When the Zapata County Retired Teachers Association earned the Texas Retired Teachers Association\u2019s (TRTA) 2026 award for the greatest increase in membership percentage, Chapter President Diana Ramirez was pleased by the recognition. But if you ask her how the Chapter achieved such impressive growth, she quickly shifts the spotlight away from herself.<\/p>\n
“It’s really a team effort,” Ramirez said.<\/p>\n
That team-first mentality has become the foundation of the Chapter’s success.<\/p>\n
Over the past two years, Zapata County Retired Teachers Association has grown from approximately 65 members to more than 100. While many organizations struggle to recruit and retain members, Ramirez and her fellow Officers have found success through a simple strategy: work together, stay connected, and never stop reaching out.<\/p>\n
“We meet and talk about ways of reaching out to people,” Ramirez explained. “We’ll say, ‘You know this person,’ or ‘You know that person.’ Then we start making calls, sending texts, and following up.”<\/p>\n
The Chapter’s six officers share the responsibility for membership recruitment. Rather than relying on one person to carry the load, everyone contributes. They divide contact lists, identify retired educators they know personally, and work together to connect with potential members.<\/p>\n
Sometimes that means making a phone call. Other times it means sending a text message\u2014or sending another one if the first goes unanswered.<\/p>\n
“We have to be persistent,” Ramirez said. “We’ll text again, or we’ll see people around town and talk to them.”<\/p>\n
In a close-knit community like Zapata, those personal connections make all the difference.<\/p>\n
“We live in a small town, so everybody sees each other sometime or another,” Ramirez said.<\/p>\n
Whether at church, community events, or around town, Chapter leaders find opportunities to reconnect with retired educators and invite them to become involved.<\/p>\n
The Chapter also works closely with local schools. Each year, Officers obtain a list of newly retired educators and personally reach out to welcome them into the organization. According to Ramirez, nearly half of those contacted decide to join.<\/p>\n
While recruitment is important, Ramirez believes retention begins with creating a Chapter people genuinely enjoy being part of.<\/p>\n
“We try to make our meetings fun and casual,” she said.<\/p>\n
Monthly gatherings often include lunch, fellowship, games, door prizes, and opportunities to catch up with friends and former colleagues. Some meetings are devoted entirely to socializing, while others provide updates about TRTA advocacy efforts and issues affecting retired educators.<\/p>\n
“The best part of the meeting for me is getting to see everybody,” Ramirez said. “There are people we don’t see until the meeting, and that’s really nice.”<\/p>\n
Members are encouraged to bring guests, creating a welcoming environment for prospective members.<\/p>\n
“Even if they haven’t joined yet, we’ll tell them to come to a meeting and see what we’re about,” Ramirez said.<\/p>\n
For Ramirez, the Chapter’s growth reflects something deeper than membership numbers. It represents a shared commitment to supporting educators, strengthening communities, and advocating for retired school employees.<\/p>\n
A retired educator herself, Ramirez remains passionate about education and continues to volunteer in schools. She also participated in TRTA’s Day at the Capitol, where she saw firsthand how retired educators can work together to make their voices heard.<\/p>\n
“It was really an eye-opener,” she said. “Getting involved and helping improve benefits for teachers\u2014that’s important.”<\/p>\n
That spirit of service extends throughout the Chapter. Members volunteer in schools, support community projects, and provide scholarships for students. They stay engaged because they believe education continues to matter long after retirement.<\/p>\n
As the Chapter celebrates its membership growth, Ramirez remains focused on the same approach that brought them success in the first place: teamwork.<\/p>\n
The Officers continue to meet, share ideas, divide responsibilities, and encourage one another. At Chapter gatherings, the membership awards serve as reminders of what can happen when everyone works together toward a common goal.<\/p>\n
For Ramirez, however, the recognition belongs to the entire Chapter.<\/p>\n
“It’s a team effort,” she said. “That’s exactly what we do.”<\/p>\n
And in Zapata County, that teamwork is helping build a stronger Chapter, one conversation and one connection at a time.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When the Zapata County Retired Teachers Association earned the Texas Retired Teachers Association\u2019s (TRTA) 2026 award for the greatest increase in membership percentage, Chapter President Diana Ramirez was pleased by the recognition. But if you ask her how the Chapter achieved such impressive growth, she quickly shifts the spotlight away from herself. “It’s really a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":73242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[637],"tags":[638],"class_list":["post-73240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-story"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n