The Mississauga 55 Plus Cari-Can Group
President’s Report for September 2023 – September 2024Fellow members of the Board of Management of the Mississauga 55 Plus Cari-Can group and members of our prestigious organization, we have completed yet another successful year. Our success and achievements are the result of your hard work, commitment, and total cooperation. I do express my deepest and heartfelt appreciation which shall be forever etched in my mind. I do want to assure you that it has been quite an honour to serve as your President. Our organization continued to grow and we were blessed with the attendance of many visitors at our meetings and celebrations. Thanks to members who brought guests to the club, and to the members who introduced and brought in new members to the club.
Our meetings were held at the Churchill Meadow Library and Older Adult Community Centre at 3801 Thomas Street, Mississauga, Ontario, L5M 7G2. We thank the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Mississauga for their ongoing support and for allowing us to use this facility which is quite accessible and friendly for us Senior Citizens.
We do recognize and thank the employees of the city for their ongoing help and assistance. I do note that we do have a working relationship with the library staff, and we do express our thanks to them.
Thanks to every member for any contribution made which added to the ongoing operation of the organization. We should all be justly proud of our accomplishments.
It is most essential that we recognize the work done by our Vice President, Jerry Halliday, our Secretary, Rita Challenger, our Social Coordinator, Pearline Clarke, our Assistant Social Coordinator, Betty Pottinger, our Assistant Secretary, Irene Halliday, our Treasurer, Lotys Gooding, our Trustees, Frank Smith (past President), Roy Maynard (past President), and Gloria Davis, our Public Relations Officer, Wilma Francis, our Assistant Public Relations Officer, Lorna Noel, our Health Coordinator, Norma Carter, and our Auditor, Leroy Nelson.
Again, congratulations to every member for any contributions made, thus ensuring a very illustrious year for the Mississauga 55+ Cari-Can Group.
The Board of Management
The board of management of the Mississauga 55+ Cari-Can group for the period ending September 2024 are as follows:
President Orlander Marshall Vice President Jerry HallidaySecretary
Assistant Secretary
Treasurer
Public Relations Officer
Assistance Public Relations Officer Social Coordinator
Assistant Social Coordinator Health Coordinator
Trustees
Internal Auditor
Rita Challenger
Irene Halliday
Lotys Gooding
Wilma Francis
Lorna Noel
Pearline Clarke
Betty Pottinger
Norma Carter
Gloria Davis, Frank Smith, Roy Maynard Leroy Nelson
I do express appreciation and gratitude to our past president Frank Smith, who led the organization during the period of my indisposition. Frank was ably assisted by every board member and every valued member. Board members are thanked and appreciated for their ongoing dedicated work to the group.
Attendance
The number of members attending each meeting averaged 52 persons up from the last period. The numbers are broken down as follows:
● Total Membership – 98
● Active Members – 58
● Sick Members/Shut-ins – 18
● New Members – 11
Mobility, transportation, and ageing factors have all had an impact on the attendance of some of our members. We did continue to have the support of members of the community at our social events. For this, we are truly grateful. We do thank the management staff at the centre for their work done on our behalf.
Membership
The Mississauga 55+ Carican group continued to be a member of the Mississauga Senior Group, the group which advocates on behalf of seniors in Mississauga. Our representatives of this organization are: Roy Maynard, past President and Lorna Noel, our Assistant Public Relations Officer. We commend our representatives for keeping members updated with the necessary information. Our membership with the United Senior Citizens of Ontario was also maintained. Miriam Marshall is complimented for her representation and performance at the “Seniors Have Talent Show” sponsored by the Mississauga Senior Council. Thanks are expressed to the president and council for their hard work and lobbying on behalf of the senior citizens.Programmes
A detailed report on our programmes will be provided in the report of the Social Coordinator, Pearline Clarke.
A well thought out programme was presented to members. These items were social and educational. There were lectures, exercises, a fashion show, a talent show, the King and Queen Spring Fling Event, and the celebration of our 20th and 21st years of existence as an organization. The members involved in the planning and execution are recognized and appreciated. We do thank them for their hard work.
Special Mention is made of the presentations by Norma Carter, our Health Coordinator, and Rita Challenger, our Secretary, on topics relevant to the group.
The members of the ad hoc committee were: Pearline Clarke – Social Coordinator
Jerry Halliday – Vice President
Rita Challenger – Secretary
Irene Halliday – Assistant Secretary Norma Carter – Health Coordinator
Members of this committee along with members of the general body are thanked for their involvement, assistance, and input.
Gloria Davis, one of our Trustees presented an Art programme for our members. Thank you Gloria for your hard work and congrats to the members who participated in the programme. Members are invited to take part in this activity.
Training
Andy Wedderburn, a Senior Support Specialist, offered training courses in computer usage and operation to our members. He did assist a few members with technical training. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts for his offer, and do expect an increase in the number of trainees in the new year.
