SASKATCHEWAN CHORAL FEDERATION INC.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Board of Directors of the Saskatchewan Choral Federation will hold the organization's Annual General Meeting on Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 12:15 pm in the Courtyard Room of the Saskatoon Inn, 2002 Airport Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Access is open and all members in good standing* will be provided voting cards. Registration opens at 11:30 am.
The agenda will include:
Call to Order
Adoption of Agenda
Adoption of Minutes of November 7, 2015
Business Arising from the Minutes
Executive and Program Reports Ratification of Board Actions
Motion to Appoint the Auditor
Election of Directors
New Business - Constitutional Changes to the Election of Directors Adjournment
Notice given this 21st day of October by:
Denise Gress, Executive Director
'Member in Good Standing' must be a current paid membership. All memberships expire on October 31st, so if you have not purchased a new membership for 2016-17, you will not be eligible to vote. Memberships are $50 (choir or individual); $20 (full-time student). Each membership holds one vote.
The following is a list of Board Members and their standing as of November 2016:
Vacant Positions:
Nominations are invited for up to five (5) two-year positions. A minimum of one (1) position must be filled.
Board Members up for re-election who have agreed to let their name stand:
Colin Elliott, Saskatoon
James Hawn, Saskatoon
Members who have agreed to let their name stand:
Dave Pearce, Regina
Board Members not up for re-election:
Emily Coupal, Saskatoon
Brianna Dennehy, Swift Current
Chloé Golden, Regina
Arthur Jack, Regina
Jennifer Lang, Saskatoon
Diane Taylor-Neale, Regina
Cannot be re-elected but remains on the Board as per #2 below:
Kathy Stokes (moves to Past President 161119)
Retiring from the Board:
Marcia McLean, current Past President
SCF CONSTITUTION:
The affairs of the Federation shall be managed by a Board of Directors (hereafter called the Board) of at least eight (8) Directors*, each of whom at the time of their election shall be a member of the Federation.
Each Director shall be elected to hold office for a term of two years and may be eligible for reelection, but may not serve more than three consecutive terms, with the exception of the President, who may serve as Past President until that position is filled by the next outgoing President.
In any given year, the terms of office of only one-half of the members of the Board shall expire.
* and no more than 12 as per Information Services Corporation of Saskatchewan Annual Return.
INCUMBENT: Colin Elliott
Colin Elliott is a band and music teacher at North Park Wilson School in Saskatoon. Originally from Russell, Manitoba, music has been a passion of Colin’s since early childhood. He has always embraced opportunity to pass his love for music on to others, and he has discovered that a career in Music Education makes this endeavour possible.
Choral music is one of Colin’s biggest passions; he has sung with choirs since Kindergarten. He currently sings with the Saskatoon Chamber Singers and directs the Grosvenor Park United Church choir.
Colin has been involved with the Saskatchewan Choral Federation since 2012, and has held the role of Treasurer for the last two years. He has been volunteered to be an on-site coordinator for the SCF Summer Camps, and looks forward to working to increase sponsorship and donations to keep the organization growing.
INCUMBENT: James Hawn
James Hawn has been active with the Saskatoon Chamber Singers for most of its history, and has been involved with singing and choirs for as long as he can remember. Prior to his appointment as director of the Saskatoon Chamber Singers in 2003, he was a long-time member of the bass section, and served as the choir’s president for ten years. James has also been actively involved in provincial and national choral organizations for over thirty years. He was a member of the Saskatchewan Choral Federation board and was on the board of the Association of Canadian Choral Communities (now Choral Canada) for over twenty-five years and served as co-chair of two Podiums (1994 and 2010). In 2006 he was presented with the SCF’s Pro Musica Award which recognizes “exemplary service to choral music in Saskatchewan.”
