Our Community Association had a successful AGM on November 15th, with very good attendance and some interesting and relevant discussion.
Councillor Farrell attended and was able to respond to some of our residents’ concerns and answer questions about future changes in and around our neighbourhood.
We would like to welcome Jeff Allan, our new President and Kathryn Winkler, Treasurer.
Thank you also to board members who are continuing in their positions – the upcoming year will be a good one!
Submitted by Laura Hunt
November 15, 2017
It is once again November and time for our AGM. Another busy year has gone by and our Community Association has been active, striving to achieve goals that support and enhance our community. I sincerely thank all of you who have generously given your time and talents to make our year a successful one.
I encourage you to read the directors’ reports about their many accomplishments this past year. They will give you details about the projects and activities that your board has been involved with over the last 12 months. I would now like to highlight some of these accomplishments.
Better governance and administration:
Last February our board held a special general meeting to address needed updates and revisions to our bylaws. A dry subject but integral to who we are and the rules by which we conduct our association’s business.
To give practical and detailed structure to running our association, our board put together a Business Plan. This plan outlines our activities, priorities and projects and give guidance to those who are involved with them. We are also currently putting together a Policies and Procedures manual. This will give us protocols for a range of activities, from screening potential board members and employees to how gym staff are to deal with the public who uses our facility.
We have improved out governance of the community run play school. This started with a name change to reflect our Community Association’s sponsorship – the play school is now the HH-BH Community Association Play School. Our audits have been done by the same auditor this year and you will see the play school’s audit along with our community’s in the auditor’s report.
A community survey and membership drive is happening this month. Please take part and help us learn what is important to you so that our board can better focus and deliver on these issues.
Last March we hired a full time Executive Director, Guy Latour, to help our board with administrative duties and projects such as the business plan. He gives technical support to our directors, for example, keeping our website up to date and sharing his experience with sports programming and building projects. He also manages our facility and staff. Guy has done a wonderful job so far with these tasks and has played an important role in our success this year.
With Guy’s help, our gym revenue has increased due to bookings and increased numbers of programs such as pickle ball and fitness classes. We have completed a costly roof repair with the help of a substantial grant, and finally, after many years of discussion, sound baffles have been installed in our gym.
Our Vice-President, Carol Sandahl, is doing an excellent job leading our facility expansion project and we are looking forward to having more space and versatility to allow us to offer a greater variety of programs to residents and to rent our building to outside groups. She would like to have you involved so please attend her meetings the third Wednesday of each month.
This past year has presented our community with some big potential development projects and our Community Association board has worked to enhance communication between residents and the city’s municipal government so that our concerns and ideas will be heard. We hosted a workshop and open house to allow discussion and input on future changes at North Hill Mall last June, and are currently supporting a group of concerned residents’ dialog with the city and a developer who is proposing a student residential tower in Banff Trail.
To commemorate the end of the community run kindergarten in 2016, we hosted a reunion party last November and purchased a set of early emergent reading books for the Briar Hill Elementary School kindergarten. Each book contains a name plate to remind its readers of this valuable community program.
Finally, I would like to thank our board members for their work and for supporting me as President these last two years. I have been honoured to serve you and I thank you for your support in so many ways. I am now stepping down to attend to other family and volunteer obligations and interests and to allow opportunities for new leadership and ideas. But as of now, no one has stepped forward to fill this role along with some other board positions so our board is in a state of flux.
Our board is run by volunteers and is only as strong as its members. Our Community Association is relevant and successful, and an important part of our neighbourhood. Please do your part to help this organization continue.
Also, please know that you are always welcome to attend our meetings or communicate with board members individually, and that we value your input and participation in our Community Association.
Yours sincerely,
Laura
