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- Oct. 19 - Nov.8, 2010:
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Spotlight
feature:
Joyce
Collier
and Lorraine McLeod
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Its the People
You Meet in a Life Devoted to Golf
By Scott Taylor
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Joyce
Collier and Lorraine McLeod
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For Joyce
Collier, golf will always be about the people. Its not
about awards, or the thanks and appreciation you get from
your peers. Its not about any of that stuff.
Its
about watching great players, meeting them, and feeling that
in some small way you helped them, just a bit, along the fairway.
For Lorraine
McLeod, a life in golf means much the same. And like her friend
and colleague, McLeods memories, are of nothing but
clear days, straight fairways and uninterrupted good times.
For those
of us who have either covered womens golf in the media
or simply been a fan of the game in this province, we all
know that to some degree it simply wouldnt be a Manitoba
ladies golf tournament without the presence of Joyce and Lorraine.
From 1981 to today, Collier and McLeod have had a hand in
so many outstanding womens events, that its almost
impossible to keep track. The latest big event, the LPGAs
Canadian Ladies Open Championship at St. Charles, is a classic
example.
For these
two exceptional women, golf has played a major role in their
lives.
The
memories I have of being involved in golf are all wonderful,
said McLeod, the other day. The greatest thing anyone
can do is volunteer for golf.
McLeod
started back in 1981 as a tournament chairperson at the Canoe
Club. She went on to be president of Ladies Golf at the Canoe
Club and became a Manitoba Ladies Golf Association tournament
chairman, vice-president and, eventually, president.
She later
moved from the Canoe Club to Southwood and was the chairperson
of the Canadian Ladies Amateur championship at Glendale in
1991.
Thats
was a year and a half of work, she recalled. And
it was a lot of fun.
Meanwhile,
back in 81, Collier was already a member of the rules
committee for the CLGAs national amateur championship.
She started her career as golf volunteer at the Portage Golf
Club, where today, the Joyce Collier Award is presented annually
to the top junior golfer.
When
I present that award, its not always for the way a young
person plays, Collier said. In fact, the winner
of the award is not always the best player, but a player who
brings his or her best to the game.
The same
thing can be said about Collier. She always brings her best.
She, too,
was president of the Manitoba Ladies Golf Association (1995,
1996 and 1997) Went on to become CLGA Director of Player Development
in 1998, 99 and 2000. and was an associate governor in the
Royal Canadian Golf Association (2006, 2007, 2008).
But when
you talk with Collier its obvious that two things make
her very proud: her involvement with junior golf and her dedication
to the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame and Museum.
When
you volunteer your time, its the people you meet who
make it so rewarding, she said. And whats
very enjoyable is the young people you watch progress in their
careers. Ive known (LPGA professional) Gail Graham since
she was a junior. Ive watched Aileen Robertsons
career and Cathy Burtons. These were all wonderful young
players and it was great just to come to know them and play
a small part in what they were able to accomplish.
Both Collier
and McLeod have been major contributors to the Manitoba Golf
Hall of Fame and Museum. Collier was President of the Hall
from 2003-2006 and she asked her friend Lorraine to get involved
back in 03. And while McLeod left Hall of Fame board
in 2008, Collier has continued on as Past President and Chair
of the annual induction event.
If
it wasnt for Joyce the Hall of Fame would never have
happened, said McLeod bluntly. Shes such
a wonderful organizer. I enjoyed being on the board, but Joyce
was the heart and soul of the Hall. And shes so behind
this years induction. Its hard to say enough about
what shes done to make the Hall of Fame the success
that it is.
This years
Hall of Fame inductees were four of the most visible stars
in Manitoba golf -- four people whose inclusion in the Hall
are beyond question:
Bob
Picken, Builder
For more
than 60 years, Bob Picken has been the voice of golf on radio
and TV in Manitoba. He has also been an active contributor
to the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame, has served as chair of
the selection committee for the Manitoba Amateur Golfer of
the Year award since its inception in1975 and been a director
of the Grey Owl golf tournament since 1979.
