37 minute read
Chapter Reports
We inherited a website that was very functional and well taken care of. Efforts were made to further organize it. Thanks to input from other RTAM members and our own gleaning, dead links and expired news was trimmed from the website. We made more use of social media and authorized more people to post to the Facebook page in an effort to make it more timely for RTAM members. Our Youtube site is now functional, and more work needs to be done in deciding how we plan to use that site. Gayl Punzalan offered to revamp our web design, which enabled us to further follow the recommendations of the Dooley report and the latest consultant report. The new website will be shown at the AGM, and we think it more accurately reflects the priorities of RTAM, works better on mobile devices, has a cleaner, more modern look, and does a better job highlighting the KIT magazine.
Thank you to the committee members listed above who met on the first Monday of the month to guide our Internet communications. A thank you to Bill Cann, who came to our meetings and provided guidance. We also appreciate all the work our web creator Gayl Punzalan puts into making our website functional and current. A big thank you to Denise Bellesia, who also met with us and is our office member tasked with putting things online on the webpage, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.
We look forward to our committee work next year. We have drafted Bob Davies to join us and are looking for others.
REPORTS ON RTAM REPRESENTATION ON OUTSIDE GROUPS/COMMITTEES
Manitoba Seniors Coalition Report for the 2022 RTAM AGM
RTAM Representatives: Peggy Prendergast, RTAM Director, Linda Scott, RTAM Director
Representatives from the following organizations make-up the Manitoba Seniors Coalition: • A & O Support Services for Older Adults • Active Aging in Manitoba • Alzheimer’s Society of Manitoba • Association of Senior Support Coordinators • Centre on Aging – University of Manitoba • Long Term & Continuing Care Association of Manitoba • Manitoba Association of Senior Centres • Retired Teachers Association of Manitoba • Transportation Options Network for Seniors • Federation des aines de la francophonie manitobaine • National Association of Federal Retirees, Manitoba Region
The Manitoba Seniors Coalition met virtually 13 times in the past year.
The Manitoba Seniors Coalition was adapted from the ACER-CART Seniors Vote 2016 list of pillars of concern for older adults, namely: Healthy Aging, Social Participation, Income Security, Housing, Transportation and Health Care.
The Pandemic, Vaccination, Ageism, Transportation, Long Term Care and Mental Health are some of the recent provincial concerns that the Coalition brought to the Provincial Health Care system. Healthy Aging is the goal of the Coalition.
The Minister of Health, (Heather Stefanson at the time) met with the Coalition representatives in early 2022 to respond to the letter of concern and the offer of help the Coalition sent to the province in late 2021. In March 2022 the Coalition met with the new Minister of Long Term Care and Seniors, Scott Johnston and members of his staff. An announcement of a Senior Strategy being established by the government in early April followed a brief introduction of each Coalition member and the focus and reach of their organization. Long Term care was also part of the discussion. “Ageism Today – is it impacting older adults in Manitoba?” was also a topic on the agenda. The collaboration of the Centre on Aging and the Free Press in the presentation of the film on Ageism: “Duty Free” as the newspaper’s monthly event followed by a panel including Michelle Porter, Director of the Centre on Aging, Jeff Pamater, a Labour lawyer, and the film’s director and his mother, the star of the film, was also part of the discussion.
As printed in the 2022 RTAM AGM Booklet
Boyne Chapter
Lana Rinn
Another year, another interruption caused by Covid. Boyne Chapter members met only a few times in 2021-2022 and essentially suspended operations.
Members continued their community volunteering as much as was possible. Lana attended the Zoom Presidents’ meetings and reported to others via email.
Along with everyone else in the world, we hope for an end to the pandemic and a peaceful 2022-2023.
Calgary Chapter
Penny Hogan
President: Dennis Kozak; Committee Members: Jan Campbell; Richard Dooley; Penny Hogan; Lillian Kozak RTAM Members: 60
Membership Initiative: Calgary Chapter members reside in Calgary, Airdrie, High River, Lethbridge, Cochrane, Strathmore, and Canmore. However, the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIP) does not permit RTAM to release personal contact information if/when members relocate to Alberta. In December 2020, with the assistance of RTAM administrative staff, RTAM members living in/around
Calgary were invited by mail to join our Chapter. As a result, since March 2021 we have welcomed 8 former Manitobans to the Calgary Chapter.
In February 2022, the Calgary Chapter Membership list was reviewed again with RTAM administrative staff. An invitation to join Calgary Chapter was mailed out to 29 prospective members living in and around Calgary.
Activities: After a long Covid imposed damper on in-person gatherings, a catered turkey dinner luncheon was held on November 24, 2021, at Winston Golf Club in Calgary. We were honoured to welcome guest speaker Bill Cann, RTAM President. In the group of 20 attendees were 6 of the 7 new members of the Chapter. Renewing old friendships, and meeting new acquaintances kept the room buzzing with conversation. The Calgary Chapter is appreciative of the Chapter Initiative Grant received in January 2021, which helped make this gathering possible.
