We at Prevention CDN-NDG held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 29th at Espace Knox (6215 Avenue Godfrey). As most know, an AGM is a mandatory yearly meeting that gathers stakeholders, members, and shareholders to discuss the previous years’ finances, and activities, have a chance to learn more about the organization, give feedback and elect the members of the Board.

It can be seen as a dull and tedious event, so our internal AGM committee began meetings in July 2017 to find creative ideas to “spice” up the day and add interest for our attendees. My gratitude goes out to Nikki, Eero, Marc, Jennifer, Brigitte and Miranda for their ideas, patience and hours of work, that had nothing to do with their every day role! Like Christmas, many hours went into the planning and preparation and then poof in two hours it was over for another year!

Again this year, most of the work preparing for the AGM was done in-house, except that this year Isaac Olsen was hired to proofread our English report and in some cases, to rework the text so that it flowed well throughout the report. Graphic designer Youssef helped to create our infographics page with a very short turnaround time. The Annual report is a full time job on its own, by gathering everyone’s reports, pictures, stats and then agreeing on the information that should go in there. Eero did an amazing job at formatting it all in 41 pages!

Kadi Diop, Coordinator of the Walkley Center presided the meeting. She was a great asset as she is perfectly bilingual and very personable. All of our Board Members were in attendance, although Annick Munyana, who is currently away from her full-time job on maternity leave, stood at the back of the room with her baby where he seemed the happiest.

Although there is no way that we can report on all the programs and projects with great detail (we would be there all day!), the programming report was once again done in the form of a talk show. The Joe Show was hosted by our own Joe Lambert. The six “departments” were invited up to speak on their highlights for the year. After going over finances, statistics and challenges, elections were held.

The event drew 32 people, both citizens and partners from other community organizations. After the AGM, guests had the chance to ask further questions about activities that they had learned about. Networking and new partnerships ensued.

A big thank you to Mary at Kane and Fetterly Funeral Home who lent us their screen at the last minute. Special thanks also go out to our merchant neighbours for their generous donations: Metro Somerled, Subway Somerled and Maxi Bedford & Cie Bedford.

Thanks to Boom Service the youth cooperative, reusable dishes were used, reducing the amount of garbage produced. Nikki ensured that all food waste was composted and that all leftover food was sent to local youth program. This made the AGM a zero-waste event, making both the Éco-quartier NDG team as well as all of the Prevention CDN-NDG staff proud. If you need any tips on how to host your own zero waste event, please contact the Éco-quartier NDG.

With the AGM behind us, it’s time to concentrate on our annual planning and look forward to the Spring Season. Thanks to everyone who attended, and please consult our website for our report and other info.

Terri, Executive Director