Welcome to another exciting month at the Centre.
As succinctly put in the title, we are at a crossroads. As I’ve indicated before, we have experienced tremendous growth for the last couple of years. Our membership is up, to over 2000. With it we have had to deal with issues related to space, food services, and the ability to provide adequate activities to service all our members. As I previously have reported, the Board unanimously agreed that there was the need to hire an Executive Director. We have indeed interviewed candidates for the position and hopefully very shortly we will be announcing that we have been able to hire an extremely well qualified candidate for the position.
The hiring of an Executive Director marks a significant shift in our leadership structure. It will shift the organization from being led by an Operational Board of Directors to a Governance Board.
This means the Board will no longer be directly responsible for the day-to-day management of the staff, programs and services but will instead focus on governance functions such as setting strategic direction, establishing policy, ensuring financial accountability, and upholding the organization’s mission. As a result, the President’s role will evolve from overseeing daily operations to leading the board in its governance responsibilities, facilitating effective decision-making, and maintaining a strong working relationship with the Executive Director. The Executive Director, in turn, will assume responsibility for the overall management of the Centre, including supervising staff and volunteers, overseeing programs and services, managing finances within the approved budget, and implementing the strategic goals set by the board. This structure ensures a clear separation between governance and operations, strengthening accountability and organizational effectiveness. However, this governance change will not change our joyous and supportive environment that you, the volunteers, staff and Board have created over the past years.
With our Board itself there have been changes. We are very pleased to congratulate Mark Garland on his promotion by the Board to the open Vice President’s position. This leaves two Director-at-large positions open. We are asking for members to come forward who would like to have a say in how we are run and fill these roles until the elections that will occur at the Annual General Meeting in March 2026. If you are interested in being nominated for one of the positions, please contact me at .
On October 29th at 1:30pm we will be holding the Fall General Meeting. Please make a point of attending so that you can learn about future plans and can have the opportunity to voice your opinions to the Board.
Thanks again to our wonderful staff and volunteers that have created the success that has necessitated our governance change that will lead to greater efficiency and sustainability in the operation of the Centre. Have a great September!
