We’ve found a new name – together

After a year of exploring ideas and sharing points of view, we’ve arrived at a new name for RTOERO that better reflects who we are today and where we’re heading tomorrow.

This journey actually began back in 2019 when we created our new brand. After some discussion about potentially changing our name, we decided to carry on as RTOERO. But many members continued to question whether our six-letter acronym really fit an organization that has evolved dramatically. We’re no longer just in Ontario. We’re not only former teachers. And a growing number of us aren’t retired. Not to mention that our name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue and is often misheard.

So, last year we brought together a renaming team and began talking to members about the values, initiatives and shared experience that make our organization unique. Now, after months of workshops and consultations – and a member survey that received thousands of responses – we’re excited to share our proposed new name for RTOERO.

Here’s a two-minute video revealing our new name and why we feel it hits the mark:

As you can see, it’s a name we already know well – and that’s part of the reason we’re so excited about it. In fact, it was only after our renaming team was deep into the creative process, exploring hundreds of possibilities (and testing their legal use), that we realized the most promising solution was right in front of us.

When we introduced Entente as the new name for our group insurance program last year, it got an immediate positive response from members, and its popularity has only grown. So why not elevate Entente – a bilingual word that sums up how we interact with each other and our many partners – to become the name of our organization?

An entente is an agreement, an accord anchored by understanding and shared values. And it’s the spirit behind that agreement – a spirit of collaboration and mutual support in a community of trust. All of which certainly fits what our organization is today and what we aspire to be in the future.

We believe Entente answers the challenge we set for ourselves at the beginning of this process: to find a new name that doesn’t change who we are, but that better conveys how we’ve changed. And to underline what you’ll have noticed in the video: our brand colours, graphics and other elements all remain the same. Only our name is changing.

Corporate members will vote on the formal approval of our new name at a special meeting. In the meantime, we welcome your impressions, thoughts and questions – in the spirit of Entente.