Educo AGM Weekend update

May 7th, 2016

It was a beautiful weekend for an Educo Gathering.  The sun was shining and warm, smiling people in t-shirts and shorts instead of the jackets and snow boots needed for last year!  It was a very productive day on Little Holden.

After dinner we held our annual AGM.  Heidi and Steph went over the main events from the past year and touched on our Strategic Planning that is in process.  Our five directions are:  Education, Food Sustainability in Programming, Policy and Risk Management, Revenue Generation, and Site Development.  We plan on digging into these more in our July meeting and engaging the Educo Community after that.

When we came to the voting, it was much more exciting than usual.  There were 2 returning board members on a 1-year term, 2 nominations from the nominating committee and 2 nominations from the floor.  The ballots had been prepared for 4 nominees and the other two names were added by our secretary, Dani Kidston.  We needed to Vote!  We are very impressed that Educo has so much energy that a vote was needed to see who would be sitting on the board.    There were 51 people eligible to vote.  Our newest board members are: (returning) Brodie Drake, (new) Chris Pettman, John Babineau and Chris White.  Bio’s are available for reading on the website.  It is going to be an exciting year for Educo!

We welcome Chris Pettman, John Babineau and Chris White as new member of the Board. Thank you for stepping forward and for your ongoing dedication to Educo!

We also say good-bye and huge thank yous to some Board members:

Terri Jonuk – Terri has brought her significant knowledge and perspective to all matters Educo and especially, related to budget and finances, where she took the lead and helped the rest of us fully understand those spread sheets and figures!
Terri has also offered to stay close by and will continue to help on Finance Committee.  Thank you, Terri, for your leadership, attention to fine and important details, and thoughtful perspectives.

Dave MacLeod- as past-Board Chair, Dave brought his high energy, broad perspectives, dynamic leadership and deep commitment to Educo. Dave has spent more than half his life-time at or supporting Educo. Dave, we will hold you to your promise to never be far away and look forward to the boys coming as students in the near future!

Gernot Zemanek – Gernot has volunteered in a number of other capacities beyond that of board director . Gernot’s contributions include his work on the strategic plan, site development and maintenance. Gernot asks the tough questions has kept the rest of the Board on its toes to ensure that we have considered all the needed perspectives.

Thank you doesn’t seem to express the gratitude we hold for each of you and all you have brought to the Educo community. Your contributions will be enduring and we are grateful that each of you has expressed that you will stay connected and remain committed to ensuring that Educo thrives.

Ann & Heidi, Co-Chairs.