The bringing together of all branches led to a rich sharing of ideas and while traditional practices continued, like the first day of school breakfast, many new activities to encompass the varied interests of members began to emerge. Walking groups, yoga groups, pickle-ball groups, book clubs, new card groups, living to learn activities, tours to many places, both popular and unique and the list goes on!

Watch for your Branch events coming up from Sept. to December. Many have already announced their fall schedule which looks exciting. Some are continuing to hold 50th Anniversary events – 2025 is still our anniversary year. Many are holding a First Day of School breakfast to remember we no longer need to go to school, and we can smile as the big yellow buses go by.

The NBSRT Board of Directors and Executive will meet at the NBTF Building Oct 22nd to look at the year ahead. Some Committees, like Group Insurance and On-line Media will have already met.

Online Media needs a new chair as Dale MacRae has stepped down as Chair but thankfully will continue to offer technical support to NBSRT. The Group Insurance Committee will be interested in your experiences with the service of belairdirect, which has replaced Johnson’s Insurance. Dale Weldon, Senior consultant for belairdirect assured us at the AGM in Miramichi that the service would be of the same quality as it was under Johnson’s. As they say, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” so your experiences will be helpful to understand what is working and what isn’t.

The Pension Committee will continue to monitor the state of pension fund. Again, at the 50th Anniversary AGM, Sean Hewitt, President and CEO, of VESTCOR, explained that our plan is in great shape and we were further assured by Yves Plourde, independent actuary, that our future was on a solid foundation. Be that as it may, the uncertainty, propagated, by the Trump Administration remains a source of concern, not just for our pension but the world economy.

We will also be watching carefully, your response to the on- line version of Reflections. If you haven’t read it online, have a peek at how the photos look in vivid colour. You may decide, it’s more rewarding to read online and cancel your printed version. We have already noted how many new members signed up for the online version.

Our Membership Committee will continue to find new ways to get retired teachers to join and watch for opportunities to sign up those who always intended to join but never did.

For example, Pam Campbell was recently invited by Jim Carroll, her former Principal, to his 90th birthday celebration. Pam had created a list for Jim of his former colleagues from two different schools. She realized that many were not members of NBSRT. Not one to miss an opportunity, Pam took membership forms, signed up five new members and got a change of email address from another. The Membership  Committee keeps plugging away and our NBSRT ambassadors to the NBTA AGM signed up 61 new members at the NBTA Retired Teachers Luncheon. Thanks again to the NBTA for its support. We are rapidly approaching 3100 members.

We may need your help in finding a new home for the School Day’s Museum, a huge challenge over the next year. UNB has purchased the old Justice Building, formally the Normal School, which prepared hundreds to teach in New Brunswick Schools, and has told us we need to leave our home of 31 years. The Board met last month after trying in vain to work with UNB and has decided to shift its focus to finding a new home. It won’t be easy but over these many years, we have acquired more than 12,000 artifacts, the best source there is for information on the development of Education in NB. Any ideas, please let me know. We may be able to stay until the summer of 2027, but nothing is certain in these times, and we will need to find space to continue this wonderful museum.

I look forward to joining you at your events this upcoming year. In the meantime, stay safe and as my Nana used to say, “don’t play with matches”.

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