Chairperson John Malmström’s AGM report

Chairman’s Annual General Meeting Report
Bear River Innovation, Growth, and Development Society (BRIDGS)
Delivered by John Malmström at public meeting on April 11th, 2007

In partnership with numerous other organizations and through its volunteer efforts, BRIDGS has:
1. Identified and built strong consensus amongst community stake holders through dialogues with area volunteer organizations and village-wide “town hall” presentations/gatherings
2. Based upon the community’s input, created a “Vision Document” which sets out the general objectives of Bear River’s short, intermediate, and long term goals
3. Formalized the structure of the BRIDGS organization including subcommittees, by-laws, incorporation and regular open meetings for the community.
4. Co-lobbied with Board of Trade to stimulate municipal governments to secure feasibility studies for local infrastructure improvement necessary for the realization of the village’s long-term goals.
5. Built a successful relationship with the local and regional press to help the greater community remain informed and involved with the village’s progress.
6. Answered the community’s desire to serve local young people by opening, maintaining, staffing, and funding (all through generous local donations and first of a continuing series of “Variety Nights”), of a safe, fun gathering place for area youth with regular hours of operation.
7. Received generous investments from Annapolis and Digby Municipalities, Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, and Nova Scotia Office of Economic Development.
8. Created significant contract employment for area residents while creating sustainable economic activity.
9. Changing perceptions province-wide, which reflect Bear River as a “vital community.”
10. Have demonstrated that the funding is available, projects are achievable, unified voice is the way towards government support, sustainable economic development is key to infrastructure repair
11. Major projects underway:
o operation of the Youth Centre (continuing)
o Strategic Development Plan for Bear River (Completion Date May1st.)
o Bear River Pageant (due to premier this summer)

Challenges and recommendations in the next 6 months will be:
1. Continuing operation and funding of the Bear River Youth Centre (BRYC) to include a paid employee.
2. Completion of the Strategic Plan leading to realization of objectives
3. Bear River Pageant
4. Executive Board and volunteer base development
5. Continuing forward momentum and daily small victories

Executive Committee Report – Apr 05/07

BRIDGS
Executive Committee Report
April 5, 2007
Trading Post

Present:  John Malmstrom, Susan Malmstrom, Wayne Smith, Hal Theriault, Tim Wilson.

The meeting was called to order at 9:00 AM.

Search Committee: has still not found a Treasurer.  They will keep working on it up until the AGM and beyond, if necessary.  Wayne can act as Treasurer until June, if necessary.  Rev. Ken Perkins may be able to step in.  John will be in touch with him as soon as possible.

Treasurer’s Report:  Treasurer Wayne Smith submitted a Treasurer’s Report to the Executive Committee, with a motion for acceptance.  Seconded by Tim. CARRIED.

Youth Centre and Committee: The Youth Centre fund will be in deficit if the entire current Nova Scotia power bill is paid in full.  Wayne suggested that we pay half now and incur and carry a charge on next month’s bill.  MOTION: Youth Centre power bill will be paid in two instalments.  Seconded by Tim.  CARRIED.

Annual Meeting: The Chair will deliver a report that will be sent out with next month’s minutes of the AGM.  Slate of officers will be voted on and Donna Hatt will update everyone on the Strategic Plan.  We will keep it at the Youth Centre.

Funding: Hal is working on several grant proposals right now, including one through the Hudson’s Bay Co., all worth small amounts.  MOTION: To have Hal continue to work on grant proposals on behalf of BRIDGS made by Susan, seconded by Tim.  CARRIED.

Meeting adjourned at 10:30 AM.

Minutes, June 14, 2006

BRIDGS
(Bear River Innovation, Development and Growth Society)
June 14, 2006
Youth Centre (Trading Post Building)

Present: Cindy Harris, John & Susan Malmstrom, Hal Theriault, David Isles, Don Rice, Pamela Barron, Tim Wilson, Julian Graham, Barbara Graham, Donna Parkins. Special Guest: André Bouchard.

1. Call to Order/Adoption of Agenda
Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM. Andre Bouchard, Active Living Facilitator for the County of Annapolis led the group in a warm-up (lively!) exercise to introduce ourselves.

MOTION to accept the Agenda made by Don Rice, seconded by Tim Wilson. CARRIED.

2. Introduction of Minutes from Previous Meeting

3. New Business

Executive Committee Minutes: were read by Secretary Susan Malmstrom.

Treasurer’s Report: Wayne Smith was not present. