PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

I hope that you are enjoying the summer season. The most important part of

my message involves the newsletter itself. Please make note that this will be the

last newsletter of 2016. That being the case, I ask you to make note of activities

that are showcased in this newsletter such as the New Retirees Breakfast, the

“To Hell With the Bell” Golf Tournament and Fall Luncheon. If you are interested

in these activities and I hope that you are, I urge you to not delay or procrastinate

but to register right now! I hope to see you at these activities.

I have some thank yous to send out. We had a very successful “Swing Into

Spring” golf tournament on May 25. Sue Baldauf and Lori Henderson as always

were organized and provided the best-deal golf tournament anywhere – golf,

prizes and snacks all for a very low price. Everyone really seemed to enjoy

themselves – I sure did. So a big thank you to Sue and Lori. Thanks also to Keith

Gloster and Noel Beach who worked on registration.

On May 26, Noel Beach organized and hosted a new retirees wine and cheese. A

number of smiling soon-to-be-retirees showed up. We had a chance to promote

our organization to these potential new members and Noel did an outstanding

job on that. Another big thank you to him. A number of other executive

members attended and their presence was much appreciated.

Thanks also to Jane Binkley and crew who organized the Spring Luncheon.

Things ran smoothly as always and it was good to see attendees socializing and

interacting with colleagues that they may not have seen for awhile. Our after

dinner speaker was Darren Heimbecker who has done such incredible work in

establishing Whistling Gardens. Darren’s presentation was entertaining and very

informative.

As you can see, we have executive members and non-executive volunteers

working hard to provide activities and events. Even the best planned event

however is successful only if members participate and support it. So again, I urge

you to look carefully through this last newsletter of the year and register right now

for those things that interest you. Also keep in mind our

web-site which will contain up to date information that you

might be looking for about local activities. You will also (if

you are on our list) receive timely e-mail reminders about

upcoming events.

(continued on page 12)

The Retired Teachers of Ontario

Here for you now ... Here for your future.

Brant Forty

Presidents Message

RTO Travel

Membership Update

Good Will Report

Membership Gatherings

Swing Into Spring Golf Tourney

District 40 Website

2016 Executive

Health Report - Tips for Staying

Healthy in the Summer

Political Action Committee

(PAC) Report

“Getting to Know You” ~

Interview with retired

educator, Bill Neeb

Travel Adventures Survey

V I S I T O U R D I S T R I C T 4 0 W E B S I T E A T h t t p : / / d i s t r i c t 4 0 . r t o - e r o . o r g

Summer/Fall 2016

New Retirees Breakfast @ Burford Golf Links ~ Sept. 6 @ 10:00 a.m.

Annual General Meeting @ Best Western ~ Nov. 2 @ 11:00 a.m.

Fall Luncheon @ Best Western ~ Nov. 2 @ 12:00 “Pleasant Ridge” is the entertainment!

MEMBERSHIP GATHERINGS

Stay connected...Stay informed...Stay involved

two

Numbers of Members attending ____ Number of Non-Members attending ____

Breakfast _____ @ $15.00 each Breakfast is now being held at Burford Golf Links!

Fall Luncheon _____ @ $17.00 each ______ Fall Luncheon ____ @ $20.00 each _____

(members’ cost) (non-members’ cost)

Names: ________________________________ ________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________ Phone: _______________ Postal Code: ________

E-mail: _______________________________________________ Total Enclosed: _______________

All events are subsidized by the Brant District 40 RTO. Please note: Non-members pay $20.00

Note: Cancellations can be accepted up to the Friday before the event.

Reply to: Jane Binkley 519-752-0875 or e-mail rtobrant40events@gmail.com

Make cheque (not post-dated) payable to: District 40 RTO and send with registration form to:

Jane Binkley ATT. RTO, 21 Chestnut Ave., Brantford, ON., N3T 4B9

** If you are attending and require assistance using the buffet due to managing wheelchairs, walkers,

crutches or canes please contact Jane Binkley personally beforehand so that we can work out

arrangements.

