Sunshine Club Annual General Meeting

Sunshine Club Annual General Meeting

Rosanne Fortier News Correspondent

The Senior Citizens Sunshine Club of Vegreville held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) recently.

The Sunshine Club currently has 140 members. Over 50 of its members participate on a weekly basis, 46 of which attended the AGM on Feb.26.

President Dwayne Hlady, chaired the meeting which began with the singing of O’Canada and was followed by one minute of silence in respect for departed members.

After this, members were asked to read the club’s vision statement which is as follows: “The Senior Citizens SunshineClub is a welcoming, involved and valued community member meeting a variety of seniors’ needs and interests in a safe, accessible and fun atmosphere.” The club is a registered charity offering an enjoyable gathering place for seniors, families and friends through a variety of activities in a welcoming atmosphere. Dwayne Hlady then presented his report. He said it had been an interesting and good year. Their facility is getting older and it needs loving care and attention. “This year our insurance went up so we had to do some looking around and do some price checking which we have done. We had to prioritize our needs. We had a few issues last year where we discovered there were leaks in the roof. We went in and got that sealed and are keeping an eye on it. Our building is on a 50 year lease with the town so we have to start thinking ahead about 16 years and start planning for this. As well, I am proud that people are starting to work together here because if you work together, it is easier than having everyone off doing their own thing.”

Brief reports were given from the chairpersons of the By-Law Committee, Facilities Committee, Catering Committee, Entertainment Committee, Education Committee, Member Activities, Community Input Committee (Strategic Plan Status) and Grant Funding Committee.

The Sunshine Club Executive in photo from left to right are Marlene Roth, Vice-President, Dwayne Hlady, President, and Don Harfield, Treasurer. (Rosanne Fortier/photo)

Treasurer Don Harfield said the Senior Citizens Sunshine Club of Vegreville is a volunteer run not-for-profit registered charitable organization.

“This has been a busy year for making improvements to the building including upgrading our outdoor lights, replacing our rear double doors, roofing maintenance, landscaping outside the front of the building, and giving our street sign a face lift. Most of this work was done by member donations or volunteer labour. We plan to upgrade our heating system this summer with the help of a Federal funding grant.

At our AGM, we passed a Special Resolution to revise our by-laws to include an Associate Member with full benefits between the ages of 40 and the regular member minimum age is 50. At the AGM, We also held our annual elections. We have four Executive positions and 10 Director positions which are elected on a rotating cycle to ensure continuity from year to year, stated Harfield.

The following positions were newly elected: Secretary (3 year term)-Mary Ryan, Directors (2 year term) Marion Baxandall, Al Belzile, Bob Carter, Carol Larrivee and Rita Smyth. Continuing positions on the Board are: President Dwayne Hlady, Vice-President, Marlene Roth, Treasurer, Don Harfield, Directors- Annie Arnott, Robert Hoyteniuk, Stacy Mynzak, Anne Soldan and Anna Tomyn.”