Financial Matters
We thank our Treasurer, Lotys Gooding, for her diligent, dedicated, and hard work in the handling of our finances. She is assisted by our Trustees, Roy Maynard, past President, Frank Smith, past President, and Gloria Davis. This is a key area in our operations. We found ourselves in the red on some monthly reports. All members are encouraged to pay their dues and annual fees. It is imperative we avoid falling into the red. We commend our auditor, Leroy Nelson for working closely with our Treasurer in maintaining accurate records.Sick Members & Shut-ins
Our sick members were communicated with by our Health Coordinator Norma Carter on a regular basis. She reported to the general body at our regular weekly meetings. Other members remained in contact and visited with our shut-ins. I do commend our members for their displays of empathy and caring and for taking time off to be involved.
Some of the members visiting them were: Norma Carter (Health Coordinator), Lotys Gooding (Treasurer), Frank Smith (past President and Trustee), John McClarity, Rita Challenger (Secretary), and Lionel Challenger.
Our Health Coordinator, Norma Carter, has advised that she would not be seeking re-election. We do thank Norma for her hard work, commitment, and dedication to the organization as well.
Entertainment
Edwin Wilson is thanked for providing the musical entertainment to the group. He looked after our PA System. His musical contribution is appreciated and recognized. Thanks to Alvin Barrington who provided great assistance to Edwin, as well as contributed in other ways.
Cultural
Our members continued to enjoy themselves in dance. Thank you to Norma Carter, our Health Coordinator for all her effort in this area. It is hoped that we will have a dancing group created next year. Again we commend Edwin Wilson for his prowess in keeping up to date with the industry.
Birthdays
Giving birthday cards for members celebrating birthdays was reintroduced. Our past President, Winston Cross and Jerry Halliday, our Vice President, are involved in the programme. We do thank them for their work as we bring joy to our members for their special day.Scholarships
During the review period we offered scholarships to two students who were accepted into tertiary institutions.
The Scholarship offered by the organization is the Marcella Wilson Scholarship, which was established in memory of Marcella Wilson, who made a significant contribution to the group.
The recipients were:
Jasmine Pinnock, Granddaughter of Alvin Barrington – Jasmine is pursuing a degree in Integrated Science at the McMaster University.
Alyssa Collis-Clarke, Granddaughter of Horace and Pearline Clarke who will be attending the University of Guelph majoring in Veterinary Science.
We do wish them well in their studies.
The scholarship fund is derived from our annual walk-a-thon. During the period under review the walk-a-thon raised $2000.00.
We do thank the members of the committee, our members, and the general public for their support in the walk-a-thon and this venture. T
The scholarship committee members were:
Jerry Halliday (Chair) Pearline Clarke Edwin Wilson
Irene Halliday
Rita Challenger Lorna Noel
We commend and thank the committee members for their work and involvement. Charitable Contributions
Non-perishable food items were collected and donated to the Mississauga Food Bank. Our past President, Frank Smith, and our Vice President, Jerry Halliday, are thanked for their work in this area. Thanks go out to all members for their contributions.In Memoriam
During the period under review, the following members were called home to be with our Lord. We shall always remember them:
Eunice Brown Alvin Gordon
Edna Hazel Rudolph Campbell Lorenzo McFarland Victor Guishard
Members are again thanked for the support given to the families of our departed brothers and sisters as they mourn their loss. May their souls rest in Eternal peace and the perpetual light shine upon them.
Website
Our website, miss55pluscaricangroup.com, was restored, thanks to the work of Lorna Noel, our Assistant Public Relations Officer, My Phan, a member of the Mississauga Senior Council, along with input from Gregory Gooding, the son of our Treasurer, Lotus Gooding.
We do thank our past President and Trustee, Roy Maynard, who was involved with the setup of our site and who paid the fees for a period of time.
Members are encouraged to use the site and invite others to visit the site.
Special Mentions
Mention is made of the ongoing work of Horace Clarke who prepared meals for members on special occasions as well as monthly. We do appreciate and thank Horace who had our Social Coordinator Pearline Clarke at his side. Thank you, Pearline, for your extremely hard work. Thanks to all the members who volunteered to work with Pearline in serving, and after, clearance of the meals.
A big thank you to members who helped in the setup and clearance of the room before and after our weekly sessions and on special occasions.
Our Secretary, Rita Challenger, is thanked for keeping the membership updated and informed on all matters. Rita worked closely with the city, as required, in ensuring that we followed all of the requirements and requests of the city.
- Lorna Noel, our Assistant Public Relations Officer, worked closely with our Treasurer Lotys Gooding as it related to our new members and updating of our membership records. We do thank Lorna and Lotys for all their work for the organization.
Our long serving Treasurer, Lotys Gooding, is thanked for her solid work in effectively maintaining our financial records which enables our group to continue to flourish. Her dedication is greatly appreciated.
Thanks to Leroy Nelson, our auditor who worked tirelessly with Lotys to ensure that we were compliant with proper record keeping procedures.
Acknowledgement
Our thanks and appreciation to Mayor Carolyn Parrish, Councillors, staff, and employees of the city of Mississauga for their financial support, guidance, and help.
Finally, I do thank every member of the organization for their involvement, help, contributions, suggestions, input, ideas, cooperation, and consideration. We continue to play a role in the lives of our senior citizens of this great city, and country of Canada.
Orlander R. Marshal
President