Rob
McMillan, Athlete
One of
the greatest players in the annals of Manitoba golf, McMillan
made history as the first young man ever to win the Canadian
Juvenile and Junior Championships in the same year. His three
Canadian Junior titles tied for the most ever won. He won
the 1996 Manitoba Open as an amateur, then added the Canadian
Amateur title in the same season. He won the Provincial Junior
Championship for four straight years (1991 through 1994) and
added the Provincial Amateur title in 1993. He won the amateur
again in 1995 and 1996 and played on four provincial junior
teams, on two Manitoba Willingdon Cup teams and represented
Canada twice at the World Amateur Championships. He was chosen
Golfer of the Year in 1990, was a finalist in 1991 and won
the honour again every year from 1992 to 1996.
Terry
Hashimoto, Athlete
Hashimoto
was a remarkable player between 1976 and 1998. He was named
Manitoba Amateur Golfer of the Year three times and was a
finalist five more times during that period. He represented
Manitoba in team play 10 times as a junior in 1976
and then eight times on the provinces Willingdon Cup
teams (1977, 79, 80, 81, 83, 85,96
and 98). He also played on one Mid-Amateur team in 1998.
He won the Manitoba Amateur Championship twice (1985 and 1998),
the Manitoba Match Play Championship three times (1983, 1985
and 1998), the Manitoba Mid-Amateur Championship in 1998 and
was low amateur in the Manitoba Open Championship twice (1979
and 1980). In 1998, he was a triple champion, taking home
the amateur, mid-amateur and match play titles. He was Manitoba
Golfer of the Year in 1976, 1980 and 1998.
Aileen
Robertson, Athlete
Between
1986 and 1996, a time when there were many top female players
in Manitoba, Ailleen Robertson was one of the best. She was
the Provincial Junior Champ in 1986 and 1987 and won the Manitoba
Ladies Amateur in 1989-90-91-94-95-96. She won a Canadian
Championship in 1994 and was also declared Manitoba Amateur
Golfer of the Year along with Rob McMillan. She was a finalist
for the Golfer of the Year honours twice, in 1989 and 1991,
and was a nominee for Manitoba Female Athlete of the Year
twice, 1992 and 1994. She also won the Ontario Womens
Amateur title and was named Score Magazines Female Amateur
of the Year in 1994.
Robertson
represented the province on Manitoba golf teams for 13 straight
years, as a junior from 1984-87 and on nine consecutive amateur
teams from 1988 through 1996. She represented Canada seven
times at international events including the World Amateur,
British Amateur, Australian Amateur, New Zealand Amateur,
Mexican Amateur and Commonwealth Championship.
The accomplishments
of these great players and one builder, make Collier proud.
In fact, they make her prouder than even her own accomplishments.
With
a Hall of Fame, the one thing you never want to do is lower
the bar, Collier said. With the induction of these
four people, we have maintained the level of excellence.
Golf
is a wonderful sport. One day you start out as a junior and
years later, you end up in the Hall of Fame. Weve been
so fortunate in Manitoba to have had so many wonderful players
and wonderful people involved in our game.
But
golf in Manitoba is really about all the volunteers. Aihlin
Walker and Peggy Colonello were wonderful volunteers for golf.
I worked with Lorraine (McLeod) for years. In fact, it was
Lorraine who encouraged me to go national.
If
not for volunteers, the players wouldnt have the tournaments
to play in. Without volunteers, golf wouldnt be the
great game that it is. McLeod would certainly agree
with that.
In
2003, my husband Angus and my daughter Heather and I went
to Scotland to play the Old Course, Lorraine recalled
fondly. We never would have done that together without
my having been involved with golf as a volunteer. And, you
know, it was the best thing that ever could have happened
to us.