James was an English language arts teacher for thirty-two years with the Saskatoon Public Board of Education. During that time he also taught music, was involved in choral and church music, musicals, and drama both in the school system and in the community. He has regularly directed plays and musicals for Saskatoon Gateway Players (no longer in existence) and Saskatoon Summer Players. Actively engaged with the broader cultural sector, he has served on the boards of TCU Place, the Friends of the Broadway Theatre, and SaskCulture. After retirement from the school board, James taught Adult Basic Education at SIAST for another eight years. At present James is on the National Technical Committee for Skills Canada where he works with Job Skills Demonstration and Prepared Speech. He has also been a choral adjudicator throughout Saskatchewan and has just completed one term on the board of the Saskatchewan Choral Federation. He is also a board member for Persephone Theatre.
CANDIDATE: Dave Pearce
Dave has had three careers in his lifetime, which includes 35 years service with the RCMP, a hall of fame sports career in Softball and his most recent as a barbershop singer and organizer.
His singing hobby started in 1969 when he first joined the Capital City Chorus in Ottawa and subsequently the Living Skies Chorus here, in Regina. His quartet, Sound Investment entertained Regina audiences for more than 10 years.
In 2000, the Barbershop Harmony Society initiated the Youth in Harmony program to encourage boys to sing and Dave became the youth coordinator for his chapter and then for the Canadian chapters in his District. While visiting local high schools to reinforce the support of the Barbershop Society for school music programs, he managed to convince a handful of boys to give barbershop a try. That, and the promise of a free trip to Tampa Bay to compete, led to the formation of the well known youth chorus, Harmony 2 Go which has now competed in 6 International Youth Festivals. Their goals are to; 1) recruit representation from every local high school, and 2) get the singers to competition free of charge. With the inclusion of girls in the program, Harmony 2 Go is unique in barbershop circles as the only mixed youth barbershop chorus in North America.
In 2010 Dave was appointed to the Board of Directors of the fledgling Sing Canada Harmony, a scholarship charity, dedicated to promoting singing in Canada. Since 2008, Sing Canada has provided over $480,000 in scholarships to deserving Canadians, $88,000 last year alone. Saskatchewan singers have received just over 17% of those awards, largely due to Dave efforts in promoting the program.
Dave is interested in joining the Saskatchewan Choral Federation Board because he would like to see barbershop groups and choirs work closer together.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
SCF (Saskatchewan Choral Federation) is seeking dedicated individuals to serve on our Board of Directors (volunteer positions) who are committed to assisting SCF in its mission to promote the art of choral music, encourage high standards of artistic attainment, maximize the number of singers and choirs, grow and develop appreciative audiences and communicate the benefits of singing as a healthy lifestyle activity in our multicultural community.
SCF also invites nominations for Board members who are not necessarily actively involved in choral music as either a chorister or director, but who are passionate about the value of singing together and may bring other necessary skills and experience to the Board.
The Board acts as a strong supporter of musical initiatives in the community. SCF’s programming includes free summer music camps for disadvantaged youth; a province-wide developmental choral festival; a choir for accomplished youth singers from throughout Saskatchewan; and partners on an annual professional development conference for practitioners.
The Board meets four times a year – September, January planning, March (conference call) and June and meets with the membership at the Annual General Meeting in November. The majority of the meetings are held in Regina. Out-of-pocket expenses to attend meetings are reimbursed at pre-defined rates.
SUMMARY: The Board is recommending to the membership that the Constitution be amended to allow for a four-year president elect position that would act in a vice presidential role for two years followed by two years as president. At the end of the four-year term, the president would be appointed by the membership for a two-year term as past-president.
The President Elect would be elected by the membership from a specific slate of candidates to perform all the duties of the Vice President currently outlined in the Constitution.
A call for nominations prior to the Annual General Meeting would provide members the opportunity to put names forward for the President Elect position and all other vacant Board of Director seats. Nominations would no longer be accepted from the floor at the Annual General Meeting.
The positions of Secretary, Treasurer (or Secretary-Treasurer) and any other Officer positions determined by the Board from time to time by bylaw would be filled by an election process within, and by, the Board of Directors.
If these Constitutional changes are approved by the membership, this process would begin in July 2017.
