ONTARIO DISTRICT ASSOCIATION OF CHAPTERS OF
THE BARBERSHOP HARMONY SOCIETY
ONTARIO DISTRICT HOUSE OF DELEGATES MEETING
FAIRFIELD INN & SUITES, BELLEVILLE, ONTARIO
-- CHURCHILL ROOM --
Sunday, October 20, 2013 - 9:00 A.M.
MINUTES
1. Call to Order: President Barry Towner called to meeting to order at 9:03 a.m.
2. The OLD SONGS: Ken Fisher led the singing of the Old Songs.
3. Roll Call: Secretary Barry Lajeunesse called the roll and established that a quorum is present.
Delegates present were: Barrie - Bill Hillock, Newmarket - Al Verwey, North Bay – Barry Lajeunesse, Oshawa - Rick Heath, Peterborough - Ted Devonshire, Quinte Regional - Michael Hall, Grimsby – Bruce Herdman, Hamilton - Sandy Bell, Simcoe - Peter Vaughan, London - Ken Dodge, Middlesex Centre - Dan Locke, Strathroy - Orval Allen, East York - Greg Shields, Greater Toronto - Rob Arnold, Toronto - Tom Sziklasi, Cornwall - Stewart Gardiner, Kingston – Frank Pinch, Ottawa - Bill Hawken, Guelph - Will Polak. (19 out of 31)
District Board: President Barry Towner, IPP Bill Vermue, Exec VP Frank Knoll, Secretary Barry Lajeunesse, Treasurer Bruce Herdman.
Management Team: VPs: CDD - Pat Hannon, C & J - Barry Towner, Events - Ted Devonshire, Finance - Bruce Herdman, Membership Development - Joey Snyders, Music & Performance. - Ken Fisher, Youth In Harmony - Dan Austin. Division Coordinators: Central - Gerry Selkirk, Eastern - Dan Sunderland, Heartland - Ian Smith, Oakridge - Rick Casson, Western - Frank Knoll. (12 out of 16)
Committee Chairmen: Awards - Gerry Selkirk, Harmonize For Speech - George Shields, History & Archives - Waldo Redekop, Onta Fame - Gary Morton, Convention - Fred Prins, O YA Chorus - Barry Towner.
Past Presidents: Bill Vermue, Rob Arnold, Ted Devonshire, George Shields, Jim MacDougall
Regrets: Sarnia - Douglas Doull, Kitchener-Waterloo - Dennis Dueck, Niagara Falls - Timothy Healey, CSLT/Leadership Academy - Digger MacDougall, DC Peninsula - Scott Durward,
Absent: Huntsville - Ken Koehler, Oakville - Allan Holden, St Catharines - Gerry MacDonald, Seaforth - Shawn Semple, Etobicoke Mississauga - Stephen Taft, Scarborough - Ian Wilson, Nepean - Peter Joannou, Mount Forest - Ron Faulkner, Owen Sound - Keith Greig, Marketing & PR - Denis Laflamme, Northern - Rick Allen,
4. President's Welcome:
· President Barry welcomed delegates to the 2013 Fall HOD meeting. Delegates were thanked for representing their chapters and divisions.
· President Barry welcomed Society Board Representative – Treasurer Dwayne Cooper.
· Thank you to the Quinte Regional chapter for hosting the convention.
· Thank you to Fred Prins and the Convention Team for a successful convention.
· Congratulations to all contest participants. All participants are the true “winners” of this weekend’s contests.
· Congratulations to Yonge Guns, X-Factor, Airborne, Hamilton Harbourtown Sound and Ottawa Capital City Chorus for your achievements.
A moment of silence was observed in memory of Ontario District members who have passed on since the Spring HOD. [Bill Hofstetter, Frank Devine, Alan Forshaw, David Mason, Arthur Weitendorf, William Goulding, Donald Gault, Bob Ridsdale]
5. Approval of Agenda:
MOTION HOD 13 09 10 20 moved and seconded that the agenda be adopted. Carried
6. Approval of the minutes of the last meeting: April 14, 2013
MOTION HOD 13 10 10 20 moved and seconded that the minutes of the April 14, 2013 House of Delegates meeting be accepted as an accurate record of the meeting. Carried
7. Society Reports:
7.1 – Society HOD Bulletin report filed
7.2 - Society Treasurer – Dwayne Cooper
Ø Greetings from Society CEO (Marty) and Board.
Ø Reviewed key points from Society HOD Bulletin
Ø Comments were received regarding the completeness of the Society bulletin. It was felt to be the most comprehensive in recent memory.
8. Reports - Vice Presidents:
· President Barry clarified that Andrew Shackleton’s recent resignation resulted in Frank Knoll being appointed by District Board as EVP.
