President's report archive

This is my 3rd Annual Report as President of UMRA. Selected highlights of the past year’s activities are provided below:

Your Executive Committee has been kept very busy this past year. We continue to work on behalf of all retirees advocating for improved retirees' benefits. And we have been working with Johnson Insurance to find other retiree benefits plans (similar to the Retired Teachers of Ontario plan offered through CURAC) that might be of interest to those who have reached the age of 75 and can no longer stay in the university plan and/or for those who wish to supplement their university benefits.
With the help of the members of the Communication Committee, an UMRA banner was purchased this past spring. The banner was displayed at the spring President's Reception and also at the Center on Aging's Spring Symposium in May 2024, where UMRA had their own booth to provide promotional material regarding the benefits of joining the association.

I was the UMRA representative at this year's Annual Conference of the College and Universities Retirees Association of Canada (CURAC) held at the University of Waterloo from May 22 to 24, 2024. The theme for this year's conference was ‘Staying Resilient in Retirement’. At the awards dinner, Dan Sitar, UMRA Past President, received a Tribute Award in recognition of his multiple leadership roles in UMRA. Dan also received an Appreciation Award from CURAC for his work on their Board, the Benefits Committee and the Health Care Policy Committee.

This is my 3rd Annual Report as President of UMRA. Selected highlights of the past year’s activities are provided below:

Your Executive Committee has been kept very busy this past year. We continue to work on behalf of all retirees advocating for improved retirees' benefits. And we have been working with Johnson's Insurance to find other retiree benefits plans (similar to the Retired Teachers of Ontario plan offered through CURAC) that might be of interest to those who have reached the age of 75 and can no longer stay in the university plan and/or for those who wish to supplement their university benefits.
With the help of the members of the Communication Committee, an UMRA banner was purchased this past spring. The banner was displayed at the spring President's Reception and also at the Center on Aging's Spring Symposium in May 2024, where UMRA had their own booth to provide promotional material regarding the benefits of joining the association.
I was the UMRA representative at this year's Annual Conference of the College and Universities Retirees Association of Canada (CURAC) held at the University of Waterloo from May 22 to 24, 2024. The theme for this year's conference was ‘Staying Resilient in Retirement’. At the awards dinner, Dan Sitar, UMRA Past President, received a Tribute Award in recognition of his multiple leadership roles in UMRA. Dan also received an Appreciation Award from CURAC for his work on their Board, the Benefits Committee and the Health Care Policy Committee.
Mark O'Riley, Vice President, and I attended the annual Three Minute Thesis competition for graduate students on Wednesday April 10, 2024 to award the 2nd place prize which is funded solely by UMRA. For the first time this year, the trophy awarded to the second place winner now bears the name of the University of Manitoba Retirees Association. The 2’d place prize is valued at $1250.00 and it is important to UMRA to show the wider university community that retirees have a continuing interest in the educational enterprise of the university and our willingness to provide financial support to an activity that helps students.

At last year's AGM, we announced that the Executive Committee had approved a new Awards By-law to include Service Awards to recognize the years of service of volunteers and a Merit Award to recognize a Member's exemplary contribution to UMRA. At the 2023 Fall President's reception, the first set of Service Awards and Merit Awards were presented. Nominations for the Merit Award had to be received by the Executive Committee by June 30, 2024. I am very pleased to announce that Gene Walz, Chair of the Communication Committee and editor of the newsletter is the first recipient of the UMRA Merit Award through the nomination process. Gene will be presented with his award at the 2024 Fall President's reception.

Something new this past year is our monthly e-blasts. With the help of Bill Kops and Mark O'Riley, our e-blasts identify events and articles that we hope will be informative and of interest to retirees.
We continue to try to raise the profile of UMRA and promote the benefits of joining the association. Again this year we reached out to AESES and UMFA to include a promotional article in their newsletter or communication tool. And we added to our Membership Resources page, a link to the University Women's Club on the UMRA website and they have reciprocated by including a link to the UMRA website on their website.

