About the BCRTA

History

After the BC Teachers’ Federation was formed in 1917, retired teachers began meeting in private homes in Vancouver, and they formed themselves into an association with the primary purpose of improving teachers’ pensions. At about the same time a group of retired teachers in Victoria formed an association with the same goal. In time the two groups joined in common purpose, which led to the formation in 1945 of the BCRTA. The B.C. Retired Teachers’ Association was incorporated as a Society in 1955 with its main objective “to guard the interests and to promote the welfare of its members.”

Mission

The mission of the BCRTA is the maintenance and enhancement of the quality of life for its members specifically and other seniors generally. The purpose of the BCRTA is to promote the interests of the members, to provide information and advice to members on retirement programmes and benefits, to communicate to members on the activities of the Association and issues of common interest, and to promote excellence in public education.

Our Affiliates

Our People

Board of Directors

Grace Wilson
President

Gerry Tiede
Past President

Arnie Lambert
First Vice-President

Caroline Malm
Second Vice-President

Steve Bailey
ACER-CART Representative

Dave Scott
Director

Elaine Thompson
Director

Terry Green
Director

Janice Androsoff
Director

Barb Mikulec
Director

Pat Thiesen
Director

Brenda Jones
Director

Stephanie Koropatnick
Director

BCRTA Staff

Tim Anderson, Executive Director

After a year of working with BCRTA in a consulting role, Tim Anderson became BCRTA’s Executive Director in June 2018. Tim has a long history of work in adult education program development and working with small organizations to develop their business systems and media platforms. His design and consulting firm Alphabet Communications has an impressive client list, including BC’s Ministry of Health, BC’s Health Authorities, the Ministry of Education, Diabetes Canada and numerous others. You may know his work – he designed the BC Seniors Guide.

An accomplished writer and editor, he is Executive Editor of PostScript Magazine and is actively developing partnerships to enhance the BCRTA member experience.

Tim’s wife Janet is an active teacher, and they have three grown daughters and two grandchildren.

Kristi Josephson, Administrator

Kristi was born in Fort Churchill and grew up in Brandon, Manitoba. She attended a French immersion grade school, and English for high school. She spent many of those years playing soccer, running track and swimming competitively.

Kristi attended her first year of university in her hometown before moving to BC to attend University of British Columbia. Kristi has a BA in Psychology and a Registered Professional counselling designation. She has a 20 year son who is a Business student at UBC.

Past Directors & Presidents

2014-2015

Stefan Cieslik, Tom Brunker, Jo Ann Lauber, Grace Wilson, Barb Mikulec, Regina Day, Steve Bailey, Elaine Anderson, Bob Taverner, Cliff Boldt, Gail Montgomery, Charan Gill, Val Dyer, Patricia Clough

2013-2014

Cliff Boldt, Bob Taverner, Charan Gill, Jo Ann Lauber, Steve Bailey, Regina Day, Stefan Cieslik, Gerry Tiede, Margaret Sutton, Val Dyer, Elaine Anderson, Patricia Clough, Doug Edgar, Barb Mikulec, Tom Brunker

2012-2013

Cliff Boldt, Charan Gill, Barb Mikulec, Regina Day, Steve Bailey, Doug Edgar, Jo Ann Lauber, Bob Taverner, Joanell Clarke, Patricia Clough, Gerry Tiede, Carolyn Prellwitz, Margaret Sutton, Sheila Gair, Pat Brady

2011-2012

Cameron Cascon, Patricia Clough, Sheila Pither, Doug Edgar, Margaret Sutton, Cliff Boldt, Carolyn Prellwitz, Bob Taverner, Jo Ann Lauber, Syvia MacLeay, Judy deVries, Regina Day, Gerry Tiede, Tom Brunker

2009

Front Row: Doug Edgar, Sheila Pither, Syvia MacLeay, Cliff Boldt, Ron Awai
Back Row: Carolyn Prellwitz, Jo Ann Lauber, Keith Coates, Judy de Vries, Bob Taverner, Diane Gorton, Gerry Tiede, Tom Brunker

Our Committees

Advocacy Committee

2021/22

Chair, Grace Wilson

Arnie Lambert

Caroline Malm

Gerry Tiede

The Advocacy committee’s objectives are :

  • Advisory to the Board, its committees and branches when advocacy projects are being considered or undertaken
  • Continue to seek support in working with kindred organizations around issues affecting seniors
  • Identify appropriate people in government to be approached on issues affecting our members.

Communications Committee

2021/22

Chair, Terry Green

Co- Chair, Stephanie Koropatnick

Steve Bailey

Carol Baird-Krul

Marg Sutton

Excellence in Education Committee

2021/22

Chair, Steve Bailey

Co-Chair, Brenda Jones

Caroline Malm

Annette O’Connor

Grace Wilson

Janice Androsoff

Barb Mikulec

Finance Committee

2021/22

Chair, Caroline Malm

Co-Chair, Grace Wilson

Arnie Lambert

Dave Scott

Gerry Tiede

Elaine Thompson

Terry Green

Heritage Committee

2021/22

Chair, Janice Androsoff

Co-Chair, Stephanie Koropatnick

Carol Baird-Krul

Larry Kuehn

Barb Mikulec

Downloads

Membership Committee

2021/21

Chair, Dave Scott

Co-Chair, Elaine Thompson

Pat Thiesen

Don Caskey

Cathy Van Herwaarden

Liz MacKenzie

Pensions & Benefits Committee

2021/21

Chair, Arnie Lambert

Co-Chair, Dave Scott

Gerry Tiede

Grace Wilson

Al Cornes

Ken Tanner

Linda Watson

Rob Taylor

Liz MacKenzie

Member Well-Being Committee

2021/22

Chair, Pat Thiesen

Co-Chair, Elaine Thompson

Don Caskey

Marg Sutton

Gail Chaddock-Costello

Libby Thornton

David Bell

Committee Application Form

Member Benefits

BCRTA members have access to exclusive Extended Health Benefits packages, Insurance Plans and other financial services. In addition, our Members’ Advantage Plan connects our members to a wide range of discount offers and special promotions on travel, accommodation, car rental, recreation experiences and other products and services.

See our exclusive benefits packages from Johnson Insurance

Learn more about the Members’ Advantage Program

Our National Presence with ACER – CART

BCRTA is one of the founding partners of the Canadian Association of Retired Teachers (Association Canadienne des Enseignantes et des Enseignants Retraités) which advocates for pension security and the well-being of seniors on the national stage.

BCRTA’s 75th Anniversary

At our 2021 Conference, BCRTA celebrated 75 years of service to retired educators. This video features greetings to BCRTA from leaders in education and retiree associations across Canada.