To the membership of CARP -Windsor Essex Chapter
2012-2013 was an eventful year for your chapter (ch07) as far as composition of the board is concerned. There were some retirements, some resignations, and some new additions. Joe Robella and Mike Burnett left the board for health and professional reasons respectively. Donna Hebert left the board for personal reasons. The loss of these hard-working members was felt immediately but through long searches and careful scouting the board appointed three new directors. They are Marielle Paquin, Gloria McKibbon and Stephanie Thompson. We welcome them with open arms.
Our treasury is stable; our balance is over five thousand dollars. We have been very prudent in our expenses and have managed our costs very carefully. We had a successful mid-year meeting at the Optimist Community Centre with over 110 people attending; funds obtained from the sponsors were sufficient to meet our hall rental charges and refreshments. The national CARP offices absorbed the travel costs of Mr. Ross Mayot, our keynote speaker. We were also able to
partner with other local organizations like the UAW who sent their representative to our meeting.
Our annual strategic plan continues to grow upon the previous year’s plan. We have made progress but not much in programming. We hope we can organize educational sessions, or lectures, for members in promotion of lifelong learning with a featured speaker or panelist on diverse subjects such as health, finances, diversity, advocacy, etc. Considering our limited resources we have partnered with Eldercollege to provide such courses.
In the near future we hope to organize social events for seniors for which we have established a committee.
We are happy to state that we were able to make some impression on municipal, provincial, and federal councils and legislatures. We raised the Seniors’ flag on National Seniors Day, October 25th, with the Mayor of Windsor participating in the ceremony, along with some other dignitaries from organizations like the Multicultural Council, United Way, Working Women Windsor, and the United Auto Workers.
Your chairperson was invited to meet with the federal minister for seniors, Ms. Wong, came to Windsor-Essex area to consult with select seniors’ organizations. CARP was well represented by two representatives. Windsor chapter chair got some exposure in the Zoomer magazine and TV. Your chair also attended the national annual CARP meeting and Zoomer show in Toronto.
Your chapter has also taken great interest in building bridges with like-minded organizations. It was represented, from the very beginning, on the Retiree Volunteer Council and National Pension Reform Committee (Windsor chapter); both agencies comprise a consortium of local and national agencies.
CARP was also well written about in the pages of Senior Living, which unfortunately has ceased publication. This is a great loss to CARP to get its word out each month.
Due to the absence of some members from time to time during the year, for personal or family reasons, the Governance committee was able to meet only a few times. More progress needs to be made in the coming year.
All in all, given the limited resources, we had an eventful year with some measurable success.
Respectfully submitted
Sushil Jain
Windsor-Essex
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