President’s Report for the year November 2019 to November 2020
The period under review has been a period of epic proportions unknown to our present generation and which was unimaginable at the beginning of the term. The arrival of the Covid-19 virus brought an end to our regular operations and meetings as of March 2020. Contact with our membership continued via phone and internet. We are looking into and familiarizing ourselves in the use of modern day technology such as Zoom virtual meetings and call-in for those members not familiar with or in possession of the new technology. Let me as President thank our Vice President Jerry Halliday and every member of the Board of Management and every member for their attendance, cooperation, input, help, resourcefulness and their contributions to the organization which resulted in making our meetings effective and meaningful.
The Board of Management of the Mississauga 55 Plus Cari-Can Group is as follows:
President – Orlander Marshall
Vice President- Jerry Halliday
Secretary- Rita Challenger
Assistant Secretary- Betty Pottinger
Treasurer – Lotys Gooding
Public Relations Officer- Wilma Francis
Assistant Public Relations Officer- Lorna Noel
Social Coordinator- Pearline Clarke
Assistant Social Coordinator – Irene Halliday
Assistant Health Coordinator- Gene Green
Health Coordinator – Eureta Mayers
Internal Auditor – Leroy Nelson
Trustees – Gloria Davis, Frank Smith and Roy Maynard
The Board was elected at our Annual General Meeting of November 2019 held at Creditvale Mills, 1535 South Parade Court, Mississauga, Ontario. The board meetings were held on the last Friday of every month up to the arrival of the Covid pandemic.
Financial
Our finances have been negatively impacted by the Covid pandemic and situation as no monies could be collected due to the epidemic and our non-meetings. Our Treasurer, Lotys Gooding and Internal Auditor, Leroy Nelson worked assiduously to meet our collection targets prior to the epidemic. Our loss/profit margin improved for our Christmas dinner/dance at the end of 2019. As a result of the Covid issue there were no fundraising events.
Website
Our website was established and has been a communication tool for our members. Thanks to Lorna Noel our Assistant Public Relations Officer and Irene Halliday our Assistant Social Coordinator for the upkeep and ongoing use of this important technological process. Again I will thank everyone involved in the coordination and set up of the website and must mention the hard work of our Secretary for her dedicated contribution in keeping our membership informed and updated by way of email.
Programs
We thank our Social Coordinator, Pearline Clarke and the Committee Members for their diligent and conscientious work in putting together the events held up to our closure as a result of the Covid pandemic. We held our Christmas Banquet, the Men’s Christmas Dinner and our Valentine’s Day celebration. Our Christmas Dinner/Dance was well attended. We came close to breaking even. Again, thanks to the Social Coordinator and every member of her committee and to everyone who contributed to the success of the occasion.
Cultural
Norma Carter continued in her role of our Dancing Coordinator. Thanks to Norma and the members of the dance group. Edwin Wilson, our resident musical person, must be thanked for his ongoing musical contribution to our club and for the set up of our PA system at our meetings. Our Social Committee Coordinator, Pearline Clarke, and her group of volunteers must also be thanked for their cultural contributions and for the planning of cultural activities.
Scholarships
We presented two scholarship awards to family members of the organization. Our scholarship was established in the memory of our late dedicated member Marcella Wilson. The scholarship winners were Julia Johnson, who is pursuing Fashion Design at Humber College and Thianna Edwards, who is pursuing studies at the University of Waterloo in Applied Health Sciences. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the Scholarship Committee under the chairmanship of Jerry Halliday. The members of the Committee are Jerry Halliday (Chair), Pearline Clarke, Eurieta Cummings, Edwin Wilson, Irene Halliday, Winston Cross and Rita Challenger. Thanks to the club members for their support as we help in the tertiary education of our youth.
Sick Members
Our list of sick members continues to grow as our membership ages. We communicate with our sick members as notified. We recognize the role in this department played by our Health Coordinator, Eureta Mayers, her assistant Gene Green, our Treasurer Lotys Gooding, Frank Smith, Trustee, JohnMcCarthy and other members. The President continued to be involved in this process as well. We do wish our sick members God’s blessings.
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