Press Release

For Immediate Release
March 21, 2008

Contact:

Matt Stohr, Director
ETF Communications Office
(608) 266-3641

Department Announces Board Election Results

MADISON, (Wis.) – Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) Secretary David Stella is pleased to announce the results of two Teachers Retirement Board elections conducted among Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) participant groups. The results are as follows:

Retired Teachers Re-elect Mishler

Retired WRS teachers re-elected Lon Mishler to serve on the Board. Mishler, of De Pere, retired from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, where he worked as a finance instructor. He was first elected to serve on the Board in this capacity in 2003. In January of this year, the Department mailed more than 60,000 ballots to retired WRS teachers. Mishler was one of six candidates. There were nearly 19,000 total votes cast and Mishler won with approximately 45% of the total vote.

Technical College Instructors Re-elect Pedersen

Instructors of Wisconsin Technical College School districts re-elected R. Thomas Pedersen to serve on the Board. Pedersen, who was first elected to the Board in 2003, is an employee of Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College-New Richmond. The Department distributed 5,553 ballots in January to all WRS covered technical college instructors. Pederson was one of two candidates and won with approximately 61% of the total vote.

About the Teachers Retirement Board

The 13-member Teachers Retirement Board primarily plays an advisory role in the administration of WRS benefits involving public school, technical, state and university teachers. The Board also acts on administrative rules and authorizes or terminates teacher disability benefits and hears disability benefit appeals. Nine of the 13 members are directly elected to the board.