faith | service | social justice

2017 Annual Report – Ontario

Sep 25, 2018 | Uncategorized

Anne Madden
Ontario Provincial Council President
2017 Annual Report

Statistics
• From across Ontario over 76% of presidents filled in the annual report, two dioceses had 100% completion rate. A total number of 405 parish council presidents reposnded.
• Most councils (98%) had a president and 91% filed their own annual report.

Inform the Membership
Where did councils get information from which to inform their members?
• national meetings, directives, research, media and League websites
• issues of concern from the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario (ACBO) re: Call for Conscience Campaign, euthanasia, availability of palliative care in all communities, physician-assisted dying, and gender identity.

What  national priorities were introduced to and discussed or acted upon by councils?
• palliative care, strategic planning, 100th League anniversary
• directors and officers insurance

What methods were used to introduce these topics?
• for “12 Hours of Palliative Care”, all diocesan and provincial councils participated in the national quilt competition and donated the quilts to palliative care.
• held town hall meeting during annual national convention to garner ideas for strategic planning vår webbsida.
• members chaired and served on committee and the provincial executive publicized national 100th anniversary celebrations.
• Sent e-mails/phone calls re: statistics and details on insurance coverage.

Foster Open Communication
ON-line Newsletter/website
• oral reports at executive meetings
• directives from provincial officers to counterparts
• many provincial bulletins about urgent matters
• personal and conference phone calls and e-mails

Preside at Meetings
What resources were used to preside at meetings?
Constitution & Bylaws, national and provincial policy and procedure manuals, Roberts Rules of Order, national communiques and knowledge gained from attendance at national meetings

Signing Authority
What types of documents were signed by the provincial president on behalf of provincial council?
• worked with the provincial treasurer and recording secretary (when needed) to review claim forms and sign cheques.
• letters, cards, certificates, invitations, e-mails  sent by the administrative assistant on my behalf

Provide Active Leadership
At which events was the provincial council represented?
•  all 13 diocesan conventions.
•  development days, workshops, retreats, special council anniversaries and events

Council Subsidies to Attend Events
• Euthanasia Prevention Coalition symposium in October

Initiate Policy
• provincial manuals (policy and procedure, convention guide and provincial guidelines) were updated, made searchable and added to the website

Keep Informed
• All executive members have read and understand the Executive Handbook and duties of the executive team.
• Provincial executive members were encouraged to visit the national and provincial League websites on all “Website Wednesdays”
• Reports submitted by every executive member were shared via e-mail with all other executive members and posted on the website

Advisory Capacity
What committees, other than standing committees, does the provincial council have? The following committees were appointed:
• administrationn committee
• policy, guidelines and convention guide review committee
• registration and credential committee
• resolutions review, reading, government visitation and archiving committees
• minutes review committee
• Bishop Bernard F. Pappin bursary committee
• social justice committee
• nominations and elections committee
• annual report book committee

On what issues did the provincial president speak on behalf of the council in the past year?
• represented the province at the national table
• attended meeting with ACBO executive in September with president- elect
• had representation at special anniversaries, award ceremonies, funerals as requested or as needed
• administration, executive and president’s meetings were arranged, and executive members engaged in dialogue on relevant topics

President’s Activity Report
• attended national executive meetings / convention as required and gave written and oral reports
• worked with administrative assistant to send letters for a variety of reasons (congratulatory, sympathy, information, etc.)
• prepared monthly submissions to ON-Line Newsletter
• selected guest speakers for annual convention in keeping with the national theme and the provincial theme of Homelessness
• secured a parliamentarian
• accepted requests to speak at meetings in own diocese

Recommendations
• new executives hold a mentoring session soon after election, with their previous counterparts, to swap materials and glean ideas and tips for ongoing success.
• save files to flash drives for ease of access and to decrease amount of paper transferred and stored.
• presidents keep a running list of  activities for future counterpart.