Topic: retirement

Jim Durrett to retire from City Government

August 26, 2009 |

After 32 years with the City of Clarksville, Chief of Staff Jim Durrett has decided to retire from city government.

“Jim’s dedication and hard work over his 32 years with the city will be seen for many years to come.” Mayor Johnny Piper said. “Jim has worked as a team player to serve the public and give a better quality of life for the citizens of Clarksville.”

Jim Durrett

Durrett began his career in public service in 1977 with Clarksville’s Street Department. He has since worked in several other city departments and has served in a number of management positions. Shortly after beginning his first term in 1998, a tornado devastated parts of Clarksville. Mayor Piper called on Durrett and the Street Department to be the main point of contact for tornado recovery. The effort was very successful because of strong leadership. That’s when the two formed a bond that went on to accomplish the many goals of the mayor and the city council. «Read the rest of this article»

Money woes crimp retirement plans

By Rev. Charles Moreland | January 11, 2009 |

The probing question “Are you ready to retire?” is more perplexing today in the light of our financial plight. There is uncertainty about the place we call retirement. As I write I have a “happy face” coffee cup staring at me; one that has been diverted to a container of pencils, markers and pens. I wish we could don a happy face as we ponder our retirement and a secure financial future. Instead, for many our dreams for that better future had taken on a sad face.

It’s hard to maintain a happy face about our future when our personal finances and monetary worth for retirement are steadily declining, when our retirement plans are going bankrupt. In our communities, cities and states are raiding their rainy day funds to prevent raising taxes. International governments and their citizens are also in financial straits. Presently, places from our own Clarksville,  to Mexico City, to Heidleberg, London, Asian cities are all experiencing financial world. Such unfortunate events precipitate the “sad face” facing retirees. «Read the rest of this article»

Ohio Valley History Conference Closes with flourish

November 6, 2008 |

The conference banquet dinner featured John Seigenthaler Sr. as keynote speaker. Panel presentations on Day Two prove diverse and expansive in scope.

The 24th annual Ohio Valley History Conference continued on a high note with the banquet dinner on Friday night, October 30th. The keynote address was given by John Seigenthaler Sr. in the Morgan University Center Ballroom. Seigenthaler shared his remembrances of Bobby Kennedy and the Kennedy Presidential era in his address, “Conversations with Bobby Forty Years Later.”

Among his many remembrances, he recounted the young attorney general’s zeal in pursuing union corruption and the tumultuous tension of the Civil Rights struggles, particularly in Alabama and Mississippi; the Selma Bus Boycott, and the lead-up to the March on Washington. When U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy agreed to speak at the Law School of the University of Georgia, following their confrontational desegregation battle the year before, the university administration did not want him to meet with either of the two Black students that had been admitted in its desegregation battle. However Bobby did precisely that and met with Sharlene Hunter Galt. «Read the rest of this article»

Economy impacts financial planning for those retirement years

By Rev. Charles Moreland | October 26, 2008 |

This is the second of three articles on the issues of retirement.

In the Ozarks of Missouri,my grandparents never got to retire, nor did I ever hear them discuss it. The dream of sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair with their dog at their feet was always a serene unrealized thought. Because of their hard-scrabbled living on a small farm, they never had enough money to retire. From sun-up to sundown they collected the eggs, milked the cows, worked for neighbors for 50 cents a day. washed their laundry by hand on a washboard, cooked, and did numerous other chores that occupied their time but brought little cash to show for that strenuous effort to survive.There was no retirement for them. «Read the rest of this article»

Financial planning: Making the most of your retirement years

By Rev. Charles Moreland | February 17, 2008 |

Retirees appreciate and enjoy the free time available once the mandatory 8-5 work week responsibility is over. It is interesting that the Army retirees I have been connected with are so busy with volunteer work. Army retirees are redeeming their free time for service to the community.

Not everything as a retiree is peaches and cream, though. There is the challenge of making ends meet economically; freedom from financial worries in retirement is possible but necessitates proactive financial planning and the establishment of priorities if working from a fixed or reduced income. Enjoying retirement requires long term planning and a bit of luck mixed with savvy decisions.

One serious challenge is the coaxing of enough income from savings to maintain a healthy standard of living. As we prepare for retirement, we had been advised to change our investment strategy by going to conservative funds, CDs, and money market funds, which are safer. Today’s financial planners are taking a second look at this advice. «Read the rest of this article»

© 2009 Clarksville, TN Online is owned and operated by residents of Clarksville Tennessee.
» We are Hosted by Compu-Net Enterprises; In Partnership with Discover Clarksville and Discover Paris