BY JUANITA KNIGHT | PRESIDENT , ARTA

“ Change is inevitable . Change is constant .”

— Benjamin Disraeli

On October 27 , 2004 , ARTA embarked on a new governance model — a grassroots movement , so to speak . It was a challenging experience , but in the end a new structure was created to better represent and serve our members .

It ’ s amazing how much we change every year and especially how the organization has been transformed over the last eleven years . Today , we have 16,602 members , ( 8,177 in 2004 ) of whom 13,101 are enrolled in the ARTA Retiree Benefits Plan . Those numbers continue to grow daily .

We ’ re quite a different organization today from what we were over ten years ago . Because of our changing demographics and new growth , we ’ ve spent the past two years examining how better to serve our members . Using the process of consensus , the Governance Committee guided us through some major committee structure changes . Kudos to everyone for their valuable input and the willingness to embrace those changes . The organization is constantly evolving to meet our present and future needs .

Let me take this opportunity to thank all of the ARTA members who continue to put their names forth for election to committee and executive positions . Service in this way is what keeps our organization vital .

At the Annual General Meeting held on October 6 and 7 , 2015 , I challenged our members to wear their thinking caps a little differently and not to be timid about extolling the virtues of ARTA . Retirees can join ARTA prior to turning sixty-five . They should be encouraged to check out our website , arta . net , to learn more about living well in retirement and to find out about our excellent Affinity plan . Increased website traffic prior to both the provincial and federal election indicated that members made use of our information regarding the party platforms on seniors ’ issues .

This , our first literary issue , was the brainchild of the Editorial Board in general and news & views in particular . We received an incredible response ! Your submissions made judging an overwhelming but wonderful challenge . I look forward to future writing competitions and hope it becomes an annual event . Congratulations to everyone who submitted their writing .

Spread the good word about ARTA and the branches to your friends . Let no retired teacher be left behind . Change often happens by taking baby steps ; however , lately it has felt like those baby steps have been gigantic strides — all proceeding in the right direction .

news & views WINTER 2015 | 3