22 President’s Report

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Wayne Hughes

Iam always amazed at how fast the time passes. Here we are getting ready for the 2014 Annual General Meeting for RTAM. Yes, the meeting does not take place until the end of May but we must complete our planning in time to meet our timelines in accordance with our constitution and bylaws. We also want our members to have lots of notice so you can plan to attend.

This year’s AGM is in Winnipeg and we have reserved space at the Ramada Viscount Gort for May 27, (2nd Chapter President’s Meeting this year/Presentations and Reception), May 28, (Annual General Meeting), and May 29, (Inaugural meeting of the new Board). A big THANK YOU to Barb Mc Dole, who has chaired a committee that has planned a very full agenda with a number of interesting presentations and time for social interaction. It will be a great opportunity to reconnect with former colleagues. We have been able to maintain our minimal registration fee of $15.00 to encourage as many members as possible to attend. While RTAM only pays for two representatives per chapter, individual chapters might be able to give some support to additional members by sharing hotel space. If a chapter has not made use of the Chapter Initiative Grant from RTAM, they might decide to dedicate the assistance to helping another person attend the AGM.

I would also draw your attention to three additional forms in the AGM material: 1. The Distinguished Service Award nomination that is due April 25, 2014. These awards are presented at the Tuesday evening reception of the AGM, 2. The Nominations Form for the Board of Directors. Our association needs your participation. 3. The form asking for members to volunteer for one of the standing committees.

In addition to the AGM planning, the Board has been very busy on a number of other fronts. • The Benefits Committee has continued its work on the renewal rates for our many Johnson plans. While the rates will have to have modest increases, we have been able to add a new service for our Extended Health Plan members called Elder Care. This is a 15 month pilot program that is funded by Johnson. • A Volunteer Study is being done with all our members. We know retired teachers do a lot of volunteer work in their communities and this survey will hopefully quantify the volunteer hours being donated. The survey can be done either as a paper survey or an online survey. Look for a report in the Fall KIT. • The Membership and Benefits Committees have joined forces to conduct Pre-retirement Seminars for Active teachers planning to retire. • Our Public Relations committee has completed their second “Night at the Leg” on March 19, 2014. • The Educational Advocacy committee is putting the final touches on the 2nd Annual Post-Secondary Awards for relatives of RTAM members.

Last but not least, with all these activities, we are looking at moving our office. We have come to the realization we need more space. In many ways, we should not be surprised, since it is almost a function of a maturing organization. Thankfully, we are not planning to move far – only upstairs to suite 206. We are in the final stages of negotiating and should have all the details and move completed by the end of April. Our telephone and web site will remain unchanged.

Enjoy reading this issue of KIT and please consider joining us at the AGM. Even better, please consider joining a RTAM committee and/or the Board of Directors. §

Senior Program Interpreter Bilingual (multiple positions available)

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Application Procedure

Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest and a current resume through the museum’s Career page at www.museumforhumanrights.ca. The closing date is March 24, 2014.