Retired Toronto Fire Fighters’ Association

2022 - Our Hopeful Reopening!

We hope that everyone is still surviving okay since last we checked in. I think the only term we can use to describe our current world is “SMH”. Forgive the use of a social media short term, but SMH stands for, “Shaking My Head.” I think most of us spend a good part of each day doing just that. With great respect to our readers, we will skip past any political commentary, and stick to what’s up for us these days. What’s new? Well, a few things! We have a new union executive. Due to the office being closed, and the current operations environment, we have not had a chance to have a sit down with the new President yet, but we will soon. We seem only to pass each other at funerals and, sadly, those have not diminished. On the subject of funerals, they keep all of your retiree groups in touch. We consult with each other on a fairly regular basis, to ensure the families of those who have passed get the attention they need, and our departed members get the send-off they deserve. None of us like to think about our mortality but, it would really help us all if you, in our retiree group, did better pre-planning. Take a second look at the plan you have for you and your family. Make sure that you have all of the documentation done, particularly a WILL! Don’t cheap out here and decide not to plan for a proper obituary and some kind of “get-together” for your friends and family! It’s “not about you” now, it’s about others. This can be done without spending a pile of money. Even after a direct cremation, you can book an afternoon at your neighbourhood legion (we all know they need the support) and have a small celebration. Same goes for the obituary! Your service deserves to be recognized! All those years serving the public and many other endeavours need to be celebrated in the obituary, and with a picture! Keep a picture and make sure your family knows what you want. Reach out to your retiree groups for some help. Having members pass away after all those years, completely unrecognized, is not the send-off you/we deserve! Last item in the funeral file is the question of what we will do with all of our departed members whom we were not allowed to celebrate! We understand that the Ceremonial and Bereavement Committee is looking into having one big celebration for all. I’m not sure if we can make this happen, but we will keep you posted. We believe that this is important! Some day-to-day housekeeping items: • Your executive has been busy, assisting members with membership/website issues, benefit issues, and the operation of the Toy Drive. • Dues are all due each May 1st (Spring 2022). We still don’t have a simple system to monitor our membership dues, but your executive is working on that as we speak. • A retiree uniform patch is still in the works. We made an official submission to HQ this past November. We have not received anything yet, but we will keep you updated. • Windshield stickers: we are working on finding a new supplier for stickers and figuring out what you the membership actually want. • Greenshield Status: some huge kudos go to our 3888 Benefits

Committee on this one. It’s a very complicated issue, and there is a huge amount of work being done by this group constantly. We try to help the committee and our members where we can, especially with those who don’t have online capabilities. As we (hopefully) re-open, there are some regular events which have started back up. The breakfast groups have re-started back in the regular places, with some exceptions. It would be a good idea for you to catch up with your retiree groups and see what’s going on. Each group has its own list of events that take place. Some have changed and some, of course, are still under some restrictions. As we re-open, it’s best to keep up to date with your own social circle and perhaps our own social media pages. Things will be changing in the next six to eight weeks and it’s important to be up to date. It’s also important to keep an eye on each other as we re-open. We can’t underestimate the mental health effects that this whole thing has had, on top of everything else. If there are those of us who are either reluctant to come back out or are not in regular contact, please make sure that they are okay. Don’t hesitate to notify our EAP/Peer Group folks if you are worried about anyone. As with any large organization, there’s always much work that goes on in the background. In some cases, the work overlaps into other areas that are the responsibility of other organizations. The RTFFA is always collaborating with the Toronto Fire Fighters War Veterans Association, the Toronto Fire Historical Society, the Greater Toronto Multiple Alarm Association, and lastly our two dedicated support groups, Box 12 and Support 7. Many of our retirees do double duty in these organizations and in some cases act as referral agents. On a regular basis, the RTFFA gets asked by families what they should do with the basements full of memorabilia. We refer them to the Historical Society reps or in some cases, will collect the items for donation. The Historical Society has become the custodians of the War Vets memorabilia as well, so we can ensure that all of our history is preserved. Our last word! Again, goes to you - all of the members of our TFS Family. Runs are still occurring, fires are still being professionally extinguished, while all the craziness is happening in the background. All our retirees, as well, who reached out and offered to drive others to the supermarket, to the hospital; and even to get vaccinated - your RTFFA is proud of you, and thinks we all deserve a round of applause. Thank You. The RTFFA will continue to keep all of you updated on our activities. We are still aiming to resume our membership meetings sometime in May, and we will keep you posted. Keep your fingers crossed! The spring meeting will be followed by a fall elections meeting! Our membership drive is continuous. If you’re interested in becoming a member, feel free to contact us at active.retired@ torontofirefighters.org. The dues ($25.00) are payable annually on the 1st of May.

Come join us, and remember to follow us on social media: On the Web - https://www.retiredtorontofirefighters.org/ On Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TFSRetirees On Twitter - @TFSRetirees

Be Well and Stay Safe.