· Andrew Shackleton was thanked for his contributions to the District.
· Frank Knoll was thanked for stepping into the EVP role on short notice.
8.1 - Chapter Support & Leadership: Digger MacDougall report filed
8.2 - Chorus Director Development: Pat Hannon report filed
Ø Directors round table will not take place today due to unforeseen circumstances
Ø Reviewed key points from report
Ø Information will be available on the District website
8.3 - Contest & Judging: Barry Towner report filed
Ø Reviewed key points from report
8.4 - Events: Ted Devonshire report filed
8.5 - Finance: Bruce Herdman report filed
MOTION HOD 13 11 10 20 moved and seconded that the Treasurers Report as of September 2013 be adopted. Carried.
MOTION HOD 13 12 10 20 moved and seconded that the District Board of Directors (DBOD) of the Ontario District Association of Chapters of SPEBSQSA (the District) be and is hereby authorized to set aside from the general funds of the District, an amount which, at its discretion, is deemed reasonable as a Contingency Fund.
It is further stipulated that the amount of said Contingency Fund may vary from time to time but may never exceed the maximum allowable by the then current regulations of the Canada Revenue Agency as those regulations apply to registered charities. Carried.
MOTION HOD 13 13 10 20 moved and seconded that a majority vote of the District Board of Directors (DBOD) of the Ontario District Association of Chapters of SPEBSQSA (the District) be required to approve the removal of funds from the Contingency Fund and that, when such removal is approved, such funds must be returned to the general funds of the District. Carried.
MOTION HOD 13 14 10 20 moved and seconded that the Ontario District budget for 2014 be approved as presented. Carried.
Ø Bruce Herdman was thanked and commended for his efforts in managing the financial affairs of the District.
8.6 - Marketing & Public Relations: Denis Laflamme report filed
8.7 - Membership Development: Joey Snyders report filed
Ø Chapters are encouraged to have all members, especially new members, attend District conventions.
Ø Reminder that choruses can perform for evaluation only, as Oshawa did this weekend. Choruses are encouraged to take advantage of this evaluation opportunity.
Ø Reminder that chapters should continue to help support each other.
Ø Reminder that all choruses, who choose to compete, can compete for various plateau awards.
Ø Question asked about the definitions of the various plateaus. Plateau definitions to be posted on the District website.
Ø Question asked about the possibility of the Society requiring chapters to participate in contests once every three years. This question was noted by Society Treasurer, Dwayne Cooper. Discussion of this issue ensued.
8.8 - Music & Performance: Ken Fisher report filed
Ø Ontario Quartet Event report to be provided following this meeting
Ø Chapters reminded to provide plenty of lead time for ideas for area schools in order to maximize the participation rate
Ø During follow up discussion the question was raised regarding an inventory of chapter presentation resources (projector, screen, access to Skype). There is no known inventory, as such.
8.9 - Youth In Harmony: Dan Austin report filed
Ø Reviewed key details from the report
MOTION HOD 13 15 10 20 moved and seconded that Vice Presidents’ reports be accepted. Carried
9. Reports - Division Coordinators
9.1 - Central: Gerry Selkirk report filed
9.2 - Eastern: Dan Sunderland verbal report
Ø Written report will be provided with minutes
9.3 - Heartland: Ian Smith verbal report
Ø Written report will be provided with minutes
9.4 - Northern: Rick Allen report filed
9.5 - Oakridge: Rick Casson verbal report
Ø Reviewed Division activities
Ø Quinte Chapter was happy to host the convention and looks forward to do so again in the future.
9.6 - Peninsula: Scott Durward report filed
9.7 - Western: Frank Knoll report filed
Ø Question about the Agora Group proposal. Board is looking into this project. This item will be added to the Spring HOD agenda.
MOTION HOD 13 16 10 20 moved and seconded that the Division Coordinator’s reports be accepted. Carried
10. Reports – Committees
10.1 - Awards: Gerry Selkirk verbal report
Ø Having difficulty sourcing District pins for a reasonable price. 5000 pins costs $14,000.
Ø Gerry proposes ordering 1500 pins. This request was not approved at this time.
Ø Gerry Selkirk and Joey Snyders to review the current practice and opportunities for using the pins for membership.
Ø Gerry thanked everyone for taking care of trophies and getting them back in time for each convention.
Ø Gerry thanked Grant Knox for his assistance with the awards and pins.
10.2 – Leadership Academy: - Digger MacDougall
Ø Leadership Academy information included with VP CSLT report.
Ø Registration forms will be available, online, in a few weeks
10.3 - Standing “O”:
Ø Position is currently vacant.
