by Don Boykiw, [email protected]
I am writing what I believe is now my 42nd monthly President’s Message. Last fall, I wrote that I intended to step down as President after 3 years at the helm, and I spectacularly failed at the attempt. Our Annual Meeting was held on September 16th, and to the chagrin of many, you are stuck with me until our next Annual General Meeting, hopefully in early spring 2021.
However, all is not lost! Since last year, we have had the privilege of having five new members join the Board, including three at our AGM. I look forward to working with Marty Bentley (who has been involved, along with his family, in the community in one way or another for over 50 years), Paresh Thanawala (a new director at large), and Kelly Edwards (our new Board Secretary).
I hope over the next six months that we can convince a few more of our keen and interested community minded residents to join and keep our organization healthy, fresh and growing, so at our spring AGM, we will have five more board members!
Succession planning for volunteer boards is always a challenge, and finding replacements for positions before the incumbent gets tired and steps down is hard. For that reason, I sincerely hope that a few of you who read this newsletter will consider taking the first step of joining our volunteer board. After that, who knows!
Many of you lead very active lives, and are often too busy with work, family, sports or other cultural activities to get involved with your community association. Volunteerism takes time, but it is satisfying.
We have a great and resilient community, and I am often reminded of why we do what we do.
Watching a family new to the neighborhood skate for the first time on ice that is maintained by our many icemaking volunteers makes me swell with pride in our community’s spirit.
Having a long-time community resident walk up to me to say hello when they arrive for painting, line dancing, or other daytime classes, and asking me to say thank you to our board and volunteers for their tireless work over the past 2 years to make our building a success, proves that we have an enduring community spirit in Willow Ridge.
Many of your directors put in much more than what a President could ever hope for in a volunteer board, and I am very grateful to be part of a group of people that care for their community, and each other, in such a positive and committed manner. Thank you all for your assistance and participation, and I hope that our volunteer spirit continues to build.
As you will read elsewhere in our newsletter, Craig Peers, our current GM, recently resigned. Alison Ramsay has agreed to join us as our GM (interim) to help us manage our community while we consider how our business, and our staffing model, might need to adapt to these interesting and changing times.
Thank you, Craig, for your dedication and hard work over the past year, and welcome, Alison!
