36th Annual General Meeting Minutes
9:45 am – 11:30 am Wednesday, November 19th, 2025
1. 9:50 am – The online waiting room opened and a Voting Tutorial was presented by the Get Quorum facilitator.
2. 10:00 am Call to Order
a) The meeting was called to order by RTAM President Jayesh Maniar
b) President Maniar welcomed all members to the 36th AGM.
c) A video recording of the RTAM Choir performing Oh Canada was played.
d) Ms. Betty-Jean Checkley read the land acknowledgement
e) President Maniar requested that a moment of silence be observed in honour of RTAM members who have passed away
3. 10:05 am Welcome and Director Introductions –
a) President Maniar expressed his appreciation to all members of the Board of Directors for their stewardship and dedication to RTAM.
4. 10:07 am Introduction of AGM Chair
a) Mr. Dave Najduch was introduced as the Chair of the meeting by President Maniar. Mr. Najduch welcomed all members and requested that a voting tutorial be presented to the attendees.
b) Mr. Najduch noted that there were 131 members present at the meeting.
5. 10:11 am Adoption of the Agenda of the 36th AGM
a) Moved by Marilyn Weibe, seconded by Peter Narth that the 36th AGM meeting agenda be approved as presented.
Carried (For 94 / Against 0 / Present 131)
6. 10:17 am Adoption of the minutes of the 35th AGM on November 20, 2024
a) Moved by Jayesh Maniar, seconded by Trent Tuttosi that the minutes of the35th AGM be approved as presented.
Carried (For 84 / Against 0 / Present 131)
7. 10:21 am Treasurer’s Report
a) Ms. Jocelyne Fraser, RTAM’s Treasurer, was invited to present the June 30th, 2025, Audited Financial Statement
• Ms. Fraser noted that the auditor provided an unqualified opinion, meaning that no concerns were raised with RTAMs financial statements. Salary expenses increased in 2025 with the addition of a fourth employee to provide administrative support and additional expenses were incurred to trial new member activities.
Motion: Moved by Jocelyne Fraser, seconded by Vicky Hutchinson that the June 30th , 2025, audited financial statements be approved as presented.
Carried (For 89/ Against 0 / Present 129)
b) Auditors for 2025 – 2026 Fiscal Year
• Ms. Fraser informed the members that the Board of Directors will reappoint Scarrow and Donald Accountants for the 2025-2026 audit.
c) 2026 – 2027 Budget Presentation
• Ms. Fraser presented the budget to the members highlighting the anticipated revenue and expenses. The budget assumes that membership fees and reimbursement rates for RTAM business remain the same as in 2025-2026, and anticipates modest growth in the overall number of members. An anticipated office move will increase office costs for the budget year, but result in savings for future years. New initiatives in this budget include funding for building brand awareness, French-language services, and in person activities.
• During discussion members asked questions to define terms, explain the change in staffing, the increase to office expenses and the decrease to Chapter and Committee expenses. Responses were provided by Ms. Fraser and Ms. Melissa Sitter, Executive Director of RTAM.
Motion: Moved by Jocelyne Fraser, seconded by Linda Blair that the membership fee remain $48.00 for 2026-2027 fiscal year ($4.00/month for TRAF members).
Carried (For 87 / Against 0 / Present 131)
Motion: Moved by Jocelyne Fraser, seconded by Vicky Hutchinson that RTAM reimbursement rates for 2026-2027 remain the same as in 2025-26.
Carried (For 85 / Against 2 / Present 128)
Motion: Moved by Jocelyne Fraser, seconded by Trent Tuttosi that the 2026-2027 budget be approved as presented.
Carried (For 81 / Against 2 / Present 115)
8. 11:00 am Returning Officer’s Presentation
a) Mr. Najduch introduced Mr. David Harkness as the Returning Officer, responsible for receiving nominations for this year’s open Board positions. Mr. Harkness reviewed the slate of candidates, noting that no nominations received for Secretary.
a) Mr. Harkness noted that with only 1 candidate for each of the vacant positions the 2026 Board of Directors was acclaimed as presented.
b) Mr. Harkness thanked the Board of Directors for volunteering and steering the activities of RTAM
9. 11:06 am Executive Reports (Consent Agenda)
a) President’s Report – President Maniar expressed appreciation for staff, noting their dedication, ethics, and valuable contributions that have strengthened the organization and made his leadership possible. He also recognized the executive team and board of directors expressing gratitude for their support and hard work.
Discussion included
• Confirmation that Directors are limited to 8 years of service on the RTAM Board. Service may be completed in 8 consecutive years or added up across two or more discrete periods.
• Agreement to disclose policy changes made by the Board in the monthly Executive Report.
• RTAM Committees – Members asked questions about bringing back the Policy and Bylaws Committee, the effectiveness of amalgamated committees, and the adequacy of the number of Directors with respect to being available to Chair committees. President Maniar and Ms. Sitter responded that the Board will be reviewing Committee plans and composition in December, with the greatest limitation being the number of RTAM members getting involved in Committees. Members also raised the importance of committees in offering an active role for members and requested that the Board share the rationale for committees that are discontinued.
b) ACER-CART Report
• Jayesh Maniar iterated that RTO is still a threat to RTAM as they are aggressively recruiting members from other retired organizations from every Province across Canada.
c) Executive Director’s Report – Ms. Sitter addressed membership expansion, updating members on the status and efforts to grow the Education Community Membership She noted slow initial uptake following the approval of the new membership category in November of 2024 due to leadership changes at RTAM and the University of Manitoba Retirees Association (UMRA), but that there has been increasing communication between UMRA and RTAM since her arrival.
Ms. Sitter noted that staff effort would focus on building relationships and infrastructure to support future recruitment at Manitoba’s universities and colleges. In contrast to having 2,000 new education community members in the current year, which was the expectation at last year’s AGM, growth is expected to be steady but much slower, requiring effort and outreach on the part of RTAM.
Additional questions were raised reflecting the impact on members of RTO and the number of RTAM Chapters. Ms. Sitter noted that RTO continues to be active in Manitoba and their efforts may be reflected in declining enrollment, but that existing members are not continued monitoring of recruitment competition, especially from organizations such as Ontario’s Retired Teachers Association (RTO/Entente).
10. 11:37 am Adjournment
a) Mr. Najduch brought the door prize draw to member’s attention, invited members to complete the meeting evaluation, and thanked everyone for their participation in the meeting.
b) President Maniar thanked Mr. Najduch for chairing the meeting.
c) The meeting was adjourned at 11:37 am.