Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario

Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario

LEARNING DISABILITIES ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO

Minutes of the LDAO Annual General Meeting

Wednesday, September 18, 2004

Novotel Hotel, Toronto, Ontario

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2004

8:30 – 9:30 AMRegistration & Breakfast

9:30 – 10:30 AMWelcome and Business Meeting

LDAO Business Meeting

  1. Call to Order and Approval of Agenda – Shessel

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 AM. Quorum for the meeting was 45 and was met (82 votes eligible to be cast).

MOTION:R. Cooper/D. Waxman

“THAT THE LDAO BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA BE APPROVED, AS PRESENTED.”

Carried.

  1. Appointment of Recording Secretary – Shessel

MOTION: A. Hamby/R. Taber

“THAT KAREN QUINN BE APPOINTED RECORDING SECRETARY FOR THE BUSINESS MEETING AND THAT JEAN CARBERRY BE APPOINTED PARLIAMENTARIAN FOR THE MEETING.”

Carried.

  1. Minutes of the 2003 Annual General Meeting – Shessel

MOTION: A. Hamby/D. Waxman

“THAT THE MINUTES OF THE 2003 LDAO ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING BE APPROVED, AS PRESENTED.”

Carried.

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  1. Chair’s Report on the 2002-2003 Activities – Shessel

The annual report was circulated with the last of the mailings to chapters and Dr. Shessel spoke about the achievements of the last year.

  • LDAO has received the final contract which will extend the Web-Based Teaching Tool project to June 2007. This will see the Government of Ontario contract with LDAO to deliver this product free of charge to all publicly funded school boards in Ontario. The grant will be for three years and LDAO will receive $6 Million to administer, further develop and evaluate the product.
  • LDAO has received the stamp of approval from Curriculum Services Canada for our product Some Assembly Required (SOAR) and they will now offer it as a publication on their cross Canada sales inventory.
  • The old LEAP product has been retired. LDAO received a grant from HRSDC to revamp the product to meet the changing needs of the target audience. It has a new look and a new name – Job-Fit. The LDAC Destination Employment program will use this material and chapters will be able to create their own fee for service programs with this product.
  • The March 2004 Public Awareness Month launched our Youth Campaign and this will continue over the 2005 year also.
  • LDAO Staff have put a new face to the service that we all know as Virtual Services. Our online services have been renamed LDAO ACCESS and the site has been greatly revamped to make it more accessible and professional.
  • LDAO is working to develop partnerships with other agencies and we undertook a re-branding process to see if there is a better way to position ourselves so that we do become the “household” word we always worked towards. There are samples of proposed logo designs for board and chapter to look at later in this meeting. We hope to launch a new logo in the new calendar year.

Dr. Shessel thanked the LDAO Board and Staff for all their support over the tenure of her Presidency. In particular she appreciated the strong leadership of ED Carol Yaworski and wished the new LDAO Board great success in the year to come.

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  1. Executive Director’s Report

Ms. Yaworski welcomed the delegates.

Ms. Yaworski thanked Chair Dr. Shessel for her support for the Board and the staff of LDAO. It was a year of exciting initiatives and some financial insecurity but we have completed several projects and can look forward to some rewards In terms of sales. Dr. Shessel has given you the highlights of many projects but there was a lot of activity at the provincial office which will be of interest to the chapters. Highlights are:

  • Web-based Teaching Tool (WBTT). After three and a half hard but enjoyable years we are seeing the practical application of the screening and assessment tools developed in the classroom. Boards are becoming involved and the LDAO staff is happy with the results. Kate Lloyd and Amy Coupal have been out promoting the project and are to be congratulated on their work on this project. For the first time ever, LDAO will also be able to offer the full project in French, with support from the francophone educational community and that is very exciting.
  • Logo design – Dr. Shessel has commented on the process that LDAO has undertaken re rebranding. We are looking to change the logo and have come up with several options for chapters and the Board to look at. The samples will be posted on LDAO ACCESS and we would like feedback by November 30, 2004.
  • Legislation Issues
  • The ISA funding formula is dead (excluding ISA 1). The Minister of Education does understand the impact of funding on LD students and the Ministry is working with a number of groups to find an acceptable replacement plan. At this time, we do not know what such a plan would look like but LDAO is being consulted and sits on several committees and panels so we will have input.has just received approval from Curriculum Services Canada to market these curriculum materials for LD students in grades 6 - 9 to help them develop self-advocacy skills and successfully transition to post-secondary education. We will be negotiating with Curriculum Services Canada for the sale of these materials.
  • Ontario Human Rights Commission. We are still waiting for the guidelines on education accessibility which were to follow up the consultation report released the previous year. Staff will advise of progress through the SEAC Circular.

Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) - The Act requires that all municipalities, ministries and public bodies develop accessibility plans. We will monitor activities in this area and report any issues.

