Pre-Retirement Seminars

Slow Cookers. If we really don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen, there are people who will do most of the work for us. Some helpful websites to check out are www.chefsplate.com and www.suppercentral.ca which are available in Winnipeg. Carla’s dynamic presentation was enlightening and appreciated by all. It was then time for a gourmet lunch!

Real Estate transitions

Sharon Tod, from St Mary’s Law, was our afternoon presenter.

As reported in the summer 2016 edition of KIT, this is a complicated topic. There are many decisions, costs and tax implications which should be considered very carefully.

• The family home? • The cottage? • Joint ownership? • Transferring title to children? • A condo? • A life lease? • A reverse mortgage? • A rental?

Sharon emphasized again that everyone should have a will and an enduring Powers of Attorney (POA). Family discussions on all these topics are beneficial to everyone.

Our decision to invite Sharon back was a direct result of a waiting list for the March 30, 2016, seminar. A more complete summary can be found on page 19 of KIT Summer, 2016.

As we older adults face the prospect of downsizing, we found Sharon’s comprehensive presentation informative, as always, sprinkled with interesting, and sometimes horrifying, anecdotes. We were given much food for thought! n

Southwest Manitoba

Saturday, December 3, 2016 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central C.C., 529-4th Street Brandon, MB

Topics: Variety of Financial Issues Life After Retirement RTAM and Benefits

To register: Phone: (204) 725-1745 Email: info@rtam.mb.ca

Winnipeg

Saturday, February 18, 2017 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. RTAM Board Room, 206-1555 St. James St., Winnipeg, MB

To register: Phone: (204) 889-3660 Email: info@rtam.mb.ca

RTAM’s Meet and Greet: A GREAT SUCCESS!

Ralph Cibula, Political Advocacy Chair; John Sushelnitsky, Public Relations Chair/Photos by Nancy Whittstein

“It was a time when you had to take a shovel to the outdoor toilet to clear the snow off the seat and then clean yourself with a page from the Eaton’s catalogue.” “When I won the election my son took me out of the celebration room. In a quiet room he looked me in the eye and said, ‘Dad, don’t screw up!’”

“I didn’t know what RTAM was until I got the invite and checked it out.”

These were just a few of the many stories that were shared at the Meet and Greet evening in the Golden Boy Room of the Manitoba Legislature on October 19, 2016. This was the third time in recent years that Members of the Legislature got to meet retired teachers as the RTAM Board, the committee members and the chapter presidents met with four Ministers, twenty-nine MLAs and two staff members.

The thirty-three MLAs came from all three political parties. Greetings were given by Rosalie Bornn, our RTAM President; by Ian Wishart, the Minister of Education and Training, on behalf of the government; by Flor Marcelino for the NDP; and by Judy Klassen for the Liberal party. The program concluded with a reading by RTAM member Judy Olmstead describing life and its challenges in the early one-room prairie schools.

The purpose of the event was to have each group get to know each other better as people and that was accomplished! We trust that in future meetings with specific agendas and goals it will be realized how helpful it was to have shared this cordial evening together. n

Travel vaccinations: staying healthy while volunteering abroad

7:00 am wake-up calls. 10-hour work days in forty degree temperatures. Exotic foods. Smiles on children’s’ faces. Diving deep into another culture. Learning a new language. Making a difference. These are just a few things you can experience when volunteering abroad. But make sure you don’t add health problems to that list.

No matter your reason for travel, it’s important not to forget about protecting your health when getting ready to go. It’s understandable if you assume you only need vaccinations for travel to remote or exotic locations, but you might be surprised how many well-travelled destinations also recommend vaccinations for safe travel.

FIvE STEpS to make sure you’re covered

1. Check the websites for Canada’s public

Health Agency (pHAC) www.travelhealth. gc.ca and the U.S. Centers for Disease

Control and prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov.

No matter where you travel, both have alert sections and health information searchable by country. You may not think it’s necessary for your destination, but even a mumps advisory is worth checking against your vaccination records.

2. Check with the consulate or embassy of your destination country to confirm if they have any vaccination/proof of vaccination requirements, or any other information.

3. Talk to your doctor about your destination and review your immunization records as soon as possible. plan on getting vaccinations or booster shots at least six weeks before travel. Your doctor may be able to administer the vaccines, but not have them on hand. Even through a travel vaccination clinic you may need several weeks’ notice. Manitoba has a number of public health travel clinics in major centers, such as the Winnipeg Health Authority Travel Clinic services described on the website www.wrha.mb.ca/travel. Note that pretravel health services are not covered by Manitoba Health, while post travel health issues are covered. The pre-travel services and fees are also listed on the website.

4. Plan to take immunization records with you.

Some countries may actually require you to show proof of immunization. In fact, even countries where yellow fever is not a risk may require proof of immunization if you are entering from or connected through a country that has yellow fever alerts.

5. Pack insect repellent. Mosquitoes aren’t just a nuisance. They can also be carriers of disease, some of which have no vaccines.

Is your destination a HoT-SpoT?

The Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, and Africa are amongst the top destinations for travel volunteer opportunities. You may not have considered getting vaccinations for these destinations, but they are advised by both pHAC and CDC.

Thanks to the vast databases of information provided by pHAC and CDC, and your local public health clinics, it only takes a moment to search the health risks for your area of travel. A little advance preparation can help you bring back only great travel memories, not illnesses, from your volunteer experience abroad.

BAGGAGE DID YOU KNOW? ALERT

Some airlines will accept one piece of baggage containing humanitarian aid per guest with the following restrictions:

• Your flight must be departing from Canada • The humanitarian aid items must be packed separately

• The baggage item must not exceed the checked baggage allowance for your aircraft • Baggage exceeding the standard size/weight allowances will be charged overage fees

• It is your responsibility to contact the country’s consulate or embassy to verify permitted items and guidelines/procedures for importing the items

• Check with your airline.

Consult with your doctor well in advance.

Article courtesy of Johnson Insurance. Johnson is an insurance provider specializing in home, auto and travel insurance, as well as group benefits. More information about Johnson at www.johnson.ca.