Its
been a wonderful life with golf.
(Read
more in the Oct
19 -Nov 8/2010 issue of Senior Scope)
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Financial
Solutions
Designating
a beneficiary on an RRSP or RRIF
Prepared by The
Investors Group Advanced Financial Planning Team
BRIAN
G. KONRAD CFP, Financial Consultant
*This article is only applicable to RRSPs and RRIFs that are
not segregated fund contracts, as life insurance products
such as segregated fund contracts are governed under separate
legislation. This article is not applicable in Quebec.
Do you
have a Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) or a Registered
Retirement Income Funds (RRIF)? Designating a beneficiary
to your RRSP or RRIF is often presented as sound financial
planning, since doing so can avoid probate and probate fees.
However, a direct beneficiary designation can result in some
negative consequences such as inequitable treatment of heirs,
unintended elimination of heirs and unexpected tax consequences
to the designated beneficiary.
Taxation
at death
If you
designated a beneficiary to your RRSP or RRIF with your financial
institution, then the entire value of the RRSP or RRIF will
be paid directly to your designated beneficiary, with no withholding
for tax. However, when you die, you will be deemed to have
disposed of all your assets, immediately before your death,
which means that the full value of your registered investments
will be included in your tax return in the year of death.
Regardless of who you designate as your beneficiary, your
estate will be responsible for paying any resulting tax liability.
However, if your estate does not have sufficient funds to
cover the taxes owing, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) can
collect the taxes owing from your RRSP or RRIF beneficiary.
If your beneficiary is unaware of this potential tax liability,
he or she could be in for an unpleasant surprise when a tax
bill arrives. As the settlement of the estate can take some
time, there have been cases in which the beneficiary has already
spent the inheritance before being notified of the tax liability.
If your
RRSP or RRIF is paid to a qualified beneficiary,
then the tax can be deferred if your beneficiary chooses to
transfer the funds to another registered investment. A qualified
beneficiary can be either your spouse or common-law
partner or your financially dependent child or grandchild.
Inequitable
treatment of heirs due to taxation
Because your estate is initially responsible for the tax
liability on your RRSPs and RRIFs, designating a beneficiary
could result in the inequitable treatment of your heirs.
Example:
Alice
was a resident of Ontario, and had three children (Sam, Jamie,
and Susan) and no surviving spouse. She wanted each child
to inherit an equal portion of her assets.
When Alice died,
her assets were comprised of $400,000 of nonregistered assets
with a $200,000 capital gain and a $200,000 RRSP. Alice made
Sam the direct beneficiary of the RRSP, and her will divided
the rest of her estate (the non-registered assets) equally
between Jamie and Susan.
Alice thought
that this would leave each child with an equal portion of
her assets. What Alice did not take into account was the fact
that there would be no withholding tax on the payment of the
RRSPs assets to Sam, and her estate would be responsible for
paying the income tax on the RRSP and the capital gain from
the non-registered investments, as well as any probate fees.
Alices
executor will have to add $300,000 of income to Alices
terminal tax return i.e. $200,000 of income from her
RRSP and $100,000 of income from the taxable capital gain
on the nonregistered investment. Assuming a marginal tax rate
of 46%, the taxes owing would be $138,000. In addition, Ontario
probate fees on her $400,000 investment would come to at least
$5,500. Thus, between them James and Susan will only have
$256,500 to split, or $128,250 each, while Sam has an inheritance
of $200,000.
Planning
for a blended family
Do you
have a blended family? Would you like to provide
an income for your surviving spouse for the remainder of your
spouses lifetime, but ensure that any remaining capital
goes to your children, and not your spouses family?
If thats what you want to do, then you should not designate
your spouse as the direct beneficiary of your RRSP or RRIF,
but pay the RRSP or RRIF to your estate. If your spouse inherits
by direct beneficiary designation, then you lose the ability
to impose any strings on that inheritance. You
can instead indicate in your will that the RRSP or RRIF is
to be payable to a trust for your spouse but recognize
that any rollover will be lost in that case, and
taxes will be owing when you die.
