Hello ONHB members,

This is the official notification for the 2018 annual general meeting of the Ottawa New Horizons Band, scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 28, 2018 from 2 to about 3:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of Woodroffe United Church, 207 Woodroffe Ave., Ottawa.

If you participated in the Fall 2017 or the Winter 2018 ONHB session, or if you are registered for the Fall 2018 session, you are eligible to vote at this meeting.  Current band leaders may vote on all matters at the meeting, except that they may not nominate or vote for directors.

You will find a copy of the AGM agenda, the draft minutes of last year’s meeting and a proposal for a technical amendment of the ONHB bylaw here, here and here.  Please print these documents and bring them with you as there will only be a few copies of each available at the meeting.  You can always find all documents related to the 2018 Annual General Meeting here.

Last year, at our first AGM, we adopted bylaws and elected our first board of directors.  This year, as will be the case in all subsequent years, two of the four elected board positions will be open for election.  Steve Snell, chair, and David Chaplin, vice-chair, have completed their one-year terms on the board and have decided not to run again.  For the board and ONHB to operate effectively, these positions need to be filled by members willing to put in some time and energy on a regular basis.  At its first regular meeting after the AGM, board members will decide among themselves how to assign the positions of chair, vide-chair, treasurer and secretary.

Under the terms of our bylaws, any member interested in seeking a position on the board will need to be nominated by 17 members (5% of the membership, recently calculated to be 333 members).  A nomination form can be found here.  The names of candidates whose completed nomination forms are submitted in person or scanned and emailed to Cathy Wilcox by Friday, October 26, at 5 p.m. will appear on the printed ballot.  The names of candidates whose completed nomination forms are submitted later than this date and time or at the AGM will have to be entered by hand by members when the voting takes place.  You are encouraged to nominate energetic, involved members to run for the board, as the organization will only remain effective if it has a highly functional and active board of directors. 

The agenda will also feature a “state of the union” presentation by the chair, Steve Snell, and a review of our finances by treasurer Leslie Scott who will table a financial statement at the meeting.  Cathy Wilcox, the band leader representative on the board, will introduce and thank our band leaders, including the three new leaders for the fall session, Laurel Ralston, Laurie Hamilton and Rocco Romeo.  The election of two new board members will be followed by a Q&A period.

If you can, please attend the AGM, learn what has been accomplished over the last 12 months, review the financial results for the completed year and the budget for the upcoming year, meet the new and returning band leaders, participate in the selection of strong replacement board members, and join the discussion of issues of importance to the membership during the Q&A session.  Please consider running for the board or encouraging others to do so and join us on October 28 to meet and greet other band members and help us with the essential business of ONHB.  Parking is available behind the church, as well as on the south side of Woodroffe Public School next door.