Are You A Rockwell Collins / Collins Aerospace Retiree?

The Collins Retirees Association is a 501(c)(4) non-profit social organization. Its purpose is to provide a place where members and their families can enjoy companionship, recreation, crafts, education, and community-welfare activities.

CRA is made up primarily of retirees of Collins Radio Co., Rockwell Collins, or Collins Aerospace in the Dallas, TX area. Membership is also open to retirees and family members from related organizations once part of Rockwell International or its spin-offs.

If you qualify, you may register to become a member and receive newsletters, emails, and meeting notices here:

RCRA Registration

Note: Your privacy is important to the organization. Your personal information will not be released outside the organization. Only CRA officers will have access to the membership roster to facilitate email distribution of Association notifications and meeting announcements.

There are no membership fees — only goodwill donations.

INFORMATION NEED

One of CRA’s primary goals is to collect and preserve historical descriptions and photographs of significant Rockwell Collins/Collins Aerospace programs and teams that our membership supported during their careers at the Collins Division in the Dallas/Richardson area.

We invite you to review your files and share materials with the CRA for posting on the Collins History tab of the “About Us” webpage. Submissions may be sent to:

(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 2025 to April 2027

The two-year term for our current officers will be completed after the April 2025 meeting. The elected officer positions include President, Vice President, and Treasurer.

We are now asking for volunteers to step into one of the Acting positions or to support other volunteer roles within the Association. Additional support positions are also available. As always, you may self nominate for any of the roles if you would like to serve.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact any of the current officers with your questions or to express interest. Officer contact details are available under the Contacts section of the website.

Current Slate of Volunteer Officers

Neil Dobson – President | Newsletter Publisher

Bill Zeigler – Acting Vice President | Webpage Updates & Member Data Stats

Ted Fredericks – Treasurer

Eric Pearson – Acting Public Relations | Meeting Notices & Obituaries

Jim Brown – Photographer | Publishes Meeting Addendum with Attendee Photos

Carlo Rossi – Collins Aerospace Liaison (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

    Rockwell Collins does not release retiree names or contact information. We rely on CRA members to inform us.

    Please report new retirees: Send the retiree’s name and contact information to CRA officers:

    Please report obituaries: Notify any officer and send a copy to: rcretirees@gmail.com so we can distribute the notice to 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 16, 2025 at 9:00 AM

     TACAMO EC-130J Update 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:  “TACAMO EC-130J Phoenix II Update” by 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.