Author Terry Lee Marzell presents her books at 2025 CalRTA convention

Author Terry Lee Marzell was invited to present her two books about remarkable teachers at the 2025 Annual Delegate Assembly and Convention for the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA). Photo credit: Hal Marzell

Author Terry Lee Marzell was invited to present her two books about remarkable teachers at the 2025 Annual Delegate Assembly and Convention held by the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA) in Los Angeles on May 14—16. She was part of a panel of three authors who spoke about their books, their inspiration for writing, and their experiences with the writing process.

In addition to her presentation, Terry represented CalRTA Division 80, which serves retired teachers in the cities of Corona, Norco, and Eastvale in Southern California. She currently fills the role of President of that Division, and editor of their monthly newsletter, and was also selected to serve as a delegate for the division at the convention.

CalRTA is a statewide organization in California that advocates for the protection of retirement benefits for retired teachers, supports active teachers and public education through classroom teacher grants, and assists future teachers with scholarships.

One of the other two authors were fellow CalRTA member and retired teacher Antonio Duarte, who spoke about the two volumes of poems that he has published. His books are Vida! Life’s Moments and Memories and Pensamientos: Life’s Emotions and Dreams. (Both volumes are available on amazon.com at the links provided above.) His poems cover topics such as relationships, family, love, and philosophical topics. Antonio, who prefers to be called “Tony,” was a teacher in Santa Ana, California, for 38 years. As a member of CalRTA, Tony serves as the Director for Area VIII, and also as a member of the IDEA Committee (Involvement, Democracy Engagement, and Awareness).

The third member of the panel was journalist Paul Gullixon, one of two authors of the nonfiction book Inflamed: Abandonment, Heroism, and Outrage in Wine Country’s Deadliest Firestorm. (The other was Anne E. Belden.) The book tells the dramatic story of hundreds of senior citizens who were left without help in the path of a killer firestorm. The volume details the search for accountability and reveals the increasing risks to one of America’s most vulnerable populations. This volume, too, is available on amazon.com.