It is a pleasure to share this update with you as we reflect on the last few months of connection and growth for our ERTA community. Thank you for your continued dedication to making our group a vibrant, supportive place for all our members.

As your ERTA President, I want to address the challenging events of the past few weeks, specifically the recent teachers’ strike in our Province. Seeing our active colleagues take the courageous step of job action underscores that the fight for quality public education is an ongoing one. We are proud of the current generation of teachers for their resilience, dedication, and unwavering commitment to their students.  

In other news, in October five ERTA members attended the ARTA AGM. Cam Colville was elected to serve on the ARTA Strategic Planning and Advocacy Committee. We appreciate all of the work Cam continues to do for us as our Membership Director and are excited for him to contribute to the ARTA community. At the AGM we also had the opportunity to connect with several members from CRTA (Calgary Retired Teachers Association). We will continue to collaborate with CRTA to share ideas and strategies on ways to improve both of our associations.

On the local front, our ERTA Board has been busy with many initiatives to keep you up to date with communications and offering opportunities to be active, involved and contributing. Our new website was launched in mid October. It is updated regularly with upcoming events and volunteer activities and we are testing a new email distribution platform to ensure everyone receives the newsletters and e-notes in a timely manner. The Program Committee continuously updates the website to share upcoming activities and events. The ERTA Bylaws Committee has met and will be reviewing and making recommendations for our AGM in June 2026 and the Budget Committee will be meeting in the next few weeks to create the 2026 budget to ensure the programs we offer are affordable for everyone.

Preparations are underway for our December luncheon, one of our favourite events of the year. Please join us to celebrate the season and connect for conversations and a few good laughs with your teacher friends. 

Lyndi Karbonik

President
Edmonton Retired Teachers’