We have a running joke at Prev, and that deals with our Annual General Meeting (AGM). For years, it sends shivers down my spine when we begin discussing about it, usually in the fall of each year. In 2017, the AGM Internal Committee, actually began meeting earlier, in July, to prepare for our big day in March! That’s really in advance, but comforting knowing there is much time ahead of us to properly prepare. In the past, I would feel that our “daily work” would be put on hold while we planned the AGM.

Yes, we certainly have a legal obligation to hold such a meeting. It’s all about good governance, we need to present a financial and a programming report and elect people to the Board and approve changes to the bylaws. However it really is more than that for us. Once a year, for a couple of hours, all programs, projects and staff come together under one roof to spend just a little time explaining to our stakeholders what we do, the other 364 days a year.

We are very proud of what is accomplished in our community. Each staff contributes not only to their own program, but to the growth and development of our neighborhoods. To the average citizen, they may not see it outright, but by attending our AGM, and reading our annual report, people can see the impact that we have had this year both by sector, project and in collaboration with the partners that we worked with in 2017.

Our friends at COC0 (The Centre for Community Organizations) have a wonderful outlook on AGM’s. Their article, entitled “How to Make Your AGM Great, Not Just Necessary” mentions that it can be a wonderful event to connect with our shareholders and to spend time discussing impact and accomplishments while still fulfilling our obligations. It is also a great opportunity to get input and feedback, and to gather ideas for the future. They also list some practical activities for AGM-type meetings.

We do hope that you take the opportunity to come to our event (Facebook event HERE!), which will be held on Thursday, March 29 at 1:30 pm at Espace Knox, 6255 Godfrey Ave. in NDG. Come out and meet with the incredible Board and Staff who take a special interest in this community. Looking forward to seeing you!

Special thanks to Prevention CDN-NDG’s AGM Committee for their incredibly organized and hard work: Jennifer Chapman, Brigitte Chrétien, Marc Pagliarulo-Beauchemin, Eero Piilokivi, Miranda Potts and Nikki Schiebel. Thanks also to Isaac Olsen for his proofreading and writing skills.

Terri Ste-Marie, Executive director