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  • LDAO Staff – LDAO has hired two new staff since our last AGM:

Jeff Clayton will provide support to the WBTT program and as t he author of SOAR, will continue to work on new modules for this product

Richard Posner will start on September 27, 2005 as the new LDAO Manager of Finance

  • LDAO Board Members – Several long-time board members will be retiring from the LDAO board this year as they have reached the 6 year limit of serving on the Board. Our thanks to Jerry Baum, Jean Carberry, John Lubert and Douglas Waxman for their service. Little tokens of our thanks were presented to those in attendance.
  • Acknowledgements re Service – Two of the LDAO staff have reached significant milestones at the provincial office and they were acknowledged by the Association with gifts:

Joan Schiff will retire at age 65 on December 31, 2004. She has worked for the office for 19 years and was actively involved at the chapter level for many years before that.

Karen Quinn has been with LDAO for 26 years.

Congratulations were extended by all to the staff and retiring directors.

  1. Committee Reports

a)Adult Advocacy Committee – R. Sealy

Mr. Sealy provided a brief update on activities of this committee over the past year. This committee meets regularly and they are very passionate about there role in LDAO to meet the needs of the LD adult population. In a joint project with the Alder Centre, an adult resource centre in Toronto, people will be going out to the various chapters to talk about issues for adults with LD. Through a generous donation of used computer equipment Dr. Shessel was able to provide from Seneca College, the committee was able to distribute these computers to LD adults in need.

MOTION: B. Cormier/D. Waxman

“THAT THE REPORT OF THE ADULT ADVOCACY COMMITTEE BE RECEIVED”.

Carried

b)Regionalization Implementation Committee – R. Cooper

Mr. Cooper thanked the Committee for its work over the past year. Regionalization plans are not progressing as quickly as anticipated but we hope that very soon in the future the revenues for sustainability will be available for distribution to chapters. Susan Carlyle will become the Chair of this Committee after the AGM but Roy will continue to sit on the Committee.

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MOTION: B. Cormier/V. Greco

“THAT THE REPORT OF THE REGIONALIZATIO IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE BE RECEIVED”.

Carried

c)Educational Policy and Legislation – J. Carberry

This is a very active committee, dealing with a lot of issues. The chapters are kept updated of initiatives and through Monthly SEAC Reports and we continue to the be leader in having well trained advocates at the local level. As noted in the ED report, Joan Schiff will be retiring at the end of December and Ms. Carberry thanked her for all the work she has done on legislation over the years. A thanks also to LDAO Consultant, Eva Nichols, for her help with the SEAC Circular and other legislative issues. Ms Carberry thanked the Association for 6 very interesting years and while she is happy to retire from the Board, she will keep an eye on us to see how we are doing. Peter Chaban, who will step into the Chair of this Committee, will do a great job.

MOTION: P. Chaban/R. Taber

“THAT THE REPORT OF THE EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND LEGISLATION COMMITTEE BE RECEIVED”.

Carried

  1. Treasurer’s Report, Audited Financial Statement – Lee

Mr. Lee gave a little background of his experience, as this is the first time he has been able to be in attendance at the AGM, due to conflicting work schedules.

The chapters were advised that LDAO had retained the services of a new Auditor, Beale Wallington and Chong. As Grant Thornton has grown in size, the needs of LDAO and our previous auditor no longer matched and LDAO felt it was in the best interest of the Association to find a smaller audit firm that could give us more personal attention.

The audit was done and the financial statement released to LDAO and its chapters. Fiscal 2003-04 saw a small surplus in revenues over expenses but LDAO is still in an overall deficit position. It will be important in the coming fiscal year that efforts be applied to getting products like SOAR and Job-Fit to the market to build a sales base.

There was a question from the floor re the government grant for WBTT. The question was asked if any of that money would be passed down to the chapters for

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operation funding at the local levels. Unfortunately, this is project funding, not core funding so all revenues are tied to project expenses. Chapters reminded the LDAO Board that while all of this information about our funding sources and expenditures are well known to staff and the Board, it is not clear to the chapters and sometimes it appears that there is a great deal of money at the provincial level that the chapters do not appear to have access to. Mr. Lee acknowledged this fact and will try to find a way to explain future financial reports to the membership.

MOTION: D. Waxman/B. Cormier

“THAT THE AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2004 BE APPROVED, AS RECEIVED.”

Carried

MOTION: R. Taber/V. Greco

“THAT BEALE WALLINGTON CHONG, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, OF MARKHAM, ONTARIO, BE DULY APPOINTED TO ACT AS AUDITORS FOR THE LEARING DISABILITIES ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2004-2005”.

Carried

  1. Confirmation of Acts – Shessel

MOTION:D. Waxman/V. Woloshyn

“THAT ALL ACTS, BY-LAWS, POLICIES, PROCEEDINGS, APPOINTMENTS, ELECTION AND PAYMENTS ENACTED, MADE AND TAKEN BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF THE LEARNING DISABILITIES ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO SINCE THE

LAST MEETING OF MEMBERS HELD ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2003 IN NORTH YORK, ONTARIO, REFERRED TO IN THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 14, 2003, DECEMBER 1, 2003, FEBRUARY 2, 2004 AND MAY 3, 2004 ARE HEREBY APPROVED”.

Carried.

