Executive Committee Updates: July 2024
July 15, 2024
Executive Report for July 2024
Many of you have no doubt planted a kitchen garden or flower garden of some kind, and we all need drier, hotter weather. My corn, which was planted just before all the rain in late May, hasn’t germinated after three weeks, so I’ll have to do some replanting of that patch.
Pretty well every day at home in Ochre River, I walk five kilometres in the evening after supper, and I always walk past the home of Nick Wingie, who is 85 years old and has been gardening ever since his retirement.
Nick is a retired teacher from Turtle River School Division in the Ste. Rose area, and he loves talking gardening, and I have learned a lot from him. He has always started or ended our quick walk-pass conversations with, "How’s your garden doing?"
I remember once asking Nick how is he able to keep his garden so free of weeds, and he replied, "I just stump on them." No, that’s not what he does; he uses the small shovel as in the photo, removing the weeds early and quickly while they are still young.
Activities and Correspondence
I attended the L’Association canadienne des enseignantes et des enseignants retraités – Canadian Association of Retired Teachers (ACER-CART) meeting in Ottawa and some members expressed high praise for the report from RTAM, thanks to the work of our Executive Director Sean Seywright.
ACER-CART priorities for 2024- 2025: ACER-CART will continue elevating the profile of our national association in provincial associations and all levels of government.
- Priority:
- ACER-CART will, in collaboration with like-minded organizations, develop strategies for aging at home.
- Strategies:
- Advocate for the development and implementation of a national seniors' strategy, which includes a universal national Pharmacare program and combats the move toward privatization
- Advocate for a public health-care system that prioritizes care in a senior's own home (or community) for as long as possible
- Support members in their efforts to achieve full cost of living pension adjustments
- Complete the strategic plan
- Other ACER-CART updates:
- Our Life Member (90+) certificates were sent out to Jon Baker
- Ontario represented Canadian retired teachers at UN conference
- Networking
- Spoke to the BC Retired Teachers' Association (BCRTA) retired teachers’ group and they wanted to know about our efforts in developing a community membership with the University of Manitoba (U of M)
- BCRTA wants to do a deal with the U of M if we fail at developing a community membership with our RTAM membership
- ACER-CART memberships nationally are interested in our online workshops and possible links provided to the ACER-CART website nationwide
Board Meeting
- As a board, we had a reorganizational meeting on June 21, where we filled various positions and many elected members of the board indicated their committee preferences. We will continue working with the new board membership on committee development needs and the recruitment of committee members from our membership.
- Also, on June 20, we held a workshop on board governance/operation and policies with presenter Kevin Freedman. He also made a presentation on finance, which gave board members a good insight on reading/understanding aspects of an income statement and balance sheet.
Golf Tournament
Our golf tournament is just around the corner and we're excited to grow the event for another year. We will be heading back to Quarry Oaks for the second year in a row to experience nine new holes as part of their 27-hole offerings. We are also going to be adding new events and features for those members taking part in the event:
- Chance to win a car with a hole-in-one
- Photo booth for golfers to remember the day
- More prizes and snacks for everyone
Save the date for Friday, August 30, 2024! Please check the Events page regularly for a list of upcoming events.
Have a restful and enjoyable summer!
Sincerely,
The Executive Committee
Gabe Mercier, President
Linda Blair, Past President
Jayesh Mania, Secretary
Jocelyne Fraser, Treasurer
Sean Seywright, Executive Director