President’s Report, June 2025
Our year started with the “To Hell with the Bell” Breakfast held at the Vermilion Golf Course and followed by golf for some of our members. Deb Gerow, President of ARTA, joined us. It is always nice to get back together and catch up on summer events.
The end of September was our “Fall Hurrah” at my place on a quite windy and cold evening. Thanks to everyone who made the journey.
Our annual Christmas party is our biggest event of the year with games, visiting and a full Christmas meal. Again, this was hosted at the golf course. They are very good to work with.
Our first event of 2025 was a travel presentation with pictures and stories from two of our members. Don shared his adventures from his trip to Satellite Bay, Prince Patrick Island in July 2024 to recover a fleet of equipment left for a few years. “Wolves, Polar Bears and Bowflin Whales”. Lorine shared her experiences of teaching at a Canadian international school, discovering the dynamic city of Macau, and embracing the adventure of living, learning, and traveling throughout Asia.
Our afternoon of bowling was funded by our ARTA Grant and enjoyed for the company perhaps more than the skill displayed. We missed Fay this year…. I think she was the star in 2024 although Janet was dazzling us with some great strikes.
In May our greenhouse tour was, according to reports, well attended and thoroughly enjoyed. I was unfortunately unable to attend due to a subbing commitment. Once again, I couldn’t replace myself.
The Wellness Walk had a good turnout on Tuesday which is wonderful. I had just brought dad home from the hospital on Monday, so I was, again, unable to attend.
And here we are in June, winding up our year with the AGM held, as always, at Gord and Leona McNeil’s. I do love getting to visit their beautiful yard. Dale, Dad and I had another trip here last year for coffee, a visit and a new greenhouse for me.
I want to thank you for allowing me this opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our members better and the province-wide directors of ARTA. This is a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers who make decisions in a multi-million-dollar enterprise.
Our pharmacy in Edmonton has been such a success that we are in the process of opening a 2nd one in Calgary right beside our Calgary ARTA office which was opened last year. These pharmacies deliver and all the drivers are retired teachers!! And the profits go back to ARTA to be used to support our Benefit plan and keep fees as low as possible. The fact that we administer our own plan means that we can okay drug or vaccination coverage (RSV) that many plans don’t. We cater to seniors so spend very little on birth control. While staying fiscally responsible, we do our best to support our members.
Bonnie and I just returned from the ARTA retreat in Lake Louise where we were treated wonderfully and spent several days working towards planning the next 5 years with inspiring speakers and seminar leaders. We went back to focusing on why ARTA exists and what is our focus, what have we accomplished, and where we can go from here. On Wednesday we spent time working on a white paper on AGING IN PLACE. We are working on becoming leaders in this research and advocacy. I am very proud of this focus, as I know that is such a wonderful way to enjoy our later years. I know dad loves to get out, especially to a hockey game, but it is such a wonderful feeling to go home at the end of the day. I hope that is a possibility for all of us.
I would encourage all of you to consider joining our executive. It is a vibrant, SUPPORTIVE, focused and energetic group. I have enjoyed making new friends and being inspired by the commitment of many retired teachers. In my mind the perfect example of this is Marilyn: a lynch pin here, but also in ARTA and ACERCART – the Canadian retired teachers association. The affection and respect for Marilyn is definitely ARTA wide and, I expect Canada wide. Thank you, Marilyn, for all your support, counsel and help.
Eileen Hines
