It just seems like yesterday that the New Board was sworn in, and we were looking forward to a year with fewer COVID protocol issues and seeing the Centre alive with all the usual activities and perhaps even some new ones.
This has certainly happened; walking around the Centre it’s rewarding to see so much activity, all rooms are mostly occupied, the dining room is going full speed, and the auditorium is busy most of the day, and all weekend. So thank you members for returning in increased numbers and keeping this Centre one of the really “in” places to be.
I would at this time like to thank the current Board of Directors for really stepping up and giving tirelessly of their time to ensure the Centre ran as smoothly as possible. Gillian Smith, President managed to juggle a position at the Sechelt Library and still perform her duties as President. Alison Kowalewski, our Treasurer does not sleep at the Centre (as many of you asked) but is in almost every day working at keeping our bottom line on the plus side of the ledger. Mark Garland and Viktor Kiss have worked tirelessly to streamline our computing system, and with the aid of a generous grant from the Sunshine Coast Community Forest Legacy Fund, have been able to upgrade our audio video ability. Ken Legge, Maintenance Director, has quickly attended to any issue regarding our building (including getting leaky toilets fixed). Jim Quirk, the Board representative on the Kitchen Committee, has established a nice relationship with Emily and all the kitchen staff. Val Galat our secretary is the fastest minutes taker ever plus she has copies back for approval the same day as our meetings and is now Program Coordinator for Badminton. Sylvia Hockley has worked at practically everything we do as a Board, including Human Resources, record checker and a myriad of other duties. Fred Baines had started the year for us by preparing a spreadsheet that assigned various Board members to their specific committee and contributed to the AV Committee. Richard Ward joined us later in the year and almost immediately acquired a gaming license to get “Bingo” up and running. Plus, we have been receiving much sound advice from our Past President, Doug Smith. Thank you all.
Two items mentioned in the last Echo must now be updated. First, with Eric Kristiansen no longer with us it was evident that we very much needed a Centre Manager. The Board discussed the hiring possibilities and decided to approach Gillian Smith to see if she was interested in filling this position. It was obvious that Gillian would be an ideal fit, having handled the position prior to COVID, being familiar with our systems, skilled at dealing with mature adults, and well known and respected by the Membership. As the expression goes, ‘She could hit the floor running’. Gillian responded by offering to resign her position at the Sechelt Library as well as to resign as SSAC Board President to fill the position of SSAC Centre Manager. With these facts in mind, and with Gillian absent, the Board voted to accept Gillian’s offer. Gillian will work 5 days a week for a total of 25 hours per week and start a 3-month probationary period on March 13th. So welcome to the position Gillian and thank you for your work as SSAC President in the past year. In the interim, I have taken on the role of “President” until a new president is voted in at the AGM on March 8th.
Secondly, there will be no discussion or vote regarding our Constitution and Bylaws at the upcoming AGM. After much hard work and ongoing legal advice from Mr. William Macintosh, your Legislative and Legal Committee felt we were ready to bring together a document for the Membership to study, consider the recommendations and vote on the content. We had been counting on a two week deadline to get this document in the hands of the members, but according to the Societies Act pertinent information had to be in the hands of the membership 3 weeks in advance, plus it “must be posted” on our website at least 3 weeks in advance. We will decide whether to hold a special meeting to address this, or delay until the regular fall meeting.
It has been my pleasure to serve as Vice President, it has enabled me to meet and get to know many more members; thank you everyone for your kind comments. Hope to see you all at the AGM!