On March 24, 2022, a luncheon was attended by 18 individuals. The guest speaker was Ryan Mickuki of Trip Merchant.
Dauphin Area Retired Teachers’ Association (DARTA)
Joyce McGinnis, President
Members: 50 Meetings Our DARTA group has 50 paid memberships for this 20212022 year. We had our re-organization meeting in October at the Watson Art Centre’s, Firehall. We are grateful for the RTAM Chapter Initiative Grant to help pay for the rent of our meeting space and refreshments.
We continue to apply for both the Chapter and Wellness Initiative Grants each year. Members have accessed the various Webinars that have been provided by the Wellness Committee. This has been an appreciated initiative for rural members.
Currently, most members have e-mail access for maintaining regular contact. Those without e-mail are contacted by phone.
Once again, Covid restrictions prevented our January and February meetings from taking place. • October: Renewed the fee for our DARTA sign at the Credit
Union Place hockey arena • November: Sponsored and laid a wreath at the
Remembrance Day Service on November 11 • December: Decorated the Watson Art Centre for the holiday season 1. Monitored arena exit doors for the Dauphin Kings MJHL home hockey games 2. Held annual Cheer and Chat afternoon in the Firehall at the WAC (Watson Art Centre). 3. Annual December donation was made to the Food For Thought Program, which provides a hot lunch to over 600 Dauphin students on Tuesdays and Thursdays from November to March. • March: Zendoodle Workshop was made possible with a
Wellness Initiative Grant
1. Donation made to the Ukraine Relief through the Red Cross 2. Volunteered to work at the U13 and U11 hockey tournaments • April: The AGM of DARTA will be held in April where the officers for the 2022-23 year will be elected at that time.
ÉMR President's Report
Patricia Thibodeau, President of ÉMR
EMR’s 20th Anniversary Jeunes de cœur, riches en expérience Young at heart, wise from experience!
For 20 years, the main objective of Les Éducatrices et Éducateurs manitobains à la retraite (ÉMR) has been to organize various social activities that appeal to our membership and that emphasize our francophone identity. And so far, we have done this only for 20 years, therefore, we are still young! We have for 20 years worked hard at proposing activities which interest our retirees, and we hope to keep doing this for a long time. Every year, we try to do better and this year we have again succeeded in surpassing expectations. At our April AGM, we always ask our members to share their feedback on past activities and we take note of their ideas and suggestions for the coming year.
During this illustrious 20th year of existence, each member of our Executive Council planned at least one activity and in spite of COVID, our 20th anniversary celebrations were a success. We took part in in-person social activities and virtual workshops. As usual, before every event, the organizers made sure that the activity was advertised on our web site, www.lesemr.org website, and after the activity, they posted a report with photos.
We have more than 200 people on our membership list. It is clear that our recruitment efforts are not in vain. Our members have worked either as teachers or administrators in French, English or immersion schools and school board offices across Manitoba. It is important to add that our members are still active members of their community as elders and volunteers, contributing to various provincial and national organizations.
I would like to thank The Retired Teachers ‘Association of Manitoba (RTAM) for their generous contributions to our chapter through the Chapter Initiative Grant, the Special Event Grant, the Wellness Initiative Grant and the Zoom License Grant. Like the rest of the world, last year and this year, we have been confined and sadly, we’ve not been able to collect as many membership fees as usual. This financial support from RTAM has allowed us to survive the COVID crisis and function at full capacity. We plan to apply again in 2022, so we can continue recruiting members and improve our services. We were able to organize many interesting gatherings and informative workshops as you can see below:
ÉMR activities for the year 2020-2021:
• Meeting at St-Vital Park for our 20th anniversary kick off • Reconciliation Workshop with InfoJustice
• Guided visit to the Inuit Qaumajuq gallery • Brunch and Xmas songs at the Canad Inns hotel • Visit to Anne Mulaire’s workshop 19th of May 2022 • Walking tour, 16th of June 2022 Soon after our AGM of April 15, which will take place on Zoom, our Council meeting will be held to prepare the schedule of activities for 2022-2023.The following members have already declared their interest in serving on the ÉMR Executive Council: Patricia Thibodeau, President; Gisèle Grégoire, Vice-President; Rose-Marie Iafolla, Treasurer; - Jocelyne Fraser, Secretary; Lucille DaudetMitchell, Communications; Marc Beaudry, councilor; Robert Daigneault, councilor; Guy Gagnon, outgoing president
I would like to sincerely thank all the members of our executive for their creativity, their energy, their commitment and cooperation. We for sure, are a very dynamic team. We always have fun planning together!
In conclusion, I would like to thank all the people who attended this year’s activities and I hope we can count on their continued support. After all, such opportunities to meet in French are more and more scarce. Finally, as many of our members already do, I encourage us all to continue engaging in our communities. Our parishes and our associations benefit a great deal from our expertise at all levels. We need to pursue our passions and now is the time to do it since we will always be young at heart and wise from experience!