Check out the District 40 Website at

http://district40.rto-ero.org Check out Who We Are, News,

Newsletters, Events, Travel, and a Calendar to view

upcoming events. If you have an event you wish to

promote on the District 40 Website do not hesitate to send

me details and I will add it to the website.

Barb Rogelstad, Webmaster rogieba@rogers.com

HEALTH & WELL-BEING...Tips for being Safe in the Summer three

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The nominating committee will be meeting in early September to begin the process of establishing a slate of candidates for election to our 2017 executive. The election of the new executive will occur at our AGM and luncheon on November 2, 2016. Please consider putting your name forward to come on as a member-at- large. The commitment is five meetings per year. We are sure you would find our group great to work with and a rewarding volunteer activity. If interested, or for more information, please contact me, or any member of the executive committee. Gord Osmond

Stay cool and hydrated. Drink water, at least two to four cups (16-32 ounces) upon rising, and similar amounts if you are going out for activities and exercise. Carry water with you in a hard plastic container.

While enjoying the sun and outdoors, protect yourself from overexposure to sunlight by wearing a hat and using natural sunscreens without excessive chemicals. Enjoy Nature's bounty – fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables at their organic best. Consuming foods that are cooling and light -- fresh fruits, vegetable juices, raw vital salads, and lots of water -- will nourish your body for summertime activities. Include some protein with one or two meals. There are a number of light, nourishing proteins that don't require cooking. Most of these complement fruits and vegetables nicely-- nuts, seeds, sprouted beans, soy products, yogurt, kefir, and cottage cheese. Fish and poultry can also be eaten.

Gardening is good for your health

because ….

It burns calories

It decreases the likelihood of

osteoporosis

It is a stress buster

It may lower the risk of dementia

strengthens your immune

system

Digging in the soil has actual

health and ‘mood boosting’

benefits

It’s fun!

WHEN? Tuesday, September 6, 2016

11:30 Muffins and Registration

WHAT? SCRAMBLE BEST BALL format

Split Tee Start at 12 noon.

WHERE? Burford Golf Links Golf course

HOW MUCH? $45 includes green fees, prize table, dinner and other treats. (Golf

carts are extra)

Please contact Sue at suebaldauf@hotmail.com to register as an individual or as

a foursome. A quick note to Sue is appreciated even if you have expressed your

interest already.

Also, if you know anyone else who may want to participate in the day

as a helper, please let me know. This is a fun day for everyone.

Happy Golfing

Change of address or personal info? Please make sure to let RTO know!

RTO office: 1-800-361-9888 or RTO website http://www.ero-rto.org

TO HELL WITH THE BELL GOLF four

Getting to Know You . . . . . Bill Neeb five

Bill Neeb was born at home on the family farm in Hampstead ON. No one knows how much

Bill weighed at birth. There were no scales to weigh the baby. However the doctor, who

travelled from Stratford, was reported to have said, “Put a school bag on him and send him to

school.” It is amusing to think that Bill was identified with education on the first day of his life!

Later on the family moved to another farm about 4 miles west of Kitchener where Bill’s only

sibling, Betty, was born. There the family lived until 1957 doing their own farm work, tending

to cattle, chickens, pigs, filling silos with corn, baling hay and combining grain for neighbours.

It was during these years that Bill made the decision to quit school at age 15 and work on the farm with his father.

When Bill turned 18 he worked at Detweiler Hydro Station as a labourer. When that job at Detweiler ended he

returned to the farm for two years and then enrolled at Waterloo Lutheran University where he earned the

equivalent of Secondary School and first year of University. That summer, a friend suggested that he apply to

attend Teachers’ College. He liked the idea of having the flexibility to make decisions in teaching students and he

had enjoyed teaching children in Sunday School so he entered Stratford Teachers’ College in September 1960. He

focused on a simple strategy : “Find out the level where the student is working and prepare your teaching to get

the student to where you wish him to be.”

