UFV Retirees’ Association to debut with afternoon comedy event

As the decades roll by, UFV’s community of retirees continues to grow.

Many keep in touch with old colleagues informally, but now there’s an organization that will help keep retirees connected with each other and with the university.

The UFV Retirees’ Association (UFVRA) was launched in April 2025 after more than a year of planning by its founders.

And it’s planning a fun public event on Wednesday, February 18. The University of the Fraser Valley is proud to introduce the UFV Retirees’ Association at this inaugural event.

Retirees Adrienne Chan and Ian McAskill, who each held a variety of faculty and administrative roles in their time at the university, came to UFV with the idea for an association prior to the 50th anniversary year. They worked with UFV’s Community Engagement team to bring the idea to fruition.

Adrienne says one of the primary reasons for launching the association is to continue to foster the bonds that many retirees felt with their colleagues when they were working. Almost all universities and colleges in B.C. have a retiree association, which is a point of engagement, and a way of acknowledging and valuing the contributions faculty and staff have made over the years. Since the launch in April 2025, many retirees have contacted UFVRA members, letting them know that they appreciate the association and its purpose and vision.

“When I began work at UFV (then UCFV), I saw that there was a ‘family’ quality about the institution. We liked each other (well, most of us); we shared stories together; we spent time together,” Adrienne notes. “That is not always the case in your workplace. What makes a workplace special? The people in it, and the people who share with you. That does not have to end when you retire from UFV.

“Our purpose is for connection — to maintain engagement with each other through social events, learning events, perhaps recreational events and tours. The association will also engage in discussions about how to connect and engage in meaningful ways at the university. This might be in a mentoring role and supporting students, staff, or faculty, by assisting where we can, and where we would be valued. There are many possibilities for us. When we say, ‘don’t be a stranger,’ we mean it.”

Plans include hosting one or two special events per year, informal social gatherings, and participating in the annual Great Campus Gathering (formerly the Welcome Back Barbecue) in late August and the retirement celebration in November.

The association will also facilitate mentoring opportunities by matching retirees with current employees or students. And there’s an annual UFV Retiree bursary that retirees are invited to support through donations.

Current members of the UFVRA Board: Adrienne Chan, Randy Kelley, Maureen Wideman, Ian McAskill, Deb Greenfield, Eric Davis, Virginia Cooke, and Betty Poettcker.

Randy Kelly, Maureen Wideman, Virginia Cooke (hidden behind Adrienne), Adrienne Chan, and Ian McAskill at a Retirees Association meeting.

Inaugural event: What’s So Funny About Retirement?

The Retirees’ Association’s debut special event will be a fun one: What’s So Funny About Retirement?

The event will take place on Wed, Feb 18, at noon in B101 (the lecture theatre) on the Abbotsford campus. Registration is required.

This is one question we’ll be asking at the inaugural event of the UFV Retirees Association (UFVRA). What, in fact, is so funny about anything, given everything we see around us right now? Never was a dose of comedy more needed than at this moment.

Rajnish Dhawan anticipating laughs that he’ll share with the audience at the UFV Retiree’s Association’s inaugural event, What’s So Funny About Retirement, presented by UFV with the UFV Retiree Association.

Dr. Rajnish Dhawan, a mild-mannered scholar and UFV associate professor of English by day, and a fearless, witty, stand-up comic by night, will address these questions, and treat the audience to a dose of stand-up comedy.

This event is open to all retired faculty and staff, all employees, and students. It is open to the communities UFV serves. It will be a hybrid event, taking place on the Abbotsford campus, and available online.

What’s So Funny About Retirement will be both an entertaining and thought-provoking event to engage retirees as a UFV community. It is the first of what will be annual UFVRA events that will reinforce the connections among retirees, future retirees, and the UFV community. The event will encourage the relationship with the university and its mission, vision and values.

Are you retired from UFV? Join UFVRA. The membership is free, but we support donations.

View our webpage, and join us through the membership link.

If you are a member of UFVRA, you are eligible for free parking at the event.

There are advantages to being retired already!To register for What’s So Funny About Retirement, click on this link: UFVRA: Feb 18 | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

You will receive a receipt once you register. While the link says join with Microsoft Teams, you do not need to use MS teams to join and register.

If you register to attend online, you will be sent a link to use for that day.

The UFVRA appreciates the ongoing support from the Office of Community Engagement and the Relationship and Fund Development team.

We hope to see you!

Current members of the UFVRA Board (left to right): Virginia Cooke, Ian McAskill, Adrienne Chan, Maureen Wideman, and Randy Kelley. Not pictured: Eric Davis, Deb Greenfield, and Betty Poettcker.