RAPPORT de la PRÉSIDENTE des ÉMR 2022
Patricia Thibodeau, présidente des ÉMR
En ce 20e anniversaire des ÉMR Jeunes de cœur, riches en expérience
Depuis 20 ans, le conseil d’administration des Éducateurs & Éducatrices Manitobains.es à la retraite (les ÉMR) a comme mandat d'organiser une variété d’activités qui mettent l'accent sur l'aspect social et francophone de notre communauté. Ce n’est que depuis 20 ans que nous proposons des activités qui comblent la curiosité des enseignants retraités et qui suscitent un vif intérêt de la part de nos membres. Puisque nous sommes, depuis toujours, jeunes de coeur et riches en expérience ces 20 années d’existence, ne représentent qu’un début et nous inspirent au dépassement dans les années à venir. C’est pourquoi au moment de l’AGA du 14 avril 2022, nous allons profiter de l'occasion pour demander à nos membres de nous partager leur rétroaction sur les activités passées et leur demander de nous suggérer des possibilités d’activités pour l’année à venir.
Durant cette illustre 20e année de présence dans la communauté chacun des membres qui siège au Conseil exécutif des ÉMR a organisé au moins une activité. Même en cette année de COVID on a réussi à fêter ce 20 anniversaire en proposant des sorties intéressantes en personne et des ateliers pertinents en virtuel. Comme d’habitude, avant chaque activité les organisateurs doivent voir à ce que l’activité prévue soit affichée et annoncée dans notre site web, www.lesemr.org. À la suite de l’activité, ces mêmes responsables d’activités doivent aussi voir à afficher le rapport de leur activité, avec photos, sur notre site.
En cette 20e année, on peut se vanter que notre liste de membres des ÉMR se chiffre au-delà de 200 : Il est clair que nos efforts constants de recrutement portent fruit. Nos membres, venant de conseils scolaires de partout dans la province, ont œuvré soit comme enseignant/ enseignante ou administrateur /administratrice, dans des bureaux divisionnaires, dans des écoles francophones, anglophones, ou d’immersion. Il est important de préciser que nos membres, même s’ils sont officiellement à la retraite, demeurent très actifs comme aînés et bénévoles dans divers secteurs de la communauté francophone et qu’ils contribuent à divers organismes provinciaux et nationaux.
Je tiens à remercier la Retired Teachers' Association of Manitoba (RTAM) d'avoir, encore cette 20e année, accepté de généreusement contribuer à notre financement par le biais du Chapter Initiative Grant, du Wellness Grant et de leur Special event Grant. Ces contributions financières nous ont été très utiles et nous ont permis, entre autres, de renouveler notre licence Zoom afin de rester en contact avec nos membres en leur offrant des occasions extraordinaires de se rencontrer et de fêter ce 20e. Nous comptons faire demande à nouveau auprès de RTAM en 2022 dans le but de continuer notre recrutement et d’améliorer nos services auprès de nos abonnés.
Comme tout le monde, cette année, nous avons été obligés de suivre les règles de santé publique ce qui fait qu’on a offert des activités hybrides : Par moments, c’était en personne et parfois en virtuel. Malgré les hauts et les bas des restrictions, nous avons quand même réussi à offrir un grand nombre des activités sociales et des ateliers très intéressants prévus. Voici les
Activités des ÉMR pour l’année 2021-2022: • Le 16 septembre, Party du 20e au Parc St-Vital, 30 personnes • Le 21 octobre Réconciliation par Zoom avec notre partenaire Info-Justice, 13 participants • 18 novembre Galérie Qaumajuq et dîner au Spaghetti
Factory, 60 personnes • Le 16 décembre Brunch de Noël au Canad Inn, 60 personnes • 17 février L'éducation française au Manitoba, annulé à cause de la Covid • Total : 162 participants cette année d’avril 2021 à mars 2022 • À venir : -Visite à la boutique Anne Mulaire, jeudi 19 mai 2022 • À venir : Randonnée pédestre, jeudi 16 juin 2022 • Projet de loi 64: revendication avec RTAM • Traduction du document de position de RTAM.
Peu après notre assemblée générale du 14 avril qui se fera via zoom, la réunion du conseil aura lieu pour préparer le calendrier des activités de 2022-2023. Les membres suivants sont toujours prêts à prendre place au Conseil exécutif: Patricia Thibodeau, présidente; Guy Gagnon, président sortant; Gisèle Grégoire, vice-présidente; Rose-Marie Iafolla, Continued on page 21
RETIRED TEACHERS’
ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA
WE REALLY DO WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
According to legislation, the next provincial election will be held in October of 2023. In preparation, the RTAM Board is surveying members to collect information which will help us present and discuss issues of importance to our membership with the candidates from each of the political parties.
The survey provided will be sent to the member emails we currently have on file in the RTAM office. Filling in the survey using your phone or desktop computer is easy and does not require downloading any type of software. Once completed, all you have to do is hit the “SUBMIT” button on the electronic form and it will be sent to our office and tabulated. This process is the least labour intensive and the most cost effective for RTAM.