In 1961 Bill’s teaching career began when he was hired over the telephone to teach in a one-room rural school with

indoor washrooms in the Pembroke area for the grand annual salary of $3000.00. The first four months of teaching

Bill was very homesick. He recalls preparing his lessons for the next day and before he knew it a dense darkness

had set in around the school and he would think of all kinds of wildlife out there. After two years he made the

move to Beamsville accepting a two-part position as Gr.8/Vice-Principal. Brantford was Bill’s next and final stop

where he taught for 30 years, 25 years as an Elementary School Principal at such schools as Bellview, St. George,

Echo Place, Jane Laycock, and Bethel Oakhill. Over the years he appreciated the leadership of educators such as

Ray Waghorn, Leonard MacLeod, Ken Dagg, Glenn Watson, John Johnson, Stewart Geen and Denys Jones.

Bill Neeb retired in 1994 having earned a B.A. from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Masters of Science in Education

from Niagara University. After retirement he choose to tutor for 15 years, help his grandchildren with their school

work, play guitar and mandolin, read, watch movies, play Euchre and Bridge, remain active at his church, and took

time to travel with his wife, Isabel. Most recently Bill and Isabel enjoyed a Viking River Cruise on the Elbe River in

Germany. It goes without saying that Bill is not at a loss to find things to do!

One memory that stands out for Bill was the year he was appointed as Principal in 1969 in the village of St. George.

During his 5th year there, a new open concept school was built to replace the two older buildings and two

portables. The Official Opening was performed by The Honourable W. Ross Macdonald who was the Lieutenant-

Governor. The teachers and students marched to the school from the village center led by the St. John’s Girls Drum

Corps. The Lieutenant-Governor made his way to the school in a horse drawn open carriage. It was a great and

memorable day in Bill’s career!

Finally, when asked what advice Bill would give someone entering education as a career, he said, “I think you

should have the desire to teach almost as much as you want your next breath. You must have the ability to accept

change. Teaching is a challenging profession. Learn to enjoy each of your students and be happy in their successes.

Praise good work. Ask for help when you need it.” District 40 thanks Bill Neeb for allowing us to interview him and

for sharing his story with us.

GOODWILL REPORT

Thanks to our members for their continued support of Goodwill. We appreciate your com-

munication. Please keep us informed of passings, anniversaries and significant occasions in

the lives of our members.

Clair Keodprom ~ 519-751-0162 Marg Simpson ~ 519-753-7629

clair1162@rogers.com dalemargs@rogers.com

Memorials

Larry Waterhouse (member)

Allan Sovran (member)

Denys Jones (member)

Gladys McCrea (member)

Irene Rae (member)

Jacqueline Grace Bailey (associate member)

Celebrations Congratulations to all members and associate members who celebrated

significant birthdays in Spring and Fall of 2016.

six

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE - Noel Beach, Membership Chair

As of June 1, we have 1002 total members:

636 females and 366 males. Forty of our members are in their 90’s,

and one is a centenarian.

Since our April Spring Newsletter, and by June 1, the following have

joined Brant 40:

Vicky Cole Donna Langford

PAC REPORT seven

Our PAC met on June 8th and reviewed some seniors’ initiatives coming to the community. We

examined the status of the RTO election issues related to health care and pensions. Defined benefits

were discussed and an action plan may be coming provincially on that issue.

The committee decided to set up a meeting with our local MP and MPP to determine how they are

moving our RTO agenda forward. In addition, we want to discuss the outlook for universal health care,

healthy lifestyles, prescription medications and pensions. We plan to arrange these “think tanks” for mid

-August. You as a member are encouraged to seek opportunities to move this agenda forward in your

social circles.

Gathering #5 on Housing produced an enormous wealth of ideas and insights from a senior’s

perspective. The overall focus being, “Ageing in Place” , “Options for Housing” and “Planning” as early as

in your mid-forties. As we know, by the year 2030, 35% of the population of Brantford, Brant County and

Six Nations/New Credit will be over the age of 55. This is a very large cohort indeed.

Twelve different types of housing were discussed ranging from Home Share, Social Housing, Mobile

Homes, Hospice Care and Planned Communities all the way to converted vacant schools. The full report

is online at GRCOA.com. The report is a bit of an eye opener.

