Are You A Rockwell Collins / Collins Aerospace Retiree?

The Collins Retirees Association is a non-profit organization. The purpose of the Association shall be to provide a meeting place for the members and their families, where they can find companionship and opportunities to pursue their interests in recreational activities, crafts, education, and activities to promote the welfare of the community. The Collins Retirees Association (CRA) is primarily a group of Collins Radio Co. or Rockwell Collins retirees local to the Dallas, TX area. However, we welcome retirees (or family members) from related organizations who have worked directly for or retired from Rockwell Collins or one of the affiliated organizations that were part of the Rockwell International group or spin-offs from that group. If you have retired or otherwise fit the description above, you may register as a member and receive our newsletters, emails and meeting notifications. 

RCRA Registration

NOTE: Your privacy is important to the organization and your personal information will NOT be released outside the organization in the future. In the past, it was the practice to release rosters with name, address, phone, and email to members of the organization. The policy was revised effective July 1, 2018 to only release a roster of active names with associated email addresses (if email release was specifically authorized by the member). Rosters will be released in PDF format only.

INFORMATION NEED

It would be nice to collect historical documents describing the formation of the Retirees Association and it’s history. Also, we are always interested in seeing pictures that commemorate the work we did at Collins, particularly in Dallas area. 

Thank you in advance for looking at your files and trying to find some of the information above. This email account will be monitored by one of the officers  (RockwellCollinsRetirees@rcretirees.com). 

Presidents Ponderings by Neil Dobson

Message From Our President…

We are living in a turbulent time!  The importance of strategic NC3 platforms & missions that many of us supported during our careers at Rockwell Collins has been raised to the highest level within the DoD.  Variations and upgrades to things developed as far back as the 1990s are now undergoing technology refresh development cycles for new and improved platforms. It is my hope that we can leverage this encourage participation by Collins in the retiree organization and, likewise, give us an opportunity to share the history of the legacy we left behind.

Our “Treasured RCA Retirees Social Event” will evolve as we reach out to assist and mentor the current design engineers.  We will welcome a new wave of recent retirees as well as current employees to share in our Social. We will continue to share & reflect on the lives and careers of some very talented employees who contributed to the success of Collins Radio, Rockwell Collins and now Collins Aerospace [A Business Unit within RTX].

Goals for the Future of RCRetirees Association (RCA) include:

  • Improve Engagement & Communications by re-instating Quarterly Newsletters.
  • Increase RCRetirees Membership Rolls – Outreach Effort to Recent Collins Retirees.
  • Increase attendance at Semi-annual Meetings – Reach out to all retirees.
  • Expand the “Story Teller’s Corner” in Newsletter (example Dr. Weigl Art Collins story).

In terms of future meetings, we have a long-term commitment with St. Paul’s for our use of this fine Parish Center location.  

Neil Dobson

We are seeking nominations and/or volunteers to lead the RCRA from Oct 2024 to April 2026

The two year terms for our current officers completes after our April 2022 meeting. We are now asking for volunteers to take one of the three positions. The positions include President, Vice President and Treasurer. There are other support roles available as well. If you have interest in one of these opportunities, you can contact one of our current officers with any questions and to volunteer. The officers and their contact information can be found under the contacts section of the website. A quick reminder of our current officers is provided below:

  • Your current slate of volunteer officers are:

    1) Neil Dobson (President) [Newsletter Publisher]

    2) Bill Zeigler (Acting VP) & Member Database

    3) Ted Fredericks (Treasurer)

    4) Eric Pearson (Public Relations) [Post Meeting Notices, Retirees Photos and Obituaries

    5) Jim Browne (Photographer)

    6) Carlo Rossi (Collins Aerospace Liasson-BD]

Member Contributions

Member contributions received at the meetings continue to play a major role in offsetting the expenses of this organization. When the baskets are passed please be generous. Another way to help RCRA is to purchase an ad on this site. Any RCRA officer can help you with the details.

New Retirees & Obituaries

Due to privacy concerns, Rockwell Collins does not directly release the names and contact information of employees retiring.  Therefore, it is up to us (all of you and me) to take notice of those retiring and report that information to the RCRA leadership.  Please provide name and contact information of new retirees by email or phone to the RCRA officers.  See the Contacts & Links page for phones. Email: rcretirees@gmail.com. We ask you to notify one of the officers of obituaries/death notices for our members and send a copy to our email account (rcretirees@gmail.com) to aid in distribution of that information to our members.

Website Information

In 2015, Jerry Henninger, a past president of RCRA, engaged his business partner Lance Ochs to develop, maintain, and host the RCRA website, http://www.rcretirees.com. Today, Lance continues to host the website but we’ve transitioned development to Bill Zeigler and on-going maintenance to Eric Pearson. We thank Jerry and Lance for the initial development and for hosting our web site. We also thank Bill & Eric for taking the initiative to reorganize and update the website.

RCRA Meeting is Coming!

Thursday, Oct 17, 2024 at 9:00 AM

, & Jeff Box Collins Aerospace ATTENTION: Thursday – Oct 17, 2024 Meeting will be held at:

St Paul Catholic Church Parish Center
900 St. Paul Dr
Richardson, TX 75080
(Just West of 75 (Central), North off Spring Valley)

9:00am Meeting Start
10:00am Speaker:  “VLF Receivers History at Collins” by Neil Dobson & Jeff Box, Collins Aerospace 
10:45am Sponsor Time
11:00-11:15am Open Discussion

For planning purposes, our meetings are scheduled on the third Thursday of April and October each year.  You can mark you calendar now to reserve the dates.

Collins Retirees Association Requests Donations in Lieu of Requiring Dues

The Collins Retirees Association (CRA) has a few sponsors but must have donations from members in order to pay for meeting facilities and other costs associated with the CRA’s operation. When we can return to face-to-face meetings, we will be forced into commercial venues at a higher cost as the Civic Center is entering renovation. You may donate at the link below using a PayPal account or your credit card.