News Update

June 22, 2022

Retirements and Obituaries

It occurred to me the other day that I had not looked for the latest edition of this restricted bank publication. The last one was dated April 2021.

I followed the instructions we developed after we discovered how to access these documents when they were reintroduced last year. I logged on to https://myhr.bmogc.com, entered my personal user I/d and password (when I remembered them!) and immediately found just my high level personal information with further links to more detailed information. On thIs first page however, I found a series of quick links and checked the one titled NOTICES. This took me straight to the documents I was looking for and found they were updated as at December 2021.

Please note the webpage has changed slightly from our original instructions advised to members in November 2021.

But a word of caution. I used an iPad Air to access this information. Another member of our team had difficulty with an Android device and a different experience using a Mac. Another member of the team used a PC and the Notices button does appear near the bottom.

So, if your personal details page does not have a button for NOTICES you might have to explore the details on the page. If you find a QUICK LINKS button this may well take you to NOTICES which is your entryway to the retirements and obituaries documents. Or depending on your device that QUICK LINKS button may take you to one titled VIEW ALL. Hit that button and NOTICES will appear.

We will be corresponding with the bank to ensure we are guiding you correctly. Before we do so however, we would appreciate hearing from you if you experience any difficulty accessing this information. In the meantime, we have suggested to H.R. that, in any event, access instructions be sent out to all retirees.

Dave Harmer

June 12, 2022

Reflections and Congratulations

Association newsletters and members’ letters, stories, articles about lunches, social and other recreational activities form the core of what we publish. I personally enjoy reading them and hope you do too. Your News Team certainly appreciates the amount of work that goes into the preparation of this material.

And probably like many of you I am surprised by just how many names of people in this material that I recognize from my time in the bank. This includes the names of new CyberPensioner members.

As part of the 1% Age Group - more about that later - and like many of my contemporaries, a good part of my time in the bank was spent travelling or moving to various locations. Of over 16 appointments often with markedly different responsibilities, 9 of those moves meant physical relocations resulting in either rentals or house purchases. Through the 1970’s it seemed every time we had family visiting from England, Australia or New Zealand we were on the road again! But each move involved meeting new people, generally great experiences and so many unpublished stories. Paths often crossed again so it felt to me that the bank was one large family.

In this context, I have been particularly fortunate over the years to meet actual or potential BMO bankers either internationally - London, Fontainebleau, Milan, Madrid, Frankfurt, Lahr, Lausanne, Glasgow, Dublin, Chicago, Los Angeles - but mostly from right across Canada including within the Arctic Circle.

Ironically, despite being involved with the News Team and our extensive network for many years, I have been guilty of not always reaching out to former colleagues. And just recently in two cases found out I was too late to touch base with people I hadn’t seen in years. So if I have one particular piece of advice, it is to make use of the address book available for the exclusive use of our members.

Meanwhile we are always on the lookout for stories and articles to entertain our readers so please keep us in mind. The pandemic has paused so many regular meetings and events and caused unexpected problems for organizers. But we are seeing signs of a resurgence towards perhaps some form of uneven normality even though it differs from the past. Hopefully this will mean more of those stories.

Back to that 1% Age Group. I was fascinated to read the latest excellent Newsletter from our friends in the Lower Mainland BOMPA. It struck a chord for me.

First of all the newsletter referenced the formation of the BOMPA group in 1978 with the help of then SVP Gene Nesmith. 44 years ago but to me that seems like yesterday. To my earlier point I was very fortunate as a member of Ontario Personnel Department to know and work with Gene when he was VP Central Ontario and a client of mine.

Then the newsletter ended with facts of specific interest to the 1% age group. So if you were born between 1930 and 1946 and can remember ration books, I’m sure you will relate to those facts that are so well articulated. A highly recommended read.

As the BMO CyberPensioners News Team enters our 31st anniversary providing service to the BMO Pensioners community, we know only too well how challenging it can be for volunteers to operate during changing and sometimes difficult times. So we have nothing but admiration for the Lower Mainland BOMPA remaining supportive to their membership for so long.

In closing, the CyberPensioner News Team would like to pass on our congratulations to members of the Lower Mainland Association on your 44th anniversary.

Dave Harmer

June 8, 2022

The latest Lower Mainland Newsletter is now available.

Go to the Association Newsletters webpage to read the latest issue. 

Thanks to Ron Gillies and Earl Hansford for sharing.

May 19, 2022

Reduced ticket pricing is available for BMO employees and pensioners for Vancouver Whitecaps games.  

May 4, 2022

The latest BOMPA Southern Alberta Newsletter is now available.

Featured is a Stage West Sunday Brunch - "Forever Plaid" - Sunday, August 14, 2022 and Deerfoot Inn and Casino on Thursday, June 2, 2022.

Both these events are open to pensioners and guests.

Go to the Association Newsletters webpage to read the latest issue. 

Thanks to Gillian McKinnon for sharing.

April 20, 2022

We deeply regret to advise the passing of Barry Gemmell on April 15, 2022.  He was 90 years old when he passed and was surrounded by his family during his last moments who loved him very much.  His obituary has been posted on our website.

Barry was one of the original Co-Founders of our website.  He was a visionary, team player and the kind of guy, who thought, “never say never”.  Thirty-one years ago he could see that the communication options at that time had to change to reach larger audiences in a more efficient and timely manner.  As he said back then, “It was time to ditch the smoke signals and go to the next level… word of mouth,” to keep folks informed but “word of mouth” didn’t seem to work too well either as people tended to forget things.  He then moved his thinking into the electronic age to seek a better solution. He has been a driving force helping to evolve this idea with the end result the birth of our BMO Cyber Pensioners website.  Barry was a leader, had a dry sense of humour and a positive outlook on life to the very end.  When we spoke to him shortly before his passing, he said, “he had a good life and was ready for what may come”.   His wisdom was often in his everyday words that left people reflective of what could be, the possibilities in life.  Needless to say, we will greatly miss him as one of our most important leaders as well as his endearing friendship.

Barry’s role in the evolution of our network can be found by clicking the link in the About Us section.  Without his vision and tenacity to move his revolutionary thinking forward we would not have our wonderful website to enjoy.  He was recognized for this as well as his contribution as a volunteer from 1991 - 2007.  He was inducted in the website’s Hall of Fame, as a, “Honorary Member and Co-Founder”.

We are deeply saddened to say goodbye.  Our thoughts are with his family.  Rest In Peace Barry.

The BMO Cyber Pensioners News Team.

(Click to read Barry Gemmell’s obituary)

April 16, 2022

On April 8, 2022, we published Elsie James’ first part of her story, “My Life After Retirement from BMO - Instalment 1”, which took you through her love of trekking in the Himalayan mountains and her volunteer work in Nepal.  Elsie's volunteer work continues to this very day working from home with the help of modern technological communication services and the internet. Elsie's dedication and commitment to her volunteer work and her passion for life is amazing. She is an inspiration and a role model.

Click to read, "My Life After Retirement from BMO - Instalment 2"

Click to read, “My Life After Retirement from BMO - Instalment 1"

Click to view photos for Instalment 1 and photos for Instalment 2 in our Photo Gallery

"If you have any comments regarding this story, please contact the BMO Cyber Pensioners News team at cyberpensioner@gmail.com We look forward to hearing from you."  

How to Gain Access to Our Facebook Page