May Mini-Conference
May 9, 2024
Thursday, May 9th, 2024
9:30 am – 4:00 pm
On Zoom and In-person
St. David’s United Church
4614-48 St., Leduc
Cost – $25.00 for the Conference in person,
Free online to current HARTA Members.
For more info phone (780) 909-8347
or email: rnthompson102@gmail.com (r n thompson)
Featured Topics
- Keynote
- Communities in Bloom
- Laughter Yoga
- The First School in Yellowknife
- UNICEF Travelogue
Presenters for HARTA’s Mini-Conference
Robert Michon — Keynote Speaker
Robert Michon will be the Keynote Speaker for HARTA’s Mini-Conference. Robert has been working in the world of communications and magazine publishing for ten years. With many years of freelance writing under his belt, he has become passionate about storytelling of all kinds. He is currently the Communications Manager of the Alberta Retired Teachers’ Association (ARTA) and serves as the Managing Editor of their quarterly magazine, news&views.
Noel Cairney — Laughter Yoga
Among the presenters at the May Mini-Conference will be Noel Cairney. She will be doing a session on Laughter Yoga. Laughter Yoga is a practice that brings together traditional Yoga breathing and laughter, that helps relieve stress, boost the immune system, enhance respiration, lift mood, regulate blood pressure, and help relieve pain. This fun new exercise was developed by an Indian medical doctor from Mumbai and has spread throughout the world with groups in over 100 countries. There is a large body of research supporting the physical and mental benefits of laughter but really, the great feelings we experience really tell the tale. Laughter really is the best medicine! Mother Theresa said, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an act of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” Join us as we enjoy a typical Laughter Yoga session. No experience necessary!
Lorna McILroy—Communities In Bloom
Since taking early retirement in 2004, Lorna McILroy has kept busy volunteering for the Alberta Retired Teachers’ Association, Alberta Horticultural Association, Communities in Bloom, and the local Museum. As a lifelong gardener and a lifelong learner, she has completed the Prairie Horticulture Certificate program and most recently her international Rose Judging certificate and the Alberta Master Gardener program from Dalhousie University.
Marilyn Hoar — A UNICEF Travelogue
After a year backpacking around the world, Marilyn Hoar decided she would like to work overseas. She did her doctoral research on education in Fiji, worked for the Aga Khan Educational Services in Tajikistan, and with educational reform in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Marilyn was Chief of Education with UNICEF in Uzbekistan, Nepal, and Kenya. She will host a slide show travelogue of some of the interesting places she has lived.
Helena Acikahte — My Life with Mildred Hall
Mildred Hall was born in Olds, Alberta. As a young teacher, she went north and became the first public school teacher in the NWT. The rest of her family went south to the US. One brother, Alba, joined the US army. He married and had a daughter, Helena.
Helena was raised through most of her childhood by Mildred Hall, the first teacher in Yellowknife. She has many experiences to relate about those first years in Mildred Hall’s classes as well as of the early history of Yellowknife’s first school.
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