luncheon. There are those "regulars" at DOTRA events who somehow go quietly unrecognized. We appreciate your being there and we do need your continued support !

The traveling Wegels , Kathy and Frank (Materials), are off to Switzerland again in August with plans to spend some time in a little village on the Rhine. Sounds romantic!! Unfortunately The Andres missed the Annual Luncheon- off on a "white-knuckle" driving/ B&B trip through Ireland.

How about some news from the rest of you? This has been a great summer weather-wise and I'm sure lots of you have been or will be travelling to some great spots. Please share your adventures with us!! Send your comments to the DOTRA MailBox. And, don't forget to check your renewal status!!

HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT DOTRA DOES NOT PUBLISH ADDRESSES OR TELEPHONE NUMBERS?

We always strive to protect our membership from "junk mail" or unsolicited mail and therefore never have distributed our Membership List. However, we know that you may want to re-connect with former coworkers and do not know how to contact them. Just send us your written request, along with person's name and last work location. We will do our best to locate them and we'll send your note to them to contact you directly.