The 2020 Annual General Meeting

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Thank you to everyone who attended The Federation’s 2020 Annual General Meeting last week. While the meeting looked and functioned a little different from past AGMs, we managed to cover a lot of ground and our staff team and Board of Directors did a remarkable job of pacing, organizing, and including everything and everyone that was needed.

For those of you that couldn’t make it, and for those of you that were able to attend and would like a recap (or maybe needed to step away briefly), below is a brief breakdown of the most important Federation business that was taken care of.

  • 2020 Federation Annual Report
  • New Federation Members
  • Bylaw Changes
  • Board Elections
  • Retiring Members
  • Award for Excellence

We released our 2020 Annual Report

We shared our 2020 Annual Report with members and Federation Executive Director Rick FitzZaland spoke to the work The Federation has focused on over the past year—in particular, our work to enable reconciliation in the community sector and the efforts of the Community Social Services Roundtable to strengthen the sustainability of our sector. You can view the Federation’s 2020 Annual Report here.

“We have accomplished a lot over the past year. And all of these efforts were made possible by you, our members. Your time, energy, creativity, and compassion are proof that Altogether better is more than just a slogan. It’s the philosophy that guides our entire organization. It’s the call to action that drives our work. It’s the strength of our partnerships. It’s what inspires and empowers our members to make BC a better place to live and it’s a steadfast commitment to strong and sustainable social services.”

We welcomed 8 new members

As Federation President Tanya Behardien noted in her address, none of the work that this organization does would be possible without our members. “It is because of you and your belief in altogether better that we have been able to make such great strides for our communities.” We are thrilled to have the following eight organizations join us in this work.

BC Centre for Ability (Full Member)
Fraser Valley Child Development (Full Member)
Golden Family Centre (Full Member)
Langley Community Services (Full Member)
Nanaimo Child Development Centre (Full Member)
Valley Community Services Society (Full Member)
Canadian Mental Health Association (Associate Member)
ShareVision (Associate Member)

We approved bylaw changes

Among other changes, Federation members approved a bylaw change focused on living into reconciliation and resurgence! The motion to hold two of the Director-at-Large positions on The Federation Board of Directors exclusively for members who identify as Indigenous was unanimously approved.

There was a good discussion about the intention and purpose of this change and members noted their support but also encouraged the board to consider other steps that could be taken to promote and ensure diversity on The Federation board.

We welcomed the 2020 Federation Board

Tanya Behardien, President
Renata Aebi, Vice-President
Kendra Gage, Secretary-Treasurer
David Young, Past-President
Vicki Kipps, Fraser Regional Director
Kelly Kelland, Interior Regional Director
Gwen Cardinal, North Regional Director
Ann Kutcher, Vancouver Coastal Regional Director
Sophia Palmer, Vancouver Island Regional Director
Christine Mohr, Director at Large
Julia Staub-French, Director at Large
Liz Barnett, Director at Large
Tim Veresh, Director at Large

We also thanked outgoing Board members Judy Valsonis, Michelle Bell, and Tyrell Arnold for their commitment and service to Federation members over the past years. (Many thanks once again!!)

We recognized retiring members

This year, we recognized retiring member Rona Park of Nelson Community Services for her amazing leadership and work on behalf of the community social services sector. We wish Rona all the best in her much-deserved retirement!

We gave out hundreds of awards

The Board of Directors announced that this year the Federation Award for Excellence will be given out to the entire full membership of The Federation. In a year such as this, picking just one exemplary community service organization was simply not possible. Each full member of The Federation will be receiving an award in the mail in the coming weeks. Congratulations to you all—you more than deserve it.

Thank you

Thank you once again to all of you who were able to take the time to join us at the AGM. It was especially good to see all your faces and hear your voices. It was a timely reminder and spark of inspiration and I am so thankful for each of you and the incredibly good work you and your organizations continue to do. If you have any other questions about the AGM, changes to the bylaws, or what The Federation has or is working on, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Rick FitzZaland
Federation Executive Director