Annual General Meeting 2005
Presidents Report

2004 was a financially successful year. We started the year with a 2003 deficit that used up our reserves, but we ended with a 2004 surplus that almost replaced what we had lost.

That success depended on many factors - some good, some bad. One of the positives was the first United Way funding in over 20 years, a special grant of $15,000. On the negative side, we were forced to operate for nearly a year without an Executive Director.

I congratulate those board members that worked hard to compensate for the missing Executive Director, both in contribution to projects and in the search for new project funding. I welcome those new board members who joined as a result of our concerted effort to strengthen the board.

I congratulate our staff, whose knowledge, experience and dedication kept the Board and the Organization on the right path. I also thank our members and our volunteers, without whose support we could not continue to strive for a better Thunder Bay.

One result was our appointment as administrator of the whole Federal Government Northwestern Ontario CAP (Community Access Program) project, which makes free computer Internet service available at 29 sites across the region.

We successfully completed the first phase of the Social and Economic Inclusion Initiative, which addresses the subject of racism in schools to benefit marginalized youth in our community. The final conference was held in April 2004. We were subsequently chosen as one of only 4 Ontario sites for a second round of the SEII project.

We continued to work with our principal “211" service partners, the United Way of Thunder Bay and the 211 Steering Committee. This project will bring to Thunder Bay an easy to recall 3-digit phone number that ensures a live voice response and single point of access to health, community and government information. While we have always believed that a 211 service will receive government financial support in time, the end of 2004 marked a new confidence that support in future is imminent.

We contributed as members of community coalitions and committees, including the Housing and Homelessness Coalition, the Urban Aboriginal Strategy, Diversity Thunder Bay, Fast Forward, the Aboriginal Interagency Council, the Elder Abuse Committee, and the Caregivers Support Group.

Nevertheless, we cannot fulfill our role in the community or find long-term financial solutions without the leadership of an Executive Director. In early 2005, the Board engaged Frank Wilson as half-time Executive Director. Frank has recently taken early retirement from his position in the Ontario Ministry of the Environment as Regional Director for Northern Ontario. He is keen to apply his talents to new challenges in serving his community. Welcome Frank!

Respectfully Submitted
Don Watson
President