Alternatively,
you could use life insurance or other assets to provide your
children with an inheritance and leave the RRSP or RRIF to
your spouse, or you can indicate that your spouse will inherit
the value of the RRSP or RRIF, but on condition that he or
she will transfer the amounts to another registered investment
so that the estate is not liable for any taxes in respect
of the RRSP
or RRIF. If your spouse chooses to take a payment in cash
from the estate, then you can direct your executor to only
pay the after-tax value of the RRSP or RRIF to your spouse.
Locked-in
plans
Do you
have a locked-in plan (including a LIRA, LIF, LRIF, or PRIF)?
Your ability to name a beneficiary on a locked-in plan is
restricted by the pension legislation that governs the plan.
If you are the annuitant of a locked-in plan and you have
a spouse as defined in the particular pension
legislation at the time of your death, your spouse
will almost always be automatically entitled to the proceeds
of the plan.
Your spouse
can waive his or her right to the death benefits from a locked-in
plan in Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador,
Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan, allowing you to designate
a non-spouse beneficiary, but your spouse can also revoke
his or her waiver at any time prior to your death.
Example:
Ken is divorced, has an adult child (Kate) and lives in British
Columbia. He has a locked-in plan subject to British Columbia
pension legislation, and designates Kate as his beneficiary.
Ten years later, Ken gets married to Gail, and 2 weeks after
that, Ken dies. Gail did not sign a prescribed waiver form,
so the proceeds of the locked-in plan will be paid to Gail,
even if Ken might have preferred to have them paid to Kate.
Because Ken had assumed that Kate would receive his locked-in
plan, he did not make alternate provisions for her in his
will.
Summary
In some
cases, it may be appropriate for you to designate a beneficiary
on your RRSP or RRIF, but there are many cases when you might
prefer to have your RRSP or RRIF payable to your estate and
distributed in accordance with the terms of your will. While
probate avoidance could result in some savings, it can also
create many problems and potentially strained relations amongst
your heirs. Be very careful before making a direct beneficiary
designation on your RRSP or RRIF. For further information
and advice please contact your Investors Group Consultant.
__________________________________
BRIAN
G. KONRAD CFP
Financial Consultant
brian.konrad@investorsgroup.com
(204) 489-4640 ext. 246
100-1345 WAVERLEY STREET
WINNIPEG, MB R3T 5Y6
1-888-205-4828
This report
is intended as a general source of information only, and is
not intended as a solicitation to buy or sell specific investments,
nor is it intended to provide tax, legal or investment advice.
Clients should discuss their situation with their Investors
Group Consultant for advice based on their specific circumstances.
Trademark owned by IGM Financial Inc. and licensed to
its subsidiary corporations.
Locked-In accounts - Why pension jurisdiction
is important? ©2009 Investors Group Inc. (03/2009)
MP1567
(Read
more in the Oct
19 -Nov 8/2010 issue of Senior Scope)
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America
hes
your president
for goodness sake!
William J. Thomas
There
was a time not so long ago when Americans, regardless of their
political stripes, rallied round their president. Once elected,
the man who won the White House was no longer viewed as a
republican or democrat, but the President of the United States.
The oath of office was taken, the wagons were circled around
the countrys borders and it was America versus the rest
of the world with the president of all the people at the helm.
Suddenly
President Barack Obama, with the potential to become an exceptional
president has become the glaring exception to that unwritten,
patriotic rule.
Four days
before President Obamas inauguration, before he officially
took charge of the American government, Rush Limbaugh boasted
publicly that he hoped the president would fail. Of course,
when the president fails the country flounders. Wishing harm
upon your country in order to further your own narrow political
views is selfish, sinister and a tad treasonous as well.
