RVA Annual General Meeting – Volunteer of the Year
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]Despite the winter storm raging outside, a small group of association members braved the weather to attend the February 7th Richmond Village Association Inc. annual general meeting. David Proulx, President, opened the 2018 AGM with a warm welcome to all.
Proulx outlined the mandate of the organization, the main purpose of the meeting and gained approval of the evening’s agenda. He stressed the importance of the work of the RVA within the Community and noted that “the upcoming year of celebrations planned for Richmond’s bicentennial promise to mark 2018 as an extremely important one for the RVA and the community as a whole. The election of a new Board will be a key outcome of this meeting.”
Following the approval of the Minutes of the previous AGM and the RVA’s financial report, the meeting moved on to recognize the RVA Volunteer Of the Year.
To this end Mr. Proulx drew everyone’s attention to a recent article published by the RichmondHUB.ca, the Manotick Messanger and others entitled “A Morning On The Bus … the ROSSS “Gateway to Groceries bus that is.” He stated that he was particularly struck by the sentiment expressed by many of the words in the article “I realized how valuable a service the bus offers … a rare outing with conversation and interaction … coupled with Pam’s helping hand to assist the riders…or to simply say good mourning John, how are you feeling today … the special touch of a volunteer can never be overstated…”
“The Gateway to Groceries service has been running for three years and you don’t really realize how much volunteers do as they quietly perform their work until you focus on the outcomes” stated Proulx as he announced that Pamela Brown was chosen as this years Volunteer of the Year. He invited Pamela to accept a small token of appreciation from the RVA and community. He invited her take some time and treat herself for an important job well done. In accepting the award Pamela stated “I just like getting out and helping people. It is definitely a service that is needed”.
Following the introduction of each 2017 Board member present, a few of the many accomplishments of the RVA over the past year were noted and discussed. It is worth noting here a short list of the important activities and areas of contributions supported by RVA volunteers throughout the year:
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Volunteer of the Year
Christmas Parade
Winter Banners
ROSSS Gateway to Groceries
Richmond Youth Centre
Heritage Mural Gallery
Richmond’s 200th Celebration
The RichmondHub.ca
Richmond Village Directory
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Advocacy
Spring Clean Up
Village Wide Garage Sale
Richmond Family Fun Day & Craft Fair
Walking Club
Student Bursaries
Remembrance Day Participation
Quarterly Flyer
Website
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Highlights of the discussion ranged from the growth of the Youth Drop-In Centre, the depth and success of Christmas related activities, an outline of the many activities planned for the bicentennial celebration, the six figure sum raised for the celebration and new initiatives such as the RichmondHub.ca. As a teaser of more to come a “sneak peak” was provided of a new mural commissioned to artist Karen Xarchos which will add to the RVA’s Heritage Mural Gallery displayed on the Richmond Arena walls.
“These important contributions to our community are only possible due to the generosity of our business sponsors and efforts of volunteers. Richmond is a much better place thanks to their efforts’” stated Proulx. Like all volunteer organizations the RVA is always in need of helping hands. Those who want to lend a hand or their expertise in any area are invited to contact the association through their website RichmondVillage.ca at any time for more information.
The meeting finished up with the election of a new Board of Directors for 2018. The nine existing board members Annette Matlar, Brian Kusiewicz, David Proulx, Lee Hodgkinson, Liana Medynski, Roland Rotter, Ryan Pinet, Tino Bevacqua, and William Mayda stood for re-election along with one new candidate Sylvain Sauve. All were elected and constitute the RVA’s Board for 2018. The Executive Officers chosen by the new Board members were David Proulx who will continue as President, Lee Hodgkinson as Vice President, Annette Matlar as Treasurer and Roland Rotter as Secretary.