June Stewart provided a zoom session on Retirement and Money Management. We hope to offer more educational workshops/sessions this coming year.
UMRA continues to have input in the University's retirement planning seminars which are well attended and the information being presented is very much appreciated by the staff.
The university's Donor Relations Department reported that in their fall 2023 campaign, the UM retiree community contributed a total of $10,870. Of the $10,870, $2,550 went to the UMRA Scholarship and $7,760 to the UMRA Bursary. The remaining $560 of the retiree gifts was allocated to other funds. And in March 2024, the Donor Relations Department sent an email/snail-mail fundraising appeal not only to retirees but also to the wider university community of academic and support staff. This fund appeal raised S625 for the UMRA bursary fund and $1,575 for the UMRA scholarship fund. We wish to thank all the retirees who generously donated to the UMRA Bursary and Scholarship.
Mark O'Riley and I had another meeting with the Dafoe Library archivist to discuss our plans to archive UMRA documents, files, pictures etc. We are in the process of gathering and preparing all of our documents for what likely will be a major fall archiving project.
In the coming year, UMRA will be working with Kamillah El-Giadaa, Training & Development Manager, Volunteer Manitoba to promote volunteerism and feature volunteer opportunities for members of UMRA. And under the direction of Dr. Bill Kops, UMRA will help promote the UM Adult Companionship Services Directory — a new program to connect caregivers of adults within the UM community with students offering support through companionship services. The Adult Companionship Services (ACS) Directory, launched by Family Resources in collaboration with the Centre on Aging and the UM Age- friendly University Committee, will serve as a centralized hub to locate companionship service providers and post job opportunities. More information regarding this initiative will be forthcoming.
I want to thank the members of our various UMRA committees for all their work, especially the Executive Committee for their hard work and commitment to enrich the lives of retirees through community and advocacy.
 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not hold an Annual General Meeting of UMRA last year.  In spite of this unexpected health issue, the past year was a busy time for our Association.

 In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Executive Committee agreed to extend appointments of the President, Vice-President and Members-at-Large for an additional year. 

Our interaction with the University continues with virtual meetings as appropriate.  Your Executive Committee continues regular meetings of the Association using the Zoom Meeting software made available for our use by the University. 

Our reduced operating cost resulted in the decision by the Executive Committee to cancel the membership fee for the year 2020-21. 

Please remember to visit our website at the University.  There is a considerable information concerning the activities of UMRA, and an archive of past Newsletters and documents available for your use.  

Due to a lack of request for assistance, UMRA has discontinued its assistance program for paid members who have computer problems. 

UMRA members continue to participate in making available sessions that allow persons approaching retirement to prepare for that event. This initiative continues to be well received by employees of the University.  UMRA members continue to participate in the Age Friendly University Committee initiatives led by the Centre on Aging.

Our continued contribution to bursaries, scholarships and prizes to university students is well received by them, and enables UMRA to reinforce its positive role in enhancing the post secondary educational experience.  The postgraduate Scholarship Fund achieved critical value this year, and is available for an Award for 2021-22 to a deserving graduate student doing research to answer important issues focused on the aging community. 

Our Pensions and Benefits Committee continues to meet with Central Administration to review and address issues raised by retirees. 

As your President, I attended the Annual Meeting of CURAC virtually, and volunteered my services on their Health Care Policy Committee.  I was elected to its Board of Directors in 2020.  I am hoping that this initiative will increase the number of Newsletter columns and electronic mailings devoted to important health care issues encountered by retirees of the University. 

At this year’s CURAC Annual General Meeting, Jay Goldstein was presented with a Tribute Award in recognition of his contributions to the formation of UMRA, the establishment of CURAC, and his continued contributions to the evolution of our Association. 

We especially encourage retirees to consider participation in committee activities of UMRA so that we maintain and enhance its value to the greater membership.  You may indicate your interest in participation by contacting UMRA via its telephone number or via email.

Dan Sitar, President

This document represents my third Annual Report as President of UMRA. Selected highlights of last year’s activities are presented below:

Due to the COVID pandemic, there has been no in-person meeting of the Executive Committee since February 2020. However, the Committee is meeting virtually to address issues of interest to the University of Manitoba retirees. Due to the pandemic, the Executive Committee of UMRA has decided to maintain its current elected representatives in their positions until the next scheduled Annual Meeting in October of 2021.

• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UMRA has eliminated membership dues for the 2020-2021 year of the organization.
• UMRA continues to support a bursary, a scholarship, and the Second Prize for the Annual 3-MT Research Competition.
• Please consider participating in our Committees to ensure the maintenance and enhancement of our services to retirees.
• Retirement planning sessions to improve information for those nearing retirement continue, but have been interrupted this year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Please refer to our website to keep up to date with the current status of the Supplementary Health Benefits Program for University of Manitoba retirees.

I have been elected to the Board of Directors of CURAC, the national body that works to represent the interests of all retirees of colleges and universities in Canada.

Dan Sitar, President