Subsequently
during his State of the Union address which is pretty much
a pep rally for America, an unknown congressman from South
Carolina, later identified as Joe Wilson, stopped the show
when he called the President of the United States a liar.
The president showed great restraint in ignoring this unprecedented
insult and carried on with his speech. Speaker Nancy Pelosi
was so stunned by the slur she forgot to jump to her feet
while clapping wildly, thirty or forty times after that.
Last spring
President Obama took his wife Michelle to see a play in New
York City and republicans attacked him over the cost of security
for the excursion. The president cant take his wife
out to dinner and a show without being scrutinized by the
political opposition? As history has proven, a president in
a theatre without adequate security is a tragically bad idea.
Remember:
Apart from that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the
play?
At some
point the treatment of President Obama went from offensive
to ugly and then to downright dangerous.
The health
care debate which looked more like extreme fighting in a mud
pit than a national dialogue revealed a very vulgar side of
America. President Obamas face appeared on protest signs
white-faced and blood-mouthed in a satanic clown image. In
other tasteless portrayals, people who disagreed with his
position distorted his face to look like Hitler complete with
mustache and swastika.
Odd, that
burning the flag makes Americans crazy, but depicting the
president as a clown and a maniacal fascist is accepted as
part of the new rude America.
Maligning
the image of the leader of the free world is one thing, putting
the presidents life in peril is quite another. More
than once men with guns were videotaped at the health care
rallies where the president spoke. Again,
history shows that letting men with guns get within range
of a president has not served America well in the past.
And still
the birthers are out there claiming Barak Obama
was not born in the United States, although public documentation
proves otherwise. Hawaii is definitely part of the United
States, but the Panama Canal Zone where his electoral opponent
Senator John McCain was born? Nobodys really sure.
Last month
a 44-year-old woman in Buffalo was quite taken by President
Obama when she met him in a chicken wing restaurant called
Duffs. Did she way something about a pleasure and an
honor to meet the man or utter encouraging words for the difficult
job he is doing? No. Quote: Youre a hottie with
a smokin little body.
Lady,
that was the President of the United States you were addressing,
not one of the Jonas Brothers! Hes your president for
goodness sakes not the guy driving the zamboni at Monster
Trucks On Ice. Whats next, Take Your President
To A Topless Bar Day.
In President
Barack Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good
and honest heart. Unlike his predecessor, hes a very
intelligent leader. And unlike that presidents predecessor
hes a highly moral man.
In President
Obama, Americans have the real deal, the whole package and
a leader that citizens of almost every country around the
world look to with great envy.
What America
has in Obama is a head of state with vitality and insight
and youth. Think about it, Barack Obama is a young Nelson
Mandela. Mandela was the face of change and charity for all
of Africa but he was too old to make it happen. The great
things Obama might do for America and the world could go on
for decades after hes out of office.
America,
you know not what you have.
The man
is being challenged unfairly, characterized with vulgarity
and treated with the kind of deep disrespect to which no previous
president was subjected. Its like the day after electing
the first black man to be president, thereby electrifying
the world with hope and joy, Americans sobered up and decided
the bad old days were better.
President
Obama may fail but it will not be a Richard Nixon default
fraught with larceny and lies. President Obama given a fair
chance will surely succeed but his triumph will never come
with a Bill Clinton caveat if only hed
got control of that zipper.
Please.
Give the man a fair, fighting chance. This incivility toward
the leader who won over Americans and gave hope to billions
of people around the world that their lives could be enhanced
by his example, just naturally has to stop.
Believe
me, when Americans drive by the White House and see a sign
on the lawn that reads: No shirt. No shoes. No service,
theyll realize this new national rudeness has gone way,
way too far.
______________________________
William
Thomas is the author
of nine books of humour.
For comments, ideas or a signed book,
go to www.williamthomas.ca
(Read
more in the Oct
19 -Nov 8/2010 issue of Senior Scope)
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