Happy Spring!
The signs of new growth in my garden make me think of all the changes our Association has seen since September 2024. Moving from a partner organization to an independent society was just the beginning of our metamorphosis. Financial transitions were immense as our executive made decisions based on information gathered by our Treasurer. I would like to extend a special thank you to Lanny for her tireless and tenacious attention to detail as we transitioned our accounts to a new financial institution and set up our accounting needs with a new organization. Many calls and emails were required within the 24/7 of her retired life. We extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for her tireless efforts.
Jessica, new to the Executive this year, is coming up to speed with the ins and out of managing our membership list and accessing members for our Get to Know feature. Quietly, in the background Bonnie ensures our members, and their families stay connected with us through cards of condolences, get well and thinking of you expressions of connection. Thank you, Bonnie for all the sunshine that you spread to our members when most needed.
Marsha, as you know, has endless amounts of energy and focus dedicated to ensuring that you have the best benefits and services at the best prices. She capably can provide you comparisons for the respective benefit plans that you are interested in for travel or health related options. She is working on ensuring that there are many opportunities for you to continue to expand your learning, and exercise your brain to ensure you stay active and engaged as you move through the various stages of retired life. Marsha continues to be an integral part of the team which is steering the Association through its transition to become an independent society.
Christine is our invaluable historian who has every document and detail that was produced by the Association. She has worked tirelessly to ensure the Association is relevant and up to date with opportunities for speakers, constitutional amendments, newsletter mailouts to some of our members, executive list up-to-date details, and she also runs our elections at our May Annual General Meeting.
Have you signed up to be a member of our executive next year? If you are considering this, please reach out to Christine at cajbarrett@eastlink.ca
Jeff expertly takes care of our scholarships and bursaries with the help of Ian, Ted, Christine, Jessica and Yolande. Sher is determined to keep our email lists up to date, when the email will not go through! Sandra is our newest executive member who joined us in February! She is becoming familiar with our routines and practices as she looks to find the ‘just right’ fit for her future focus.
Given the request of our membership we are looking at ways to get and stay connected with each other and our respective groups. We encourage everyone to check out:
SIGNAL https://signal.org/ and
MIGHTY https://faq.mightynetworks.com/en/articles/6499145-where-can-i-get-help
Please have a look at both sites and send us your feedback to info@bcrpvpa.ca
Collectively, we all make a difference, and we are striving to make a big difference in the lives of our retired Principals and Vice-Principal members. Along with being on the executive, we are always looking for individuals to consider taking on a task that could easily be managed from your home in less than an hour or two a month, at most. If you are interested in taking something on, we ask that you reach out to me on the info line: info@bcrpvpa.ca or my personal gmail address: deborahluporini63@gmail.com
Possible tasks could be:
Connect with one of our benefit carriers once a year
Provide us with newsletter crosswords, games, quizzes or word searches
Write a summary and or/photos of a vacation, experience or adventure
Volunteer to be featured in our Get to Know Section
Share info on health, safety, senior issues, gardening, books, courses, research, historical information, volunteer opportunities and items of interest
Share photos
List your rental property or seek travel companions
Start an online or group book club
Help to publish our newsletter four times a year.
I hope that the warmer weather provides you with opportunities to go outside and enjoy your garden, your neighbourhood, your city or our province.
A big thank you to everyone who has been on the other end of the email to support and guide the future of our Association!
Best wishes,
Deborah