If you have not received an electronic copy of the survey and would like to complete it this way, you can contact the RTAM office by phone at:
1-204-889-3660 / MB Toll Free 1-888-393-8082 or by email at info@rtam.mb.ca. If you have limited electronic access, you can complete this copy of the survey and then mail it to the office at:
RTAM 106-1780 Wellington Ave. Winnipeg, MB R3H 1B3
If you wish to mail in your response, RTAM will require your full name, address, and postal code to confirm you are a member. The survey information will not be included in our tabulations unless we can confirm your membership through this process.
The survey will open electronically June 10th, 2022, and close July 10th, 2022. Go to www.rtam.mb.ca to access the link to the survey.
The Retired Teachers’ Association of Manitoba is looking to obtain information from the membership which can be used in our preparations for the Manitoba Provincial Election in October of 2023. Please understand that your answers will become part of a large data base of information and will never be shared in a manner that identifies you individually.
Are you currently an RTAM member? q Yes q No
RTAM Member Survey
RTAM PRIORITIES
The RTAM Board and Executive have established 5 priority items (Advocacy Asks) that they have spoken to political parties and MTS about. Please read over each of the following and indicate if this is an important priority to you.
Is having an RTAM seat on the TRAF Board an important issue for RTAM to pursue? TRAF collects active teacher pension contributions, invests the funds, pays out pensions to retired members and bills the government for their portion of member pensions. The government and MTS have members named to the TRAF Board. RTAM is asking that a retired member nominated by our organization have a seat on the TRAF Board.
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Is having legislation recognizing RTAM as the official spokesperson for retired members an important issue for RTAM to pursue? MTS is recognized through legislation to represent active teachers, but there is no group recognized through legislation to speak on behalf of retired teachers in the province.
Is having a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) pension adjustment linked to an annual rate of inflation an important issue for RTAM to pursue? The current COLA model does not keep up with the annual rate of inflation seeing teacher pension purchasing power eroded on a year-to-year basis.
Is RTAM having a greater say in the development of pension policy an important issue for RTAM to pursue? This may include but is not limited to policy related to the age of early retirement without penalty and/or pension contribution rates.
Is RTAM having a greater say in the development of overall provincial education policy an important issue RTAM should pursue? The government has a wide number of education policy groups which feed information into the system and currently RTAM has no voice on these committees.
Should the RTAM Executive and Board be advocating for other items not listed in the 5 found above? What should they be?
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
Did you vote in the last provincial election? q Yes q No Do you plan to vote in the next provincial election in Manitoba? q Yes q No Do members of your household vote regularly in the Manitoba Provincial Election? q Yes q No Did you contribute moneys to a political campaign or candidate in the last provincial election? q Yes q No Do you plan to contribute moneys to a political campaign or candidate in the coming provincial election? q Yes q No Did you participate in one of the following roles during the last provincial election in Manitoba? If yes check the appropriate box. q worked for a candidate q worked for a political party q worked for elections Manitoba
Do you do volunteer work within your community beyond anything related to your political involvement? q Yes q No
If you have volunteered in the community and are comfortable sharing your involvement, list the groups you worked with in the space provided below. (Examples may include but are not limited to your church, community centre, school programs etc.)
SUBSTITUTE TEACHING
During the last two years it has become clear that retired teachers have taken on an enhanced role in the area of substitute teaching. We are trying to collect information about how many of you were/are involved in this and a sense of your experience.
Have you worked as a substitute teacher (including on a term contract) in the last 2 school years? q Yes q No If you answered yes to the previous question, approximately how many days did you work in the 20202021 school year? # of days worked 2020-2021
How many different public school divisions did you work for in the previous two years?
# of Divisions worked for?
Please indicate where you have substituted based on the options below. q Urban (Includes Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Steinbach, Thompson, Winkler and Winnipeg) q Rural (Everything outside of urban) q Both Urban & Rural
What information, if any, would you like to share with the school divisions, the government or RTAM about your experience as a retired substitute teacher.
A FINAL COMMENT
Do you have anything else you would like to share with the RTAM Executive and Board of Directors, based on the survey questions or any other item of importance to you?
trésorière; Jocelyne Fraser, secrétaire; Lucille DaudetMitchell, conseillère et responsable des communications; Marc Beaudry, conseiller; Robert Daigneault, conseiller et membre du comité des assurances RTAM.
Je remercie très sincèrement tous les membres du CA, pour leur créativité, leur énergie, leur collaboration et leur engagement. Nous formons l’équipe la plus dynamique au Manitoba. Nous voulons à nouveau remercier Gérard Massé responsable du site web: www.lesemr.org qui nous a pendant plusieurs années appuyés dans toutes nos communications. Il faut aussi reconnaître à nouveau la contribution d’Agathe et de Guy Lacroix qui ont, par les années passées, animé et agrémenté nos soirées de Noël avec des chants traditionnels. C’était toujours la fête avec eux! Il faut applaudir tout ce beau monde!
