Highlights of the Annual General Meeting Minutes

from President, Karen Debergh

Executive Report

Karen Debergh reported on the many changes to the Chamber this year; a few directors have stepped down and Tina’s hours have increased. The Chamber received a grant from Service Canada and we were able to hire 3 great summer students. The Chamber’s finances are stabilizing and now the Chamber can start fresh.

Appoint Auditor

The Board discussed the current auditor and are happy with Bailey Kearney Ferguson.

Committee Reports

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  • Finance Committee: Karen Debergh reported on the Financial Reports. Karen has asked Tina to change the reports to include a Profit/Loss report from last AGM and a Profit/Loss report from January to current month end. The loan payments for the signage project will be done in February. There was a discussion regarding the Miscellaneous Revenue and Expense accounts; they need to be split up so the board can tell what is there. A few suggestions were made; to have the full financial statements made available to members and to have the minutes from the Board meetings included in the e-blasts.
  • Business Excellence Committee: Gloria Tulp reported on the Business Excellence Committee. The Awards Night turned out really good and was well attended with over 100 there. The venue was wonderful at the golf course because we were able to have the appetizers in one room and the awards ceremony in another.
  • Special Events Committee: Chuck Ferris reported on the Special Events Committee. Attendance at Business after Hours events has increased with each event. Going into next year the committee would like to see 2 co-hosts per event to help increase attendance further. The Beach Bash in February was a huge success. The Chamber is partnering with The Black Goose for a New Year’s Party as a fundraiser for the Chamber. The committee is looking at doing a Curling Bonspiel in February 2015.
  • Golf Committee: Karen Debergh reported on the Golf Committee. The Annual Golf Tournament hosted 13 1/2 teams and included a hole-in-one contest sponsored by Progressive Ford. Canadian Tire donated a bar fridge for the putting contest. The golfers loved their mulligans; over $300 was raised. The Chamber promoted 10 local businesses through hole sponsorship during the event.
  • Membership/Marketing Committee: Ron Laroche reported on the Membership/Marketing Committee. There are still opportunities available for the Bridging Opportunities Signs. Karen Debergh reported that we had 23 dropped memberships and 9 new members this year to date.

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Changes to Current By-Laws

The proposed changes to the current By-Laws were included in the board packages. Recommendations have been made through the Board over the last couple of months. Ron Laroche read the pending changes to be approved; which were presented 30 days prior to the AGM.

Call for Nominations – 2014/15 Board of Directors

Ron Laroche thanked everyone for their interest in the board; welcoming the returning directors and thanked the Nomination Committee. Ron read off a list of returning directors and nominations for the new officers and asked if they would let their name stand. Directors not in attendance stated their position to Ron by email or phone. The returning officers are Carmen McGregor, Karen Debergh, Ron Laroche, Chuck Ferris, Randy McNeil and Andrew Jeffs. The nominations for new officers are Ashley Oughtred, Carol Emery, Denise Haslam, Jered Sweet, Henrie Timmers, Dennis Debot, Mark Matteis, Adam Rose, Kevin Blake and Keith Rabidoux. Ron then opened it up to the floor for further nominations; there were none.

Call for Nominations – 2014/15 Executive Committee

The Executive Committee was voted on and is as follows: Karen Debergh, President; Chuck Ferris, Vice-President; Randy McNeil, Treasurer; and Ron Laroche, Secretary.

New Business

Karen Debergh discussed the signup sheet for the committees; each director has to be actively on at least one committee. There is a public meeting regarding the Walking Bridge; someone should attend on behalf of the Chamber; Mark Matteis and Karen Debergh volunteered. Karen mentioned that an orientation would be set up for the new directors.