At the President’s Reception held at the Lighthouse on September 27th, Vice President John Beales presented David Patterson with his Past President’s pin, expressing on behalf of all of us appreciation for the accomplishments during his term of office. Notable among these was the establishment of the WEB site and the successful negotiation with Maple Grove united Church which resulted in an extension of our arrangement with no increase in payment. In the meantime a committee had explored alternative locations and were most enthusiastic about the facilities at St. Joseph’s Church on Trafalgar Road. It was agreed that we would hold a meeting there during the coming year and get the response of members. I would suggest the January meeting but that will be discussed at a general meeting.

The Nominating Committee has done an excellent job in filling all the positions on the Executive and I look forward to a stimulating and constructive year. But there are challenges, chief among them being the size of our membership which must be increased if we are to survive. The Membership Committee under Trevor Dandy is exploring ways in which this can be accomplished. If we are to continue to get good speakers we must have a decent size audience. At present we seem to average about 65 members at a typical meeting out of the 100 on the membership list. There are always some members away on vacation, down south in the winter or up north in the summer, or with health problems. So to have more attendees we must have more members. Similarly the Entertainment Committee under Robin Davidson needs to have a decent sized membership to meet the participation required to justify attractive events.

We  would welcome your suggestions.

This issue of the Newsletter will be distributed by e mail, thus saving over $600 a year in postage. For the benefit of those without computers printed copies will be available at the meeting. Hope this works well for everybody.

Gerry Sutton, President