En guise de conclusion, merci aux gens qui ont participé à nos activités de cette année et continuons de participer en grands nombres, après tout, les occasions de se rencontrer en français se font de plus en plus rares. Enfin comme plusieurs membres des ÉMR le font déjà, continuons à nous engager dans nos communautés. Nos paroisses, nos associations profitent grandement de notre expertise tant au niveau provincial que fédéral. Poursuivons nos passions, c’est le temps de le faire, puisque nous sommes et serons toujours jeunes de cœur et riches en expérience.
Hanover Association of Retired Teachers - No report.
Interlake Retired Teachers’ Association (IRTA) - No report.
Neepawa And Area Retired Teachers’ Association (NARTA)
Joan Rink, President
The 2021-2022 NARTA Executive: President: Joan Rink; Past President: Ralph Cibula; Vice President: Vacant; Treasurer: Richard Kulbacki; Secretary: Pat Cibula; Program Director: Wendy Denbow; Communications: Bev Finlayson
NARTA has 12 members. Our yearly membership fee is $10.00. Our members are notified of upcoming meetings by email or by phone.
Our meetings were all on Zoom except for September 2021, which was an outing, and February 2022, which was a luncheon. • March 2021: Our AGM was held with the election of officers for 2021-2022. A sharing of members’ favourite books and some St. Patrick’s Day jokes were enjoyed by all. • April: A donation of $25.00 is to be made by NARTA to the
Neepawa Student Bursary fund in memory of the passing of a paid up member of NARTA. • An egg decorating demonstration was given by one of the members which resulted in an appreciation of the knowledge, technique and huge amounts of work and time involved in this art. • May: A Chapters Initiative Grant of $250.00 was received which will be used to help pay for a get together, door prizes and food. A discussion of garden tips and ideas was followed by a member’s tour of the wide variety of plants he grows, both indoor and outdoor. • June: Our guest speaker was Bill Cann, president of RTAM.
President Cann addressed the members’ concerns about
RTAM pensions, COLA, and the future goals of RTAM.
The 2021 NARTA Student Bursary Awards of $200.00 each were presented to graduating students going on to further their education. There were two recipients at Neepawa
Area Collegiate (due to a backlog) and one recipient at
Carberry Collegiate. Each year a student is chosen from one of three high schools in our area, Carberry Collegiate,
William Morton Collegiate (Gladstone), and Neepawa Area
Collegiate and presented with the award. • Sept.: Fifteen members took part in an outing to the Polonia
Cemetery, Polonia Catholic Church, and the Barn at Kelwood for lunch. After lunch the members toured the McCreary
Museum, the Canal School House and the tour continued onto
Big Valley. It was so nice to be together again.
A wreath is to be ordered for Remembrance Day paid for by RTAM and rotated to three places: Kelwood, Neepawa and Plumas. • Jan. 2022: Members shared interesting Christmas experiences in the time of Covid followed by a variety of jokes, as we all needed some laughter in these challenging times. • Feb.: Some members gathered for a luncheon at the
Chicken Chef restaurant in Neepawa. • April: A luncheon meeting is planned for our NARTA AGM meeting, April 4, 2022.
A big thank you to RTAM for the CHAPTERS INITIATIVE GRANT.
Northeastman Chapter - No report.
Okanagan Chapter of RTAM
Nancy Kostiuk, Secretary
Current membership is 56, with the welcome addition of several new members.
• Chapter President’s Meetings were attended by Co-
President, Lorna Rothwell, via Zoom. • November 27, 2021: The co-presidents met for a planning session in advance of the December event, as some COVID-19 restrictions were eased and QR codes were required. • December 14, 2021: A Christmas Luncheon was held at the
Sunset Ranch Golf Club, attended by 26 members and guests.
It was our first in-person gathering since 2019 and was welcomed by all. After a fabulous meal, Susan Lisik conducted a lively gift exchange, and Lorne a raffle which raised funds for a donation to the food bank. • March 13, 2022: The Executive met to discuss possibilities and plans for a social event and a wellness event in 2022, as provincial health guidelines had been revamped. • March 17, 2022: Our RTAM – OKANAGAN AGM was conducted by email and approved the following:
RTAM – Okanagan Executive 2022-2023 Co-Presidents: Lorna Rothwell, lrothwell@me.com; Lorne Lisik, lornelisik@gmail.com; Vice-President:Jim Patterson;
Treasurer: Roy Lycar; Secretary: Nancy Kostiuk; Members-atlarge: Susan Forsyth; Susan Allen
Portage la Prairie Retired Teachers’ Association
Charlie Clifford, President
The past year was governed by regulations regarding COVID-19, and to a large extent, they determined how we would relate to each other. For many of us, we relied on KIT and Zoom to communicate with each other. We have appreciated KIT and President Bill Cann's chapter president meetings. It was good to hear what other chapters were doing and what the board of directors, executive, committees and staff were doing on our behalf.