  1. Nominating Committee Report & Election of Directors – Waxman

Mr. Waxman presented this report. He expressed thanks to the 2003 Nominating Committee – Peter Chaban and John Lubert, LDAO Board Members, and Vince Greco, LDA Sault Ste. Marie. Mr. Waxman thanked retiring Board members Jerry Baum, Jean Carberry and John Lubert for their support of the work of LDAO over the past two years. This will also be the last time that Mr. Waxman

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himself is a part of the board. His term as Past President is now over and he thanked the Board, the chapters and the staff for the learning experience he had with LDAO over the past 6 years. He will continue to sit on the Adult Advocacy Committee.

Mr. Waxman introduced the current board members to the delegates and then asked that the new nominees stand so that they could be identified by the delegates. They are: M. Jean-Luc Bernard, Dr. Ian Brown, Dr. Mark Handley-Derry, Captain George McLeod and Lloyd Schoenmaker.

MOTION: R. Sealy/M. Avery

“THAT THE PROPOSED SLATE OF NOMINEES BE DULY ELECTED AS DIRECTORS OF THE LDAO FOR THE YEARS 2004 - 2006. THEY ARE: M. JEAN-LUC BERNARD, DR. IAN BROWN, SUSAN CARLYLE, PETER CHABAN, ROY COOPER, DR. MARK HANDLEY-DERRY, STEVE LEE, CAPTAIN GEORGE MCLEOD, LLOYD SCHOENMAKER,RANDOLPH SEALY, DR. ISABEL SHESSEL AND RUTH TABER. THEY WILL JOIN THE FOLLOWING DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS WITH TERMS IN EFFECT UNTIL THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IN 2005: BILL CORMIER, VINCE GRECO AND DR. VERA WOLOSHYN.

Carried

  1. Appointment of the 2004-2005 Nominating Committee – Waxman

This Committee traditionally consists of the Past Chair, 2 LDAO Board members and 3 chapter representatives. Invitations were extended to the delegates.

MOTION: R. Sealy/R. Taber

“THAT THE 2004-2005 NOMINATING COMMITTEE BE COMPRISED OF LDAO PAST CHAIR, DR. ISABEL SHESSEL, LDAO DIRECTORS ROY COOPER AND GEORGE MCLEOD, AND CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVES JIM CINCOTTA, LDAO OTTAWA AND REGGIE TAN, LDA YORK REGION”.

Carried

  1. Awards Presentations

LDAO Chapter Newsletter Award – K. Quinn

LDA Mississauga/LDA Mississauga

LDAO Membership Award – C. Marroquin

LDA North Peel

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LDAO Educator of the Year Award - Yaworski

Posthumously to Mr. Ray Morin of Sudbury, Ontario who passed away shortly before this award could be presented. The LDA Sudbury chapter accepted on behalf of Mr. Morin’s family and a presentation will be made in Sudbury at a later date.

LDAO Meritorious Service Award – K. Quinn

Ms. Jutta Genova, Past President, LDA DURHAM REGION and a long time, dedicated volunteer

LDAO Chair’s Award – Dr. Isabel Shessel

Jean Carberry, retiring Chair of the Educational Policy and Legislation Committee, and LDAO By-Laws expert, was the 2004 recipient of this award.

12.NEW BUSINESS

On behalf of the LDAO family, Ms. Yaworski extended her best wishes to LDAO Peterborough, who suffered a major loss of their office in the flooding of Peterborough earlier in the year. They have had to start from scratch and we know that several chapters have been able to find equipment and supplies for them to get back on their feet.

13.Any Announcements – Shessel and Yaworski

a) LDAO Training Sessions

Diane Wagner, LDAO staff, reported that Lynn Ziraldo and Roy Cooper had conducted three separate Advocacy training sessions throughout this fiscal year. Thirty-two chapter people participated and at our Kingston session, there were 7 people from outside the LDAO community who attended the session. Of the LDAO chapter people, 20 have already handed in their course documentation papers.

b)Accreditation Training

There was an accreditation session held November 15, 2003 and the following people have now received their certificate – Kathy Beckwith from LDAWellingtonCounty and Judy Matthews and Kathryn Hancock from LDAO Ottawa-Carleton.

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14.2005 Annual General Meeting - Shessel

The 2005 AGM will be held Saturday, September 24, 2005, in Toronto.

15.Adjournment - Shessel

MOTION: R. Taber/P. Chaban

“THAT THE BUSINESS MEETING BE ADJOURNED.”

Carried.

Business Meeting adjourned at 10:45 AM

10:45 – 11:00 AMCoffee Break

11:00 AM to 12 NoonWorkshop - Solid Foundations: A Governance Cornerstone

By Deborah Gardner, ED, Volunteer Centre of Toronto

This was a very informative session. A slide presentation was available. The delegates thanked Ms. Gardner for an informative and entertaining discussion of board governance and asked that LDAO bring her back for a more intensive session in the future.

12 Noon – 1:30 PMLUNCH and SPEAKER

The Hon. Gerard Kennedy, Minister of Education

The Hon. Mr. Kennedy spoke of the work he has started to undertake in his new role as Minister of Education. He was very open to questions from the floor and delegates thanked him for the opportunity to listen to our concerns.

2004 Annual General Meeting Minutes