BY DANIEL MULLOY | CAO and Executive Director , ARTA

“ The quality of leadership , more than any other single factor , determines the success or failure of an organization .”

~ Fred Fiedler and Martin Chemers , Improving Leadership Effectiveness

I write this to update you on some recent business actions taken at the September 2016 ARTA Board of Directors meeting , as well as to provide my own perspectives as CAO and executive director on potential benefits to and effects on our members .

At the September meeting , the Board passed the following motions :

1 . To freeze the 2016 Alberta Blue Cross Usual and Customary Dental Fees schedule for 2017 ;

2 . To empower the ARTA CAO / executive director , ARTA benefits consultants and legal counsel to enter into a contractual agreement for emergency travel insurance coverage with Allianz Global Assistance ;

3 . To direct the executive director to enter into negotiations to acquire a ten-year leasehold agreement for building space to house our offices , including leasehold improvements , furniture , moving costs and other added costs required to move our offices into a new space ; and

4 . To have the ARTA president and the executive director express to the Alberta Teachers ’ Association our thanks for the generosity and support given to ARTA over the past years and that we look forward to a continued positive working relationship .

1 . The motion to freeze the 2016 Alberta Blue Cross Usual and Customary Dental Fees schedule for 2017 may affect some members . It means that ARTA ’ s dental fee reimbursement rates will remain at their 2016 levels for the 2017 benefit plan year . Dental fees are the amount your dentist charges for the services they provide . Dentists who practice in Alberta may charge whatever they think is a fair price for the procedure received . ( Please refer to the spring 2015 news & views for more details on the increasing dental costs in Alberta .)

We encourage you to talk to your dentist to determine how he or she sets the rates you are charged and to discuss the coverage levels provided to you by the ARTA Retiree Benefits Plan . With ARTA ’ s dental fee reimbursement

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