So Long, Hal
Hal Danowitz is retiring as a longtime RLACEI Board Director. He joined the Board immediately after he retired from the City’s Office of the Controller in 1999.
Hal has been an RLACEI institution! Hal has served on the Board for 22 years and was one of the longest-serving members. He joined RLACEI to maintain a relationship with his Retired friends. During his illustrious tenure as a Board member, Hal last served as Secretary/Treasurer. He contributed a monthly article to Alive! on his various world travels. Hal was also instrumental in installing RLACEI’s toll-free 800 phone system and set up the first RLACEI Website.
Hal says it was a pleasure to serve on the Board and feels that RLACEI is the only organization whose primary goals are to maintain retirement benefits and support Retirees, as well as increase communication and visibility.
“I will always be available to provide assistance if requested. I look forward to the continued growth of our organization.”
RLACEI thanks Hal for his dedicated and important service. Happy complete retirement, Hal!
Hal Danowitz was a member of the RLACEI Board of Directors for many years. He helped to transform the board to be a watchdog organization, the only group that protects our retirement benefits. Hal’s dedication and hard work as treasurer and at times secretary will be sorely missed on the board, and I wish him well in his new home.
— Dennis Harding, Entertainment Director
Hal has been a devoted and industrious RLACEI Board member for many years. His value to the organization, his integrity and consistent contributions will be sorely missed. I learned to value my interactions and conversations with Hal and wish him all the best in a well deserved “second” retirement.
— Mike Perez, Director
Hal was on the Board’s Nominating Committee when I was interviewed in February 2018 for the position of Board Director. I vividly remember him asking insightful questions regarding how to involve and assist Retirees as we forge into the technological era.
As I was a new Member with lots of questions, Hal was able to provide answers. He holds a wealth of information and knowledge about the Board and is willing to share to ensure that the RLACEI Board is moving forward. His long tenure on the Board is evidence of his commitment to the Board and Retirees.
Hal, thanks for staying on longer than you had anticipated to ensure a smooth transition and help fill the positions you held. Enjoy the rest of your retirement.
— Beverly Clark, Vice President
I became a member of the RLACEI Board on May 15, 2018. I was welcomed by two of the longest serving members on the board with open arms, Ed Harding and Hal Danowitz. The amount of RLACEI historical knowledge held by these two men will never be replaced. Hal served as both Secretary and Treasurer for countless years as well as entertaining us all with his travel articles in Alive! When he made the decision to retire from the RLACEI Board, he took great pains to train our current Secretary, Vicki Keoseian, and Treasurer, Lucy Artinian, so that the transition would be as smooth as possible. He had planned to retire in January of this year, but graciously remained until now to ensure that crucial documents such as tax and state corporation forms were processed, submitted and approved.
Hal will be missed greatly. There was no question regarding RLACEI that he didn’t have a ready answer for. I learned much from both him and Ed that has helped me to serve as a productive member of the RLACEI Board. We truly appreciate Hal’s service to all RLACEI members for all these many years and wish him many more years to truly enjoy a healthy and happy retirement. Take care, Hal. We know you are just a phone call away should we need your advice. Thank you for everything.
— Ruth Perry, President
I first noticed Hal’s travel articles when he wrote them for a different paper. I read them and was a fan; I always “got” his sly, dry, understated humor and admired his sense of adventure. He and I would see each other at the RLACEI events, and we struck up a friendship. So you can understand how awesome I thought it was when he approached me and asked if we would consider publishing him instead, that he wanted to move his column to Alive!. It took me about a second to say heck yes.
That was August 2005. His first “Adventures With Hal” column, which often also featured his wife, Evelyn, ran that September. I still crack up at looking at the “Indiana Jones” cover our designers created for his debut. But it was pretty accurate!
Through the beginning of 2019, when we moved a lot of our Alive! content to the Web so that more people could access it, we had published more than 150 of Hal’s columns. Incredible.
But our friendship was more than just Hal’s columns. I thank him for his many years of leadership on the Board of the important RLACEI and his supporting its longtime partnership with the Club. Hal was always a big fan of the Club – and how it could serve the City’s Retirees – from the very beginning. I congratulate Hal for his great service to Retirees, and wish him many more years of happiness and adventure.
— John Hawkins, CEO,
Employees Club of California
When I think of Hal, only a split second goes by before I associate him as one of the most influential and impactful figures for the Retired Los Angeles City Employees, Inc. (RLACEI). He has been a staple of integrity with a powerful personality that helped propel RLACEI for decades. For many employees and Retirees, he was known for his ever-popular travel articles. When he began writing “Adventures With Hal” for Alive!, readers immediately identified him as a travel column celebrity. If you are reading this Hal, please consider getting that started again in Alive!
Hal wears his heart on his sleeve, and for that reason among many others he is among the very best to help lead organizations. He is a longtime advocate for Retirees and has always made it his priority to make their lives, and the lives of their families, better through his work at RLACEI. It is my strong belief that this pursuit is why he and the Employees Club of California have bonded in partnership for all these years.
Hal, we thank you for your dedication and service to the City of Los Angeles, to City employees and to the members of RLACEI. All of us at the Employees Club wish you well in your future endeavors, and most importantly in your travels.
— Robert Larios, COO,
Employees Club of California
