All eyes were on the purple state of Georgia in December as U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, faced — and defeated — former pro football player Herschel Walker in a runoff election, with campaign help from retired UFT members.

Without dedicated office space, finding sites for Si Beagle classes and for activities for Nassau County retirees was challenging. Then came Zoom.

Word of mouth is the reason many retirees find their way into the Manhattan Section's Si Beagle classes, which are offered online and in person, and again include “dine-arounds,” walking tours and museum trips.

The return of in-person card games is one of the most eagerly anticipated fall activities for retirees at the UFT Staten Island borough office, which has reopened in a new barrier-free location on South Avenue that has larger rooms for classes than the old site, plenty of parking and state-of-the-art technology.

After providing online courses only during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UFT’s Si Beagle Learning Center in the Bronx welcomed retirees in the Bronx section back into the building this spring for a limited number of in-person classes.

Ira Faber, coordinator of the Retired Teachers Chapter's Suffolk section on Long Island, has seen an uptick in attendance at Si Beagle courses since they became virtual during the pandemic.