Many different issues were discussed and decisions made. The Bylaws of U.O.A. Canada were presented and accepted unanimously. Since these bylaws had already been submitted to Industry Canada and accepted, there could not be any changes to this document. If any revisions need to be presented, they need to be made in the form of a motion to the newly elected Board of Directors of UOA Canada. The chair of the by-law committee at the National Level is our own Bill Aitken.
The budget for the upcoming year was accepted and approved by the majority, with not much discussion or clarification. Everyone seemed quite comfortable with it. Also, at the National Board level, fundraising was a major issue of contention, as U.O.A. Canada is presently running a deficit. The cost of producing the Ostomy Canada magazine is dependant on the chapter memberships being paid yearly, and on time, by its members. As well, the National Council want to improve both their data base and their District Support Services.
Elections were held for the positions of President, Vice-President, and six Directors. The position of President went to Les Kehoe of Toronto, Ontario, while the position of Vice-President went to Lorne Aronson also of Toronto, Ontario. Both of these were won by acclamation. Each of the 12 people running for the six positions as Directors of UOA Canada were required to give a 2 minute speech as to what they have done in the past, and what they see for the future of the National Council. Following this, elections were held and the six people that will be directors for the next 2 years are as follows:
Ken Sanderson - Coquitlam, B.C.
Roger Ivol - Hamilton, Ont.
Doug Graham - Ottawa, Ont.
Bette Yetman - Halifax, N.S.
Jean-Pierre Lapointe - Montreal, Que
.
Bill Aitken - Gimli, MB.
Continuing on the board at this time are:
Pat Cimmeck, Secretary
Linda Warner, Director
Gene Zaph, Treasurer
Candace Miron, Director
Di Bracken, Past President
The election procedure was very official and was done according to Roberts Rules of Order and I found this to be very enlightening. I hope that these newly elected directors will have an interesting and fulfilling experience.
At the closing banquet, the gavel was handed over by Di Bracken to the newly elected President of U.O.A. Canada, Les Kehoe. At this time, the past directors of the previous 2 years were recognized. On a bit of a lighter note, there was a request for a picture of Past Directors, and when Bill Aitken was walking forward, Les Kehoe started laughing. This was on account of Bill's costume of the future. He was dressed like a wizard, and he had a silver cap with very unique antennas, which were springy and bounced around as he went to the front. This caused Les to laugh to a point of hysteria, which took a bit of time to get over before he could carry on with the proceedings. This was really something! The costume theme of the conference was well received, and I think everyone had a lot of fun with it.
The location of the 4th Annual Conference of U.O.A.C. will be held in Richmond, BC. Possible dates are August 16-18, 2001. Accommodation and conference will be held at the Best Western Hotel @ $104. plus tax per night. The organizing committee is trying to arrange a possible bus tour and there is the possibility of an outside event, maybe a Harbour Dinner Cruise - $20 for Cruise alone, or $50 Cruise with dinner. I would like to compliment the organizing committee for the amount of work, and hours that went into the wonderful fun, educational, and informative aspects of this conference.
I also would like to extend a big thank-you to the executive of the Winnipeg Ostomy Association for entrusting me with the responsibility of representing our members as their delegate at the national level.
This conference was truly an incredible experience for me, and it was great for me to make contact with the people I had met at my first conference last year in Edmonton, Alberta.
Yours truly,
Rosemary Gaffray, Winnipeg Ostomy Association
