Another Merger (2016)

At the March 2016 luncheon, the attendees voted to proceed with the merger of the Texaco Retirees Club of Houston (TRCH) and the Metropolitan Houston Chapter. A lot of behind-the-scenes work was performed by Bill Alvarez and Fred Levert to create a single master file of members while Howard O’Donnell and Dennis Huddleston worked on the financial records. Our total membership grew by about 300 members. With the larger base of members to cover the fixed costs of the chapter, dues were reduced from $12/year (since 2014) to $10/year.

Community Support

TRCH made a chapter cash donation each year in December to the Houston Food Bank (HFB). This practice was adopted by the MHC following the merger. Because the Food Bank purchases in very large quantities and with significant discounts, we advised our members that their $1 contribution to them provides a full day of meals to a needy neighbor.

Therefore, we encouraged our members to consider donating cash, since it purchases a lot more when HFB spends it for you and it will be used to purchase items HFB needs most. To facilitate cash donations, we began placing a donation jar for the HFB on the registration table.  Since 2016, our chapter has made an annual monetary donation to the Houston Food Bank.

Our chapter members also donate their time by participating alongside their still-working Chevron colleagues at various events throughout the year, such as filling boxes at their main warehouse east of Houston (see the photo to the left) and at the Peanut Butter Factory north of Houston. The CEO of the Houston Food Bank, Brian Greene, gave a wonderful presentation to attendees at our 2023 Holiday Event.

Benefits and Discounts

Chevron has always offered its employees great benefits and discounts to a variety of attractions in many locations. Over the years, the process of obtaining these discounts has changed and has evolved into BenefitHub, with its own website. MHC has made our members aware of these benefits for our dues-paying members and how to obtain them. The Chevron Recreation Benefit Hub is the go-to source for many corporate discounts available for employees, contractors, and retirees. To enjoy the discounts available through BenefitHub (https://chevrec.benefithub.com), it is necessary to create an account (unless you already have one). To create an account, you will need a referral code. For instructions on obtaining the code, go to http://chevronretirees.org, then click on Benefits, CRA Benefits.

Lapel Pins

In 2016, the Board of Directors voted to reinstate the practice of giving each new member a membership pin when they join the Chapter.  This practice was in place in the late 1990’s but was dropped sometime later.  With the new Chevron Hallmark, the design has changed slightly.  Therefore, we purchased a supply, and each member of the Chapter received a new pin. We encouraged our members to wear it with pride!

2018 CRA Annual Meeting

The 2018 CRA Annual Meeting was held in San Antonio, Texas. Metro Houston was the host chapter for this meeting, and our President, Glenn Ewan, was the Host Committee Chair. His team of MHC and Hill Country Chapter volunteers helped coordinate a very successful meeting. Chapter Presidents and the CRA Leadership Team participated in business meetings, and spouses and guests joined us to listen to our keynote speaker, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth (pictured). While the Annual Meeting delegates were at work, spouses and guests strolled along the famous River Walk, took tours to the Alamo, Mission San José and Mission Conception, and enjoyed the great food and music of San Antonio. 

Mr. Wirth and the panel members all emphasized how important the voices of employees and retirees are to the ongoing conversations in the industry and in the political landscape.  They also urged retirees to get involved with and join the Chevron Advocacy Network.

2018 – Neighborhood Luncheons and Recruiting Drive

Recognizing that the traffic in the Galleria area could be a real hassle, the Board of Directors decided to try “Neighborhood Luncheons” as a way to enhance membership.  This meant holding a luncheon in various neighborhoods in addition to our regular quarterly luncheon at the H.E.S.S. Club.  These luncheons allowed attendees to order for themselves (controlling the content and the cost) while also enjoying fellowship with other Chevron retirees.  We selected Spring Creek BBQ as our initial meeting place since they had a private room and a projector and screen.  We identified a “Neighborhood” by using a radius of 15 miles from the restaurant.  We would show a video of a previous H.E.S.S. luncheon entertainment and one of our board members would bring the attendees up to date on things happening in CRA. 

The Neighborhood Luncheon program was not intended to dilute the attendance at our primary site, the H.E.S.S. Club.  It was intended to enrich the membership experience of those who did not feel comfortable attending a function in the Houston Galleria area with all of the traffic there.

Primarily through the dedicated efforts of George Treibel, Evelyn Kassey and her husband Mike, and Glenn Ewan and his wife Lorraine (the “family”), the Neighborhood Luncheon program was a great success.  During 2019 we enjoyed a quarterly average attendance of 86 in addition to the 56 attending the HESS luncheons. Eventually, the program expanded to nine sites, including central Houston, Spring, Katy, Fulshear, Sugarland, Pearland, Humble, Tomball and Bryan/College Station.

In November the Neighborhood Luncheon “family” decided to conduct a recruiting drive.  They folded, addressed, licked, and stamped just over 2,800 letters to Chevron retirees living in the Houston area who are not currently members of MHC.  Other MHC Board members helped when they attended the luncheon in their neighborhood.  This resulted in the addition of more than 160 members since December 2 when the letters were mailed.