Welcome to the last breath of winter! I don’t know about you, but I’m counting the days until I can get out and start digging in dirt. Spring always brings a wonderful feeling of new beginnings when I can get out and walk with no worries about ice and my dogs no longer need their coats and sweaters. And—I can start packing up the winter gear!

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Rotary Club of Brandon’s annual book sale. Have you ever seen 75,000 books arranged throughout a hotel ballroom? It is, indeed, a site to behold. On opening day, they sold thousands of kids’ books—something we teachers will appreciate. Kudos to the kids who are still reading! I managed to cart out a box of books, too. When I returned home on Friday…well… that special tingle of approaching spring has been overtaken by the last blast of winter! Don’t put away the shovels yet.

At our March luncheon, we were very pleased to hear that a large number of the attendees have visited our new website. We had the opportunity to meet Dave Wentworth again and wish him well on his relocation. He will, however, remain our webmaster as well as continuing to offer travel advice and planning.

Once summer arrives, we plan to begin our day excursions to the locations identified in our survey last year. We will discuss more about this at our May luncheon meeting. Also on the agenda will be our annual elections. We welcome nominations from anyone who would like to join the group of inspired members on the chapter executive.

Getting to know Sunil

Since retiring, I have been actively involved in our Provincial STS. It has been a very rewarding experience as our goal was to assist retired teachers in any way possible. Some of these include improving our Group Benefits Plan over the years to provide a health safety net for our members, managing our provincial finances to assist Chapters with funding for the benefit of their members, provide resources to fund provincial recreation activities hosted by Chapters across the Province, and advocate on behalf of members on improving issues that relate directly to our STS Provincial Aims and Goals.

I am proud of the time spent working on behalf of our members. We have come a long way in the past 12 years! But the world keeps changing at a fast pace and so the work continues to evolve to meet the challenges that we face.

The best part of working on the provincial Executive was the opportunity to meet so many retired teachers across the Province and make new friendships! And while not everyone likes attending meetings, it is important for people to get the information that directly affects their daily lives. I enjoyed presenting that information at Chapter meetings and seminars. Like the classroom, it was satisfying to see people learn something new that maybe they had not thought about or how it may affect them in the future.

I would like to specially thank the Moose Jaw Chapter for their support in my role on the Provincial Executive and I will continue to serve on our Chapter Executive for our Moose Jaw members.

Did you hear about the recent agreement extension? All the details can be found using this link to our site:

• Agreement Extension

This information is housed on the website, check out “Announcements” found under the “About” tab.

Offer your perspective

Do you have any insight or do you have a service that might be beneficial to our members? We’re on the hunt for new content, and if you have any tips or info to share amongst our membership, contact us and let us know your ideas. Looking forward to hearing from you!

🌷Take it from my Two Lips 🌷

Spring is starting to bloom, which always makes me think about the Netherlands. This destination may be small in size, but it packs a big punch which it comes to things to see and do. Recently I’ve been admiring pictures of Keukenhof, the most beautiful spring garden in the world! It’s located not too far from Amsterdam.

While Amsterdam boasts a number of attractions and experiences, I like to encourage visitors to think outside of the city and discover the Netherlands other regions. From the blue and white ceramics of Delft, to the famous Alkmaar cheese market, there are abundant opportunities across the region.

Do you know the difference between Holland and the Netherlands? For the answer to this question, and for more destination info, check out my travel presentation on the Netherlands. Just click the link below, or visit my website and scroll to the Travel Info section under Recorded Presentations. There you will find a collection of recorded travel presentations for destinations around the world.