The next gathering is August 19th entitled, “Respect and Social Inclusion”. The report on Community

Support and Health Care is still being written and will be on line shortly.

~ Jim Harder

What are YOU doing during your retirement?

How do you spend the majority of your

retirement time? We all talked about travelling

or doing community service or taking up a

much-loved hobby, but did you?

Send me a quick e-mail to tell me what you do with all your “extra” time!

gingergoldspink@gmail.com

SWING INTO SPRING MAY 2016 eight

Membership Survey “We are seeking your input.” Have you had a look at the ‘new’ RTO District 40 Website …Travel Section? Yes No Comment: Are you interested in ERTO Group Travel Adventures ? Yes No Comment: Indicate the kind of Group Travel you prefer- Day Trips ~ Bus/Drive 3-5 day Getaways ~ Bus Air/Bus 2-3 Week Tours~ Cruises~ Special Interest Tours~ Single Destination Learning Adventures Other Comment: Would you be interested in any of the following Local Day Trip‘Self Drive’ or Bus Adventures : ~ Devil's Punch Bowl and Beamer Preserve with a Niagara- on- the -Lake lunch. Yes No ~ Adelaide Hunter Hoodless home -Don Zver pottery- Robt. Hall Store in Paris Yes No ~ Burlington Walker's Chocolate Factory & Halton County Radial tour Yes No ~ Historic Mohawk Chapel - Woodland Cultural Centre -Cdn. Military museum Yes No ~ Southwestern Ontario Barn Quilt & Wineries Tour Yes No ~ Dinner Cruise on the Grand/ Ruthven Park Yes No ~ Heritage tours War 1812 sites -Grand River Navigation-Cobblestone Tour Yes No ~ Six Nations Museurm, PowWow and Cultural Tour Yes No ~ Brantford Architectural Heritage walking tour. Yes No Note: If commercial transportation is involved we would need enough paid participants to fill a bus before one is hired. Are you interested in opportunities to share Travel Adventures? Yes No Comment: Additional Comments: Your Contact Information - e-mail &/or phone Return your survey to:

TRAVEL COMMITTEE SURVEY ~ Garry Burns, Lori Chisolm, Keith Gloster, Joanne Vitiello

Snail mail: ERTO Travel Survey 55 Golfdale Rd. Brantford, Ont. N3T5H6

Garry Burns e-mail geegbyte@gmail.com Subject: ERTO Travel Survey

SWING INTO SPRING MAY 2016 nine

What fun we had in the sunshine Wednesday, May 25 at the SWING into SPRING GOLF SOCIAL at

Fescue’s Edge Golf Course. Thirty-six golfers participated in this non-competitive nine-hole golf and

social gathering with complimentary muffins and snacks.

Thanks to our Starter Sieg Baldauf’s last minute organizing, all players were able to get out onto the

course in a Shot Gun start format. This meant everyone was able to come off the course at the same

time for the afternoon Social in the clubhouse.

Once again we enjoyed the cooperation of Fescue’s Edge with great rates and great service. Thanks to

Keith Gloster, our money man, Noel Beach, our photographer and PUTTING coordinator, Lori

Henderson, our co-organizer and Lori Chisholm who assisted with the food.

The golf format is all about FUN with no competition but we do offer some challenges for our players.

Lori Chisholm was a big winner with Closest to the Pin #2 and highest score for the women in the Putting

Challenge. Ann Verth won Closest to the Pin on #6. Garry Burns and Gord Osmond were closest to the

Pin #2 and #6 respectively for the Men. The best Putting score was by Bill Shifflett with John Pacsuta

second and Wig Baldauf third. For the Women’s Putting, Kathy Everingham was second and Gail Merritt

was third. The fun challenge of Closest to the Picnic

Basket on #9 was won by Dot Townsend and Vic Gossman.

Thanks once again to Noel for his handiwork and generosity. Charles Irvine was the lucky Door Prize

winner of Noel’s Bowl. This year, we thank Greg and Kim Anderson for their generous contribution to

the Golf Prize Table.

