St. Augustine

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About 50 Bank retirees, family and friends gathered in early March in the old port town of St Augustine, in north east Florida, for another reunion of The Florida Circle of The 1818 Society. Participants were formally welcomed to St Augustine by the City Mayor in person. The reunion was conceived and organized by John Doolette and Arthur Fields, who live in the area. Only the weather, which was unseasonably cold, failed to come up to expectations.

This was the fifth reunion of The Florida Circle and there was a capacity crowd for it, including several new participants (Dick Abbott, Melaku Zeleke, James Smith and Kathleen Di Tullio, among others; see below). Our block of rooms for the reunion at the historic Casa Monica Hotel in St Augustine, where the reunion was based, was sold out by last November. The Florida reunions now seem to have a solid basis of support, which augurs well for the future.

The Circle has always emphasized that its reunions are open to anyone who cares to come, not just Floridians. Participants from out of state were warmly welcomed. There was a significant contingent of people from the Washington DC area, including the society's president John Blaxall, regulars Ida and Martin Heilman from Rockville, Francoise Monceaux, Dawn Elvis and Hayley Goris. Lyra Pinto came from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Ted Rice from Hilton Head.

Like most of the grand old hotels on Florida's east coast, the Casa Monica Hotel was at one stage owned by Henry Flagler, the oil tycoon and railway entrepreneur. Like most of these hotels, it has had major ups and downs and seems to have been closed almost as much as it has been open. However, in recent years the hotel has undergone a major renovation and today is arguably among the most luxurious and magnificent hotels in the state (though there were some grumbles about the quality of the food).

The opening reception and dinner, as well as our subsequent business meetings, were held in the old Government House across the street from the hotel. This building, which dates back to the settlement of St Augustine by the Spanish in 1565, was originally the Governor's residence and later a courthouse, post office and other government offices. It is now mainly a museum. The building was burnt down and rebuilt several times during St Augustine's tumultuous history.

Outdoor activities for the reunion were unfortunately marred by the extremely low temperatures. This applied particularly to our early evening boat ride to a restaurant on the other side of the Mantanzas Bay. We all huddled under blankets but still froze as a chilly wind blew across the water. Seemingly oblivious to our discomfort, the skipper gave us a leisurely account of how the estuary has changed over the centuries. The cold, however, did not prevent us from appreciating the spectacular sunset.

Another chilly occasion was our outdoor luncheon in Old St Augustine Village. On this occasion there were at least some patches of sunshine into which we could squeeze for warmth while we ate our sandwiches and pasta salad. Later we had a guided tour of the village, which has been substantially restored. The tour gave us an interesting insight into life in early colonial times.

The reunion was instructive as well as entertaining. Hazel Henderson, the economist, who was guest speaker at our opening dinner, reported on the steps being taken to counter the negative effects of globalization. At our meeting the following morning, John Blaxall reported on changes in the Bank under Mr Wolfensohn; Hugo Schielke spoke on investing for retirement; and Aetna staff from the nearby Jacksonville office discussed the administration of the Bank's medical insurance plan.

Hazel Henderson suggested that ethics were the missing link between globalization and a sustainable global economy. She said that there was a growing consensus on the need for reform of the world economic system, including changes to the international financial institutions and capital markets. She hoped that there would be further progress in this debate at an upcoming conference in Monterey, Mexico.

John Blaxall won everyone's heart by immediately declaring that "your pensions are safe." John gave a concise account of developments at the Bank during Mr Wolfensohn's presidency. The Bank's work, he said, was now principally focussed on the alleviation of poverty and there had been a significant decentralization to field offices. Staff morale had been adversely affected by budget cuts but now seemed to have improved.

Hugo Schielke, formerly chief investment officer of the Bank, was cautious about the outlook for stock markets, suggesting that even past modest returns might be difficult to obtain. He favored annuities, which he thought had a place in most retirees' portfolios. He offered his services to anyone interested in reviewing their investments.

Roberta Adam, the head of the "World Bank team" at Aetna, gave a detailed account of Aetna's processes for reviewing claims under the medical insurance plan (MIP). Ms Adams felt, and most participants agreed, that Aetna's handling of claims had improved considerably after some severe initial problems. The company, she said, was determined to continue this improvement and would be responsive to any further complaints. She noted that working on the World Bank team in Aetna was regarded as a great distinction by other company staff.

Ms Adam was accompanied by Perry Orange, Gina Grant and Kellie Gregg from Aetna's Jacksonville Office. Hayley Goris, who is chairman of The 1818 Society's insurance committee, helped to organize this meeting with Aetna staff. Her presence for the discussion was extremely helpful.

Ms Adam and her colleagues provided an explanation of the Coordination of Benefits calculation between Medicare and Aetna benefits, complete with how savings accumulate and can be used to cover a participant's Allowable Eligible Expense items. She also pointed out that the Aetna Explanation of Benefits form has already been improved but is still a work in progress; the Patient's Portion entry still needs to be straightened out.
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