2017-04-30 AGM Meeting

Chair's Report

Summary of Meetings

Go over the Programs from 2016 - 2017 from the Program History Document

We are now an official Society!

• We appointed an initial Board from the people already running Elderberries.
• We're registered with the RJSC
• We have Bylaws - there is a copy here being passed around.
• We could get insurance
• We are a non profit society. We are NOT a Charity
  • Charity is a lot of work to get and maintain - hundreds of hours of work to get, dozens of hours a year to maintain, but more importantly
  • Very much limits the kind of work we can do, specifically we would not be able to do political work
• Our official Year End is December 31st, but that's so long ago that our activities and financial reports are for up to March 31st 2017.

In February 2016 your Board had a discussion about money. One of the boardmembers was quite adamant that we should have some money to do things, the rest of us eventually agreed, and so we are now we pass the can at each meeting with extremely successful results. We could still do fund raisers etc.

In spring of 2016 we did very short videos with the Youth Project. The message that might have come out is that Elders exist and can be talked to.

We had Sarah on our board for most of 2016 and so far in 2017 - thank you for your work, Sarah.

We have *created* a Speaker's Bureau which has been hugely successful. You'll hear a report from Allison about this, and a resulting rather surprising line item in our financial report from Anita.

Pamphlets: we have lots. Who will take some and distribute them?

Membership

• 237 people on our mailing list
• 207 emails
• 9 people have asked to be called
• would someone like to volunteer to call those 9 each month?

Boardmember Spiel

Being on the board is fun, and involves but a couple hours of work a month - attending a boardmeeting, doing some work, most often by phone or by showing up somewhere, and coming to our events. (By the way, we also need more people to attend our events. Please stay tuned for a survey asking why people don't attend.)

Lynn: correction: we had an election of the Board when we met on South Street.

Treasurer's Report

This report is for the period of January 1, 2016 until March 31, 2017.

Opening Balance

Our bank account was opened on Feb 18, 2016. We had $138 from before that:

• $88 from meeting collections and possibly cookbook sales
• $50 in a speaking honorarium at MSVU

Income

We got another $275 in honoraria:

• CP. Allen replacement of non-deposited cheque $100
• Citadel High $100
• GSA / Youth Project $75

Meeting Collections: $473.80

Expenses

Administrative

• $43.60 Registry of Joint Stock Companies registration
• $26.12 Bank Fees

Promotion

• $264.50 two printings of the brochures (200 brochures total)
• $97.19 for printing application forms

Closing Balance

At the end of March:

• we owe Lynn $43.60
• As of March 31, 2017, we have $430.99 in the bank.

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Speaker's Bureau

Report by Allison Brewer, Speakers Team Leader, With files from Lynn Murphy

The speakers team is made up of group of LGBT elders who speak on behalf of the Elderberries and provide outreach to hundreds of youth via schools events. The Elderspeakers do not charge a fee, but generate income through voluntary honorariums.

Membership

Members who took part in Elderspeakers event have included: Allison Brewer, Anita Martinez, Barend Kamperman, Bruce Walker, Eric Smith, Evelyn White, Jenn Nearing, Lynn Murphy, Mike Sangster, Nora Kerr, Norman Moulton, Norval Collins and Sarah Taylor.

Outreach to students

• (This reflects our activities over the past year from April 2016 until now).
• May 4, 2016 - Citadel High School
• May 21, 2016 – Provincial GSA Conference, Dalhousie University
• May 27, 2016 - Halifax West Junior GSAs
• April 1, 2017 – Provincial GSA Conference, Dalhousie University
• April 21, 2017 - Charles P. Allen High School

In addition, Allison was special guest speak on behalf of the Elderberries at the Rainbow Refugees Association of Nova Scotia’s Annual General Meeting on March 26, 2017. She also represented the Elderberries on a CTV News item on April 28, 2017 about the 20th Anniversary of Ellen’s coming out show.

Income

The Elderspeakers accepted honorariums from:

• May 4, 2016 - Citadel High School - $100
• May 21, 2016 - GSA Conference 2016 - $75
• April 1, 2017 - GSA Conference 2017 - $25
• Contributions from speaker’s events in 2016/17 totaled $275.

Hugo moved, Allison seconded, passed.

Board Election

Not re-offering: Lynn Murphy & Sarah Taylor- thank you for your service, both.

Re-Offering, in order of last name:

1. Allison
2. Wayne
3. Dan
4. Scott
5. Anita
6. Hugo
7. Barend

Lynn: nominate Barend Kamperman, seconded.

Anita: move to accept the slate, Mike seconded, unanimous

Meeting was closed at 2:45.

The AGM was followed by the 2017-04-30 Meeting