October 2008
Page 1
From The President's Desk
WELCOME, THANKS & CONGRATULATIONS
Well our fall has started off with a bang. We welcome Jan Dowswell to our Executive as 2nd Vice President. Jan has already got her feet wet by slowly taking over many of the responsibilities of Membership chair. This is giving Rosemary Gaffray more time to devote to the treasurer's job. Kudos * to member Diane Evans who stepped up to the plate to offer Rosemary a hand along the way.
We congratulate seven newly trained visitors who will be passing on the good news to ostomy patients that there is life after surgery. These members are very vital to our visitation program and to the patients they visit and we thank them for their dedication.
SOMETHING OLD - SOMETHING NEW
At our September meeting Hollister Representative Gigi Elkie explained that the company is discontinuing one of their long time products but also emphasized that the company is replacing that item with an upgraded appliance. Everyone who is using the old product will be notified.
PARTY TIME
Hollister is celebrating their 50th Anniversary by travelling across the country and meeting with chapter members. By now you all should have
received invitations in the mail to a Cocktail Reception at the Fort Garry Hotel on Wed. Oct. 15, 2008.** I sure hope that you will all be able to attend. Be sure to RSVP. Gigi indicated that spouses and significant others are welcome and parking at the hotel will be paid for if you keep your receipts.
YOUTH CAMPER
Bonita Yarjou ET, the young girl who we sponsored to attend the UOAC Youth Camp and her mother, will be joining us at our October chapter meeting. I do hope that you will ALL come out and hear how the camp went for her. I understand that she is very anxious to go back again.
WORLD OSTOMY DAY (WOD)
World Ostomy Day is October 3, 2009 - next year. I'm giving you all a heads up about this important day where we plan some special activity to raise the awareness in our communities and around the world about ostomies. This event only happens every three years and we won first place in Canada for our event - a very successful BBQ at Assiniboine Park in 2006.
FUND RAISING
Oh dear! That's a bad word and we don't bring it up very often in our organization. We work hard at watching our pennies and being very responsible on how we handle your dues in running the business of our chapter. BUT…., we do have a few items coming up that need more funds than we have at our disposal.
A) The main one at this time is funding to send our young lady back to camp next year. We need to do some serious planning. Anyone wishing to make a donation to this particular effort can do so by making a cheque out to WOA and indicating in the Memo line "Youth Camp Fund". The monies will be applied to the youth camp fund only and you will receive a charitable donation receipt.
B) Another event is WOD. Some ideas have been percolating in the back of my mind with the hope that we can do something bigger and better and find a great way to get the word out to the public. This would take extra funding.
C) The Executive has been encouraged to look into funding and grants from the likes of the Winnipeg Foundation, etc. for other endeavours to better our chapter. Applying for grants is a great idea and we will need the time and the manpower to do so.
HEART WARMING
Well, I must tell you that I took this information to the members at our September meeting with great feelings of trepidation. But I am feeling very warm and fuzzy at the moment. Not only did the members understand the need, they came up with great suggestions and many offered to volunteer. What a special group you all are! Please keep an eye out for more information and be ready to jump in when you are called.
Lorrie Pismenny
P.S. OUR CHRISTMAS PARTY! Look for details on Page 7.
*(dictionary says that kudos means glory, credit and praise)
** Invitations were stuffed, postage paid by Hollister and given to the Executive. We then added the labels and sent them out so as to maintain your privacy.
Via Inside Out On-line October 2008
Return to This Issue Index
Return to Inside Out Home Page
Return to WOA Home Page