Many years ago, there were a couple of small independent retiree medical trusts operating in Northern California. Those two trusts merged around 2005 and created a trust called the North State Trust. Shortly after that, sometime in early 2008, PORAC made the incredibly wise decision to start their own medical trust. At that time, the PORAC president was Ron Cottingham. His vice president was Mike Durant.
Ron and Mike set out to find some assistance in making their trust happen. By happenstance, they were present at a chapter meeting and heard a medical trust presentation. The presenter was Earl Titman (North Bay Area LEO), chairman of the North State Trust.
Days later, Ron reached out to Earl and they talked about putting together a trust for PORAC. Earl eagerly agreed to help them get the PORAC trust going.
By the fall of 2008, the PORAC Retiree Medical Trust came to fruition. At the time, there were zero participants. Similarly, there was no money in the bank. And that turned out to be a very good thing, considering the 2008 financial crisis was just starting to unfold.
It didn’t take long for the RMT to begin picking up some significant steam. New associations began joining. Other established trusts saw the value of the RMT and decided to merge as well.
One of those trusts was the North State Trust. Earl was instrumental in helping facilitate that merger. Soon after that, Earl became the Region I trustee for the RMT. And at the same time, he moved into the position of Trust chairman. Earl was at the helm for three years, successfully helping to shape the future of the RMT.
I joined Earl on the board in 2010 as the Region II trustee. In 2011, Earl handed me the reins. His shoes were big, and I am still trying to fill them.
As the RMT has grown significantly, we have experienced the need for assistance with both outreach and education. One year ago, we hired Sacramento POA President Tim Davis to help us in that regard. Unfortunately for us, Tim has retired from law enforcement and is now putting his law degree to work at Mastagni Holstedt in Sacramento. We already miss him.
In our search to find a new consultant, I reached out to Earl on the off chance that we might coax him out of retirement. Well, it worked. Heeeeee’s back. Earl agreed to rejoin us and help as we navigate the upcoming chapters in the growth of the RMT.
Earl’s contact information is listed in this article, along with that of the other trustees. Feel free to reach out to him if you need assistance or information on the RMT. He has a history of being a good resource.
Earlier this year, I shared with the trustees that I thought we might be able to crest the $100 million mark by January. But as we were winding down 2023, it appeared that my prediction was off the mark and we would fall short. Then a funny thing happened on the way to the bank. Our investments finished out the year very strong — much stronger than any of us expected. We were well over the mark. In fact, we were approaching $110 million.
As of January 7, the portfolio is hovering around $114 million. It’s nice to start the year in such a positive way.
Upcoming meetings:
- May 9 in Sacramento
- July 29 in Burbank
- November 20 in Palm Springs
And a quick reminder, if you are a participant, please take a few minutes to register your account with us. It really helps us to help you. You can register by going to our website at PORACRMT.org and tapping the Member Login button. That will take you to the registration page. If you experience any difficulty, just call the toll-free number: (877) 808-5994. The folks in the office will walk you through it.
Take care, stay safe and remain healthy. And Earl, welcome back!
