Canada Clubs News From Gerry Winter in the Villages Gerry Brissenden CSA Past President Well, the great migration South has begun and many Canadians have decided that it is time to go South before the big freeze. I am one who got a good head start. Many of you may be wondering why I talk about the Villages and what it is. Well, the Villages has a population of more than 110,000 people and is bigger than most towns in Canada. It is about 60 miles north of Orlando. Everyone drives around in golf carts; we go shopping in them, as well as to dances and other entertainment. There is everything that you could want in the Villages…we have more than 65 par three golf courses and 12 Championship courses. Pickle ball is also a very popular game here, as are all card games. If you can think of anything that you would like to do, they either have a club for it or they will form one. The Canadian club here is called Loonies and Toonies. They have more than 600 members and meet once a month to make sure that everyone is kept up to date with what is important to Canadians. I recently attended the first meeting of the year (I am a member). We had plenty of food brought in by everyone and we had a meet-and-greet at which people from the various villages (the villages all have names) were called to the centre of the room in order to get to know the people in their village. This was followed by dancing and the traditional 50/50 draw. Everyone had a great time and we got to meet each other. Other club activities include a bus trip to a hockey game and a bus trip to the Snowbird Extravaganza in Lakeland, Florida. If you would like to find out more about the Villages, go to TheVillagesFlorida.com I have been very busy since I arrived here, talking to people about the CSA andMedipac. You would be surprised howmany people did not know about the great discounts which Medipac can give them on their travel insurance. If you would like this information, call 1-888-MEDIPAC (1-888-633-4722) and the Medipac staff will be pleased to discuss it with you. As you may have noticed by now, I am no longer on the board of directors. I served on the board for 18 years as treasurer, president and past-president. It is now time for some new blood to take over and bring with them fresh ideas. I would like to wish the new board every success – I know that they will all do a great job on behalf of our membership. As you can see, you haven’t got rid of me yet. I hope to keep in touch with you through this article in the CSANews. I wish you all a happy, healthy and safe winter in the sunshine! The following topics will be covered: •Who we are •Lobbying the federal, provincial, territorial and U.S. governments •Benefits of being a CSA member •Trip planning •Border crossing issues •How to count days in the U.S. •Forms – 8840 and W-8BEN •Travel medical insurance •Canadian Retiree Visa •Question & answer period ATTENTION ALL SNOWBIRDS! To arrange a FREE presentation in your community, please email the CSA at csastaff@snowbirds.org Canadian Snowbird Association Directors are available for presentations in your local communities CANADIAN SNOWBIRD ASSOCIATION 180 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario Canada M3B 2T5 1-800-265-3200 csastaff@snowbirds.org www.snowbirds.org CSANews | WINTER 2016 | 19
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