Thanks to RTO for sponsoring this event and providing us with funds for the complimentary snacks.

Other contributors include family and friends.

The PAR 3 DRAW (with winnings split 3 ways) was a success with everyone generously purchasing

tickets for this year’s charity, the CAS Children’s Summer Program. The winner was Donna Gravett. The

community program HELP A CHILD SMILE is the charity chosen to receive the Par 3 winnings at the fall

golf event.

We look forward to our next event “TO HELL WITH THE BELL” on Tuesday, September 6 at Burford Golf

Links. We will begin at noon and play 18 holes as a SCRAMBLE followed by dinner. The RTO breakfast

celebration will also be hosted at Burford Golf Links, so you will be able to make a full day of it and enjoy

all the “not back to school” activities.

Contact Sue at suebaldauf@hotmail.com at anytime to get on the list.

BRANT 40 Wine and Cheese Retirement Recruitment ten

Brant 40 hosted this session recently at the German Sonnenhof, for 12 potential new members, who brought

along 3 guests.

Executive Members attending and contributing to the session were President Dave Haylock, Past President Gord

Osmond, Vice President Keith Gloster, and Treasurer and Past Provincial President June Szeman, who also

arranged, and had the hall and drinks and food set up for us.

In addition to the wine and cheese, and other goodies both healthy and not-quite-so, Gord brought a welcome

from Brant 40, and we gave an overview of RTO; Brant 40 and our Service To Others including our scholarships,

local grants, and Provincial Service To Others grant, as well as our social activities including the First Day of School

(for others) Breakfast, luncheons, golf, Pole walking, and Trivia; our Health Benefits Plan; and Travel

opportunities.

A question and answer period followed the supposedly formal part of the session.

All potential members received an RTO carry bag, as well as an application form, a brochure about Brant 40, and a

summary of the 10 top reasons for choosing the RTO Health Plan. There were also 3 door prizes.

Both the Grand Erie District School Board, and the Brant Haldimand Catholic District School Board have been great

allies in making potential members aware of Brant 40. And to that end, one potential RTO member taught that

day in Jarvis, and after our session went home to Turkey Point. ~ Noel Beach

eleven

If you have questions regarding the itinerary ~ Contact Garry Burns

:mailto:geegbyte@gmail.com

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE (CONTINUED)

Return Address:

ATT. RTO,

10 Riva Ridge, Brantford, ON.,

N3P 1R9

twelve

Keith Gloster and I attended Spring Senate as Brant 40 Senators. June Szeman was also in attendance as Provincial Past-

President. As special guest speaker, we had Dr. Paula Rochon, who is RTO Chair of Geriatrics at University of Toronto. She

mentioned a number of basic things which are important in aging well. Among them were: daily exercise, eating of unprocessed

foods, having a purpose in life, having at least 7 hours of sleep per night and staying active. Senate approved this year’s $10 000

Provincial Annual Charitable Donation recipient which is Canassist African Relief Fund. This organization was nominated by

Hamilton District and funds infrastructure development in East Africa. Brant 40 was proud to nominate the Grandmothers to

Grandmothers Campaign for the award this year. One of the main areas of discussion at Spring Senate was the basic structure of

our organization. It appears that changes will have to be made. This is an on-going process and we will hear much more about it.

As usual Brant 40 will be providing scholarships to each of the local secondary schools and post-secondary institutions. As well,

we will be making charitable donations of $250 each to the following organizations: Ichthys Theatre, Brant Food for Thought,

Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Brant Anglican Refugee Sponsorship Committee. We are pleased to be able to support each of

these groups

This will be my last opportunity to speak to the membership through “President’s Message”. It is an honour and a privilege to be

Brant 40 President for 2016. Your local executive is a very competent and committed group of people who do a great deal of work

on behalf of the members of Brant 40. In their deliberations as a group, consensus is always strived for and decision making is

always based on the best interests of the membership.

Enjoy the summer and I hope to see you in the Fall.