President’s Report
36th RTAM Annual General Meeting
November 19th, 2025
I am honoured to present the President’s Report for the 2025 Annual General Meeting. As we gather here today, it’s a wonderful chance to reflect on the past year, celebrate our achievements, and look ahead to the future.
Membership
Over the past year, our membership has remained strong. We continue to welcome new members who bring fresh ideas and energy to RTAM. It’s been great to see so many of you participating in events. Your involvement is what keeps this organization thriving.
Activities and Events
We have held several successful events this year, including:
• Monthly Meetings: We continue to hold monthly Executive Committee and Board of Directors Meetings.
• Chapters and Special Interest Groups (SIG): From teas to outings to book clubs, these Chapter and SIG events help strengthen our bonds within our community.
• Workshops and Presentations: We’ve had valuable sessions on Wednesdays on topics relevant to retirees such as health, finance, and staying active in retirement. These have been wellreceived and helped us to stay informed.
• Meetings with political leaders to discuss the future of RTAM and advocate for a fully-funded Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and pension account B funding.
• IG Walk for Alzheimer’s: We were a proud supporter for the IG Walk for Alzheimer’s on May 24th, 2025. Many retired teachers and others stopped by our tent to learn about RTAM and have a chat.
• Winnipeg Goldeyes: Retired teachers and RTAM were honoured at a Goldeyes game in June, with members eligible to purchase discounted tickets.
Support and Advocacy
As an association, we continue to support each other for our health, dental, and travel insurance, representing our members at TRAF meetings, and with ACER CART. We are also advocating for better retirement benefits and policies that affect retired educators, ensuring our voices are heard with our politicians. We met with Tracy Schmidt, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning and MLA for Rossmere, Obby Khan, Leader of the Opposition and MLA for Fort Whyte, and Cindy Lamoureux, the Interim Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party and Independent Liberal MLA for Tyndall Park to advocate for a fully funded COLA and funding for pension account B funding. Our meetings and submissions were well received and we are committed to following up with requests for action
RTAM has a good relationship with TRAF and we represented RTAM at their 100-year celebration as well as made contributions to their centenary publication, TRAF Century Report.
Finances
This year was a challenging year for our finances. We were able to fund all of our activities, support charity initiatives, and ensure the financial stability of our association for the coming year. Thank you to all who have contributed, whether through membership fees or participation fees.
Our Board of Directors is committed to improving our financial accountability towards members. We sought professional advice, the result of which is that we will be reviewing our Code of Conduct and implementing additional internal financial controls to ensure that we are following best practices in the Not-for-Profit sector. These adjustments strengthen our commitment to accountability and responsible financial management.
Health and Welfare
One of my mantras is for physical activity, mental focus and new learning. RTAM encourages all of our members to pursue activities that enhance these on a daily basis. RTAM offers many opportunities for members to seek new knowledge by participating in our phenomenal webinars
Looking Ahead
In the coming year, we plan to:
• Continue to work on growing our membership
• Encourage more activities that encourage social connection and personal growth
• Strengthen our advocacy work on behalf of retired teachers at all levels of government and senior-serving organizations.
Gratitude
Finally, I want to express my deep gratitude to all of you for your continued support and dedication to the association. Your time, energy, and ideas are what makes our community so special.
Let’s continue to work together to make our association a place where retired teachers can stay connected, supported, and inspired.
Thank you.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Jayesh Maniar President