Free admission for TI retirees and their guests at the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) and the Nasher Sculpture Center during Tech Smart Big Heart's TI Days event March 9-16. Simply show your TI retiree badge at each museum to receive free admission.

Retirees and one guest can enjoy free admission to the DMA and The Lens of Impressionism exhibition that explores the influential and profound relationship between photographers and painters who lived and worked along the Normandy coast in France during the mid-19th century. The exhibition will feature 100 works, including vintage prints, paintings, pastels and watercolors, by artists and photographers, including Gustave Courbet, Edgar Degas, Gustave Le Gray and Claude Monet. General admission prices for additional guests are: adults, $10; senior citizens (65 and older) $7; and students with school identification, $5. Children younger than 12 get in free.

At the Nasher Sculpture Center, retirees and as many as five guests will receive free admission. Children age 12 and younger are free. The Nasher Sculpture Center is home to one of the world's finest modern and contemporary sculpture collections. The collection includes masterpieces by Calder, de Kooning, di Suvero, Giacometti, Hepworth, Kelly, Matisse, Miró, Moore, Picasso, Rodin and Serra. An exhibition featuring the work of contemporary Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa will be on display during the TI Days event.

The museums are in the Arts District adjacent to each other. You can get to them by car or DART. The Dallas Museum of Art is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Nasher Sculpture Center is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Both are closed on Monday.

In Memoriam

In February, TIAA learned of the deaths of the following former TIers: Bernard J. Barron, Don Bullard, Delores Harden, William Lankford, Dorothy H. Lowe, Charles V. Miller, Antonio M. Nunes, Anita R. Roberts, K. K. Robinson, William L. Schilling, Lillian Smith-Mays and James Venables. On behalf of TIAA members, we have sent our condolences to their families and have added their names to our online In Memoriam list. This list can also be sorted by state and date of death.

The TIAA Community Service Subcommittee's first planned event will be Thursday, March 11, at Network Community Ministries in Richardson. Volunteers will sort food collected by the Boy Scouts. The Senior Source will provide a bus for up to 14 people and will collect volunteers at the Texins Activity center at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided. To volunteer, please contact admin@tialumni.org or 214-567-8444 by March 4.

Ronnie Brandenburg, TIAA President, has appointed an ad hoc committee to nominate candidates for TIAA offices for 2010-2011. Max Post has agreed to chair this committee. Other members are Jim Foster, Sylvia Pas, Betty Purkey and Jessica Stewart. This Nominating Committee will recommend a President, an Executive VP, a Secretary and a Treasurer to the TIAA Executive Committee. Upon its approval, the proposed slate will be announced in April to the membership at large. In addition, nominations will be accepted from the floor at our Annual Meeting on May 18 at the University of Texas at Dallas. New officers will be elected at that time and will officially take office on July 1. TIAA members are urged to volunteer themselves or send their recommendations of people they think would be good candidates to admin@tialumni.org by March 10.

The TIAA travel outing on Feb. 10 to two Addison museums was planned to have something for the ladies (Mary Kay) and something for the men (Cavanaugh), but it turned out that everyone enjoyed both museums as you can see on the slide show, courtesy of the Brandenburgs. Have fun and join us for the WinStar Casino trip on March 3 or the Greenville tour on April 1 to the Audie Murphy Museum and Mary of Puddin Hill described below. (Sorry, but the DFW Operations tour on March 16 is already sold out.)

WinStar Casino Trip – Wednesday, March 3 – Call to reserve one of the remaining few bus seats available for our trip to the WinStar World Casino at Thackerville, OK. Five gaming plazas transform your experience into an international affair. Take in the sights of colorful fountains, hand-painted frescos and towering arches as you travel seamlessly through Paris, Beijing, Rome, Madrid and London. WinStar offers a dining experience to fit any taste. Travel to Beijing for a taste of Asian cuisine or visit the Midway Food Show for American fast-food favorites. Have your cake, and eat it too, at the Bread Basket Buffet or savor delicious Italian fare at Zar's that will have you singing "That's amore!” WinStar will pick us up at the Texins Activity Center at 9 a.m. and return us about 6 p.m.

Greenville Tour – Thursday, April 1 – Join us as we journey to Greenville to tour the Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum and then visit Mary of Puddin Hill. The museum has exhibits that include a 15-minute video about the life of Audie Murphy, American's most decorated soldier of World War II, with medals, uniforms and photos. The attached, newly expanded American Cotton museum includes artifacts and memorabilia pertaining to the area's historic cotton industry. Learn about planting, growing, ginning, baling, spinning and weaving of cotton. The historic Ende-Gaillard House, oldest house in the city, is on the museum grounds. Then on to a sweet visit to Mary of Puddin Hill. Mary Horton and her family purchased the property in 1840 and named it Puddin Hill. Mary's great-granddaughter and namesake, Mary Horton Launderdale, inherited the land some 100 years later. Far better than the land, she inherited the recipe for Mary's fruit cake. The rest is history. Come and see a scrumptious array of world-famous pecan fruit cakes and chocolate delicacies. Marvel at the amazing collection of sculptures made from real chocolate. We will view their chocolate and sugar Easter sculptures, highlighted by chocolate eggs similar to Faberge Easter Eggs. We will lunch at our own expense at Mary’s, whose lunch menu offers food as good as the famous fruitcakes and chocolates. There will be time to shop for goodies for the upcoming Easter weekend before departing for Dallas. We’ll leave the Texins Activity Center at 10 a.m. and return about 3 p.m. Cost of $15 per member and $17 per nonmember includes entry fees. Register by March 25.

Contact Jessica Stewart at admin@tialumni.org or 214-567-8444 to register for events. Each member may bring one guest at the member price. Make checks payable to TIAA and mail to TIAA, P. O. Box 740181, Dallas, TX 75374. Please remit payment at least seven days prior to the event.

TIAA Annual Meeting – Tuesday, May 18, at UTD, Richardson.

Annual Charity Golf Tournament – Tuesday, Sept. 14, Woodbridge Golf Club, Wylie.

TI Retiree Luncheon – Thursday, Nov. 11, Mesquite Convention Center, Mesquite.
 

Check the TI Alumni online calendar for additional events