Sixty Years of History
(continued from part 1)
The name of the Edmonton branch was changed to the Edmonton Retired Teachers’ Association at that time.
Before long, the Calgary branch changed its name to the Calgary Retired Teachers’ Association. The Lethbridge branch became the Southwestern Alberta Retired Teachers Association in 1987.
Six new branches were formed in the 1970s, with three more added in the 1980s, St. Albert joined in 1997, Foothills in 2002, Stettler in 2008, Park-land in 2010 and Heartland in 2012.
On October 3, 2007, the Okanagan Alberta Retired Teachers’ Association became a satellite branch. Formation of a branch of Alberta retired teachers in British Columbia was inspired by Irl Miller, who provided the names, and facilitated by Ron Rhine, who made the contacts from his new home in Westbank, British Columbia. Both of them were previous ERTA presidents and both made a sig-nificant contribution to the growth and advance-ment of services provided by ARTA and ERTA.
Arthur G. Skitch of Edmonton was elected to the position of president of the new association and Milton W. Brock of Calgary became the secretary-treasurer. Representatives of the Edmonton and Calgary branches alternated in serving in a leader-ship role for the next ten years until J. A. McDonald of Medicine Hat was elected president of ARTA at the AGM on October 3, 1973.
Numerous ERTA members served the association in various executive capacities over the following twenty years and were instrumental in ensuring the viability of the organization over the years.
On October 22, 1980, an executive secretary was appointed to work (without pay) in the ARTA office (Room 408 was a small office in Barnett House courtesy of the ATA) and acted as the treasurer as well.
Joe Durand (ERTA) served as the executive sec-retary until October 1983 and again from October 1986 to October 1993. He alternated in the role of president and executive secretary with Ron Rhine who served in that position until 1997.
Ron assumed the role a second time in October 1992 with increased membership as his primary focus. He added some furnishings, an answering machine, a filing cabinet and some shelving to give the small office a professional appearance.
A benevolent ATA staff member applied her creative expertise to Ron’s initial attempt at an informative newsletter and the first iteration of news&views was launched.
A conversation with an ARTA member regarding health insurance benefits available to Ontario re-tired teachers prompted Ron to investigate the possibility of arranging for a similar plan for retired teachers in Alberta. Johnson Inc., the insurance agent for Maritime Life, would only agree to provide health insurance benefits in Alberta if over 1500 letters were received requesting such coverage. A formal letter was included in a retirement fund mailing. Terms discussed with Johnson Inc. and Maritime Life included a 1% rebate. After a motion was passed at an executive meeting, the ARTA Benefit Plan became operational on September 5, 1995, with an open enrolment.
Ron left the position in 1997 with the expectation that the job description of the role would be prescribed by the ARTA Board of Directors instead of being a self-directed one and that the executive secretary would be paid a small stipend.
Gerry Smith served as the executive secretary for the next ten years. When Don Mock was hired, the association was on the cusp of major expansion. He resigned from the redefined position of executive director, now a full-time position, effective August 31, 2011.
Daniel Mulloy, the current executive director, is the first non-teacher to oversee office operations and guide the expansion of the organization.
ARTA became self-insured on April 8, 2008, self-administration went into effect on January 1, 2021, and ARTARx, ARTA’s member-owned pharmacy, opened on February 1, 2023.
Visionaries played a pivotal role in the establishment of ARTA. Their commitment to the original concept has had a significant impact on how the association has evolved. The welfare of retired teachers was the primary concern as was providing an influential voice locally and provincially along with the promotion of fellowship with other retired teachers.
