In the latest issue of Sage magazine, members will find a letter from our national president, Roy Goodall.
On 23 June, during the first physical annual meeting of members (AMM) in three years, your branch presidents elected me president and four members as directors of your national board of directors.
The president’s position comes with great responsibility, many obligations and even more expectations. It was an honour to be elected as your president and chair of the national board of directors, and it is a privilege to serve with 13 other directors to guide the Association.
So, who am I, and how did I become your president?
My journey began a long time ago, in Kamloops, B.C. I grew up on air force bases in Ontario, Manitoba, B.C. and Germany. In 1962, while in grade 10, in Portage-la-Prairie, Man., I joined the militia. On graduation from high school, I transferred to the regular force and served as a communications and electronics officer in national and international military organizations across Canada, in the U.S., (Pentagon), and Europe (NATO) until 2000. Along the way, I completed a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science, and a master’s in public administration. After retiring in Calgary, I became a financial planner and a policy governance facilitator with the Alberta Community Board Development Program.
My experience with our Association began with the Calgary and District branch board in 2005, where I was a volunteer before serving as a director, the treasurer, vice-chair and board chair. After completing my term as the branch president, I served as the Alberta provincial advocacy officer before joining the national board of directors in 2015 as one of the two Prairie district directors. The following year, I was elected vice-president. For varying periods between 2015 and 2022, I served as the Association treasurer, chair of the finance committee, chair of the audit committee, chair of the Sage editorial board, chair of three ad hoc committees and as the pensioners’ representative on the nomination committee for the public service pension investment board.
The 2022 annual meeting of members was memorable for three reasons. To start, it was the first physical meeting of branch presidents, advocacy program officers, branch service co-ordinators, your national board of directors, branch observers and our professional staff in three years. I believe all attendees would agree that renewing friendships, establishing new ones and discussing Association advocacy issues in person was more gratifying than repeating the 2021 Zoom experience.
Second, it provided us with an opportunity to recognize the 30-plus years of dedicated service by my predecessor, Jean-Guy Soulière, who is the first recipient of our most prestigious award — the Fred Whitehouse Founder’s Award.
Finally, four members joined the board as directors. As a result of a new president being elected, a fifth member may be appointed to fill a vacant director position after the election of a vice-president in late September. The downside of welcoming new members to your board means we are also saying farewell to the following dedicated directors: James Nicholson (Quebec District), Léonard LeBlanc (Atlantic District), Linda MacDonald (Ontario District) and Randy Wilson (B.C. and Yukon District.)
The board’s priorities during the next year include: revitalizing our proactive strategies and building alliances to promote the Association’s advocacy policies, recruiting members, collaborating with branches to prepare the next five-year strategic plan and completing the special committee on branch financing submission to AMM 2023.
During the balance of this year, the staff will transition from working at home to working in the office, and branches will transition from Zoom to physical meetings, or hybrid Zoom/physical meetings, in accordance with provincial guidelines.
I look forward to working with you in the coming year and over my term as president.