We, of course, did not have any in-person meetings. We tried phoning as a means of contacts. We kept thinking and hoping that things would change in the regulations but COVID-19 really dictated how the year would go. A lot of everyone’s attention was directed to following regulations, staying safe and keeping ourselves healthy.
One thing the COVID-19 has reinforced in me is that teachers, past and present, are a resilient and creative group of people. It is these qualities that helped us deal with the stressors and challenges that teaching presented and presents. They also created character which has done us in good stead. Still I can’t help but wonder how we would have coped if this had happened 25 years ago, before we had the advancements in technology that we enjoy today?
Even with COVID-19, many of our members are still involved in the community as individuals or through other organizations. People do see our organization as one with a great deal of expertise and energy. We have about 130 RTAM members in the Portage area. Not all are active or supportive of the organization, but all are happy to have the organization (particularly at the provincial level) look after their interests and be a voice for them.
It is interesting to see the number of members that have decided to get involved with the education system because of the need created by COVID-19. It is also interesting how retired teachers are very interested in the implementation of the "Education Review”, which has recently been released.
We are looking forward to being able to have in-person meetings and being able to communicate in a more personal way.
Retired Women Teachers’ Association
Pat Opalko, President
The Retired Women Teachers’ Association (RWTA) is an association of retired women educators of Manitoba.
We meet on a social basis four times a year in September, December, February, and April to enjoy lunching together, make friends and continue relationships formed during our teaching careers.
This year continued to be a challenge. The COVID-19 Pandemic curtailed our luncheons for the second year. The RWTA membership fee of $8.00 was waved and extended to September 2022. The Executive and Phoning Committee agreed to continue until it was safe to hold a luncheon and AGM.
Through the year we connected with members in more traditional ways. Every few months, members were contacted via phone, email and/or regular mail to chat and enquire as to how they were doing.
The highlight of our 2021-2022 year (our 70th as an association) was our mail-out projects to members in May and December 2021. In May, members received, by mail, a “thinking of you” card, a poem and a “tea bag”. Members were encouraged to enjoy their tea on a specific day and time when we would all enjoy tea “together”.
In December, the greeting card sent to members included a chocolate to celebrate the Holiday season.
Now rested, smiling and happy that the MB Government has lifted restrictions and COVID-19 is waning, the Retired Women Teachers’ Association has planned a luncheon for April 21, 2022, at Masonic Centre! Members will be contacted via phone or email as to their attendance.
As RWTA President, I thank our RWTA Executive, Phoning Committee and all members for their friendship, encouragement, and support.
On behalf of the RWTA Executive and membership, we thank RTAM for its dedication and financial support of the 2021 Chapter Initiative Grant and the 2021 Wellness Initiative Grant. The grants made it possible for RWTA to send two special mailing projects to members, including our Shut-ins.
We invite and welcome all retired women educators to join the Retired Women Teachers’ Association.
Retired Women Teachers’ Association Executive for 2021–2022
President: Pat Opalko; Vice President: open; Past President: Cecile Alarie-Skene; Membership Convener: Cecile AlarieSkene; Treasurer: Phyllis Arnold-Luedtke; Recording Secretary: Isabelle Garand; Corresponding Secretary: Brenda Zebrynski; Luncheon Coordinator: Lynda Tunny: Social Committee: Louise Burton (ch); Social Committee Arlene Billeck; Social Committee: Laurel McFarlane; Tickets: Barb Haddow; Tickets: Vi Hultin; RTAM/Pensions: Peggy Prendergast; Visiting Committee: Emily Williamson; Visiting Committee: Lenore Butler; Publicity: Helen Norrie; Archivist: Jacquie Field; Pianist: Charlotte Stech; Phoning Committee: Kathy Deyman, Shirley Hampton, Pat Graefer, Bev Wilkinson
Riel Retired Teachers Association
Jack Fraser, President
The Louis Riel Chapter mainly includes the retired staff from the legacy divisions of St. Boniface, Norwood, and St. Vital. We have members who were once employees in those divisions, but who left and retired from other jurisdictions or who physically live in our area as well. We are always open to new membership, and welcome anyone interested in joining us.
All our Chapter’s major activities, our luncheons, scholarship fundraising, and golf tournaments, have unfortunately been curtailed during COVID-19. We were unable to get a paper newsletter out this year but have kept in touch with our members for whom we have emails using
our “Between Newsletters”. If you are a chapter member and have not been getting these emails, please send your email address to jcfraser142@gmail.com and we will gladly add you to our emailing list. We try to be selective and limiting in the number of emails we send, but we have sent out a few more than usual during this Covid time. Over 300 of our members are on this email list and over 900 are on our postal list.
Before Covid, I had tried to meet in person with all our retiring teachers. Sadly, this again was not possible this past June and December. If you were one of those retirees, please drop me an email and I will happily send you our chapter membership application. Membership has a five-dollar, lifetime membership fee, and it comes with a few perks.
The Government’s Bill 64 threatening the dismantlement of our entire education system structure, also threatened the existence of our chapter. The Division supports the mailing of our newsletter, provides us with meeting space, and has been supportive of our work. In turn, we have supported their foundation (RIELEVATE) and its work. With this threat now behind us, we can look forward to when we will be able to resume our much-missed activities.
St. James – Assiniboia Chapter
Lynn Land, Chairperson
Officers 2021 - 2022 Chairperson: Lynn Land; Vice Chair:Shelley Herbert; Treasurer: Emily Williamson; Secretary: Rudy Peters; Membership/Communications: Dorothy Young; Members at Large: Marj Bilous, Will Peters, Linda Scott, Garry Winfield
The main objective of the St. James Assiniboia Chapter of RTAM is to promote the economic interests of its members and to support the Provincial RTAM Board in its endeavors to that end. The Chapter shares information with its members all across Canada. In turn, members share the information with friends, family, and also colleagues still actively teaching in Manitoba. Membership is 344 and includes retired teachers/administrators/superintendents.
The St. James-Assiniboia Chapter of RTAM held its AGM on September 29, 2021, in the afternoon, in the parking lot of St. Paul the Apostle Church. Members had to be double vaccinated. Masks were required if we had to move inside due to inclement weather. The weather was fantastic, and sunscreen and hats were recommended. Cold drinks were provided, and snacks were provided in Ziploc bags for those who attended. Thirty-two retirees enjoyed the event. Chairperson, Lynn Land, chaired the meeting. RTAM President, Bill Cann, brought greetings to his home Chapter's AGM.
At the conclusion of the meeting, we enjoyed listening for an hour to Winnipeg Artist, Sol James who sang and played her guitar. She was accompanied on the double bass by John Barron. Sol is a force to be recognized on the music scene, with a voice to match! John is a mean bass player. Toes were tapping, hands were clapping, requests were taken, and a great time was had by all those in attendance. 50/50 tickets were sold, and the lucky winner was Peter Mingo.
We thank Provincial RTAM for the Chapter Grant which we put to great use. It was so nice to get reacquainted in person with former colleagues. We thank Lynn, Marj, Emily, Fred, Rudy, and Shelley for organizing this event, and Dorothy for getting out the notice to our members.
We are proud of these members of our Chapter who have served on the RTAM Board for 2021-22: Bill Cann, President for a second term, Paul Harland, Alison Logan, and Linda Scott.
We are pleased that the following members of our Chapter have served on Committees this year: Arlene Billeck, Lynn Land, Pat Opalko, Lynda Tunny, Emily Williamson, and Dorothy Young.
We congratulate those members of our Chapter who have put their names forward for election to the 2022-23 RTAM Board of Directors: Bill Cann (Past President), Paul Harland, Rex Virtue, and Anne Williams. 2021-22 has been an interesting year for all of us. Hopefully by the time you read this report things will have settled down in our world.
In the last year we have shared information on the following St. James-Assiniboia colleagues who have departed this life: William (Bill) Betz, Ruth Breckman, Elizabeth (Betty) Brownlee, Doreen Buchholz, Helen Carnie, John Cooke, Keith Craig, Abram Friesen, Elizabeth Genik, Alda Gillies, Isabella Haugen, Ronald Henderson, June Keith, Lawrence Overby Russ Ryan, Gaston Tonnellier, Carole Unsworth, Helena Zink. We look forward to 2022-23 being a good year for all of us.
Southwest Assiniboine Chapter
Kelvon Smith, President, with the approval of the SWAC Executive
Our Meeting of April 13, 2021 was done Via Zoom with President Joan Veselovsky as the Zoom Host. Our thanks to RTAM for their assistance in carrying out the meeting which was a new way of doing a meeting for most of our members.
Our Meeting of September 7, 2021 was a BBQ Luncheon with entertainment with the meeting afterwards. This was held in the Virden Lions Park on a sunny fall day with good attendance, though few stayed for the meeting. We made a donation to the Lions Club for the use of the campgrounds. It was noted that we no longer have access to our former caterers due to their age. Also, note that this was our very first in-person meeting since Covid reared its ugly head.
The SWAC Meeting of November 16th, 2021 was at the Royal Canadian Legion Club Room in Virden. The lunch was ordered in from a local professional caterer. We had our business meeting after the luncheon. The SWAC Meeting was chaired by President Kelvon Smith.
The spring meeting is on April 19th with a guest speaker (Dr. E. Rhynold who will speak on Preventing Dementia). This meeting will likely be held at the Legion Club Room again due to the space and privacy there. The meeting will be chaired by President Kelvon Smith.
At our meetings we have the usual agenda at a meeting with any correspondence being read, a Financial Report, a Friendship Committee Report, the Travel Report, and any New Business that anyone wants to bring up. Note the President also gives an account of the Chapter Presidents' Meetings and any new items from RTAM.
This year we have donated some funds to two Music and Arts Festivals.
The SWAC Members, this year, will be going to Winnipeg at a cost of $125.00 per member. The price includes transport, two meals, tips, admissions, bus prizes, and water. In 2020 the trip was a no go due to Covid and due to a still present fear of Covid in 2021 the trip was cancelled. This year it WILL happen!
The President keeps the SWAC Executive informed of his Chapter Presidents' Meetings and the results plus he makes them aware of any new developments at RTAM.
SWAC thanks President Bill Cann, the Board, the Committees, and the staff for all that they do in our interests as retired educators.
Contact has been made with our local MTS President and the special instructions will be carried out. Likewise with our MLA.
SWAC is mainly the domain of Fort La Bosse retired teachers although we attempt to let others in near-by towns who aren't part of Fort La Bosse aware of our meetings and trips. We will discuss at our next meeting what our geographical area of responsibility is.
Swan Valley Retired Teachers Chapter
Henry Barkowski, President
The Swan Valley Chapter was minimally active this year. We did not hold any in person or virtual meetings. We missed the socialization that comes with these meetings and gatherings. We did an occasional email update on RTAM and other happenings. We participated in the Remembrance Day Service and a wreath was laid by one of our members on our behalf. We were honoured to have Carol Fahrenschon lay the wreath as her father Tofiel Hart was the most decorated veteran in the Swan River Valley. In February, two of our members delivered meals on wheels for two weeks. This is always a rewarding experience as the participants are so appreciative and always enjoy a visit as brief as it may be. We received two RTAM grants, Chapter Enhancement and Wellness Initiative. We plan to make use of these, hopefully this coming year hopefully as the pandemic subsides. We lost a few colleagues this year and we extended condolences to their family and friends. We are looking forward to meeting again as we are safe to do so.
Thompson Association of Retired Educators
Joan Goble, President
During the past year TARE (Thompson Association of Retired Educators) was basically shut down. We tried two Zoom meetings but had little response. Poor connections for those living at the two housing areas remote from Thompson makes Zoom meetings difficult. We met once for a “To Hell with the Bell” Breakfast in September, but we did not meet in person thereafter because of Covid.
The Library Project started in June when the large planters arrived at the Library, we started to work. Soil, fertilizer and both seeds and plants were placed in the planters. We also refreshed the front garden and placed seedlings and bulbs received from members and friends. Unwanted shrubs were removed and the last part of the front flowerbed was dug up with much effort. Three very determined diggers got the job done! Later in the fall we received a generous donation of perennials and shrubs from a local gardener which were dug in about two weeks before the snow arrived. We also started work on the side garden by pruning a big ivy. At the same time, TARE and the Library Staff again planned and executed another project for children. Usually, TARE members and the children spend a morning together in the Library, but Covid stopped that. Instead, RTAM bags were filled with materials for 40 children to take home. Each contained seeds, cuttings, diagrams and explanations, soil, containers, a craft project and a book. All of them were picked up!
We have invited a local beekeeper, Steven Larocque, to put some hives in the front garden and he has agreed. His bees already come to our flowers so this would mean less travel for them. The Library will put signage up to indicate the presence of the bees. Also, Steve is contacting another local, aboriginal group he works with on gardening projects to see if they would like to join us in the Library Project. There are gardens at the rear of the Library that are in sad shape and we do not have the people to take on more work. We could work together to create a more pleasing space on that side of the building. We are already planning for this year’s Library Project and were delighted to again receive a Chapter Initiative Grant.
We have not held our AGM over the past two years but will do so shortly as the pandemic rules are lifting. However, we need to find a venue where all may meet safely as Covid is still circulating here. It may not happen until summer when we could safely and comfortably meet outside.
VanIsles Chapter – RTAM - No report.
Westman Retired Educators’ Association
Rick Oakden, President
WREA’s AGM was held on Zoom on April 20, 2021 with the following Executive formed: Past President – Ron McPhail (2019-20); President – Rick Oakden (2020-21); Vice President – Catherine McLaren; 2nd Vice President – Don Berry; Secretary – Heather Shelton; Communication – Mavis Johnston, Rick Oakden; Treasurer- Mavis Johnston; Directors – Pat Bowslaugh, Darlene Wilkinson, Meryl Orth; Brandon Teachers’ Association Liaison – Heather Shelton;Caring Connections – Ida Hallett, Mavis Johnston;RTAM Liaison – Pat Bowslaugh.
Membership fees to WREA were not collected for 2021-22 due to COVID-19.
A fundraiser was organized in April, 2021 for the Brandon Humane Society, Samaritan House Ministries and the Westman Women’s Shelter with $3970.00 raised.
WREA Executive met with Cale Dunbar, President of the Brandon Teachers’ Association, on April 25, 2021 to present a ‘house warming’ gift for BTA’s new offices and to discuss Bill 64.
Yard signs were distributed from BTA to WREA members to assist advertising against Bill 64.
In-person meetings or social events did not occur due to Next page →