Ø Anyone interested in leading the Standing “O” program please contact Ken Fisher.
10.4 - Convention: Fred Prins verbal report
Ø Fred thanked Chuck Alexander for his invaluable assistance in planning the convention.
Ø Thanks to Quinte for the time given to host the convention
Ø Thanks to Fairfield hotel staff for their support and assistance
Ø Attendance – 719 full registrations, 81 single event registrations
Ø The events team is looking at a site in London as a possible option for future conventions.
The HOD meeting was paused at 11:05 a.m. for a performance by the O YA Chorus.
The O YA Chorus performance being completed, the HOD meeting resumed at 11:15 a.m.
10.5 - Ethics:
Ø Position is currently vacant.
10.6 - History & Archives: Waldo Redekop report filed
Ø George Shields spoke about the archive material that is currently available. There is a lot of information on hand which is being digitized.
Ø President Barry requested that the archived information be made available on the District website.
Ø London chapter has also digitized its historical information.
10.7 – Onta-Fame: Gary Morton report filed
Ø Gary Morton would like to step down as Onta-Fame chair. Anyone interested in taking over the Onta-fame chair should contact Bill Vermue.
10.8 – O YA Chorus: Barry Towner report filed
MOTION HOD 13 17 10 20 moved and seconded that the Committee Reports be received as information. Carried
11. Reports – Other
11.1 – Harmonize 4 Speech: George Shields report filed
11.2 - Sing Canada: Digger MacDougall report filed
11.3 - 2013 International Convention Update: Co-Chair Rob Arnold verbal report
Ø Convention goals were achieved.
Ø Attendance was satisfactory.
Ø Financially, the convention activities generated sufficient revenues to cover local committee costs.
Ø Ontario District has earned a great deal of respect across the Society as a result of the efforts undertaken to host the convention.
Ø This is the final report from the 2013 International Convention Committee
MOTION HOD 13 18 10 20 moved and seconded that the above reports filed be received as information. Carried
12. Unfinished Business:
12.1 - Bylaws, Operations and Policies: Bill Vermue & Bruce Herdman – update report filed
Ø Some materials have now been posted to the website. Please check to see that the information is accessible and useful to you. Let Bill Vermue and Bruce Herdman know if you have any questions.
12.2 – Convention Attendance Task Force (Ted Devonshire) verbal report
Ø Task force is awaiting the opportunity to utilize a chapter visit program. If the chapter visit program does not move forward the convention attendance task force will need to restructure their approach.
12.3 – District Archives and Equipment Storage Task Force (Barry Lajeunesse) report filed
13. New Business:
13.1 – Nominating Committee Report (Rob Arnold).
· An overview of the changes which were required, due to the recent resignation of Andrew Shackleton, was presented.
· These changes included Rob Arnold stepping in as Nominating Committee Chair.
The Nominating Committee presents the following District Board nominations for 2014:
District President – Bill Vermue
Executive Vice President – Frank Knoll
Secretary - Barry Lajeunesse
Treasurer - Bruce Herdman
MOTION HOD 13 19 10 20 moved and seconded that the list of nominees, as presented by the Nominating Committee, be elected to the District Board of Directors for 2014. Carried
(Note: Immediate Past President is not an annually elected position)
13.2 - The Nominating Committee and the Board of Directors is recommending the appointments to the following positions -
District Management Team:
- Chris Scappatura, VP Chapter Support & Leadership Training
- Pat Hannon, VP Chorus Director Development
- Barry Towner, VP Contest and Judging
- Ted Devonshire, VP Events
- Bruce Herdman, VP Finance
- Denis Laflamme, VP Marketing and Public Relations
- Joey Snyders, VP Membership Development
- Ken Fisher, VP Music and Performance
- Dan Austin, VP Youth In Harmony
MOTION HOD 13 20 10 20 moved and seconded that the appointments to the Management Team be accepted as recommended. Carried
Division Coordinators -
- Gerry Selkirk, Central
- Dan Sunderland, Eastern
- Ian Smith, Heartland
- Rick Allen, Northern
- Scott Durward, Peninsula
- Bruce Green, Western
- Vacant, Oakridge
MOTION HOD 13 21 10 20 moved and seconded that the appointment of the Division Coordinators be accepted as presented. Carried
Committee Chairmen will be appointed by the President.
14. Date of next meeting: April 13, 2014 – Scarborough, Ontario
15. Closing Song: Keep the Whole World Singing – Lead by Pat Hannon
16. Adjournment:
MOTION HOD 13 22 10 20 moved and seconded that this meeting be adjourned at 12:05 p.m. Carried
Barry Lajeunesse, Ontario District Secretary
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