The beginning of a new term for the Board of Directors is an opportunity to bring renewed energy and focus to the challenges of growing and sustaining our membership. It’s also an opportunity to reaffirm our pledge to a culture of accountability and respect as we live our mission to be a bilingual trusted voice on healthy active living in retirement.
RTOERO is a much different organization today in purpose than when it began more than 56 years ago, and recent changes have been momentous. For instance, our governance structure has changed to modernize and reflect best practices; we’ve moved to welcome members from across Canada and to include those from the broader education community.
This evolution is one of the reasons behind the refresh of the RTOERO brand. The process began in 2018 and produced a colourful new visual brand that was well received by members. The second stage of the process is deciding on a new name. That journey began over a year ago and involved a broad consultation with stakeholders. The resulting proposed name is Entente. It was introduced at the Annual Meeting in May and shared with the membership a day later. Next, the approximately 115 corporate members will vote on the name at a Special Meeting in October.
The participatory process that helped create the proposed name Entente illustrates what I’ve come to appreciate: that members are articulate and thoughtful.
This is my first message as chair and I’m truly thrilled at the opportunity to serve the members of this outstanding organization, especially during these challenging times. My heartfelt thank-you to those who have placed their confidence and trust in me. I look forward to working collaboratively with stakeholders to help build on our collective success and to prepare for future growth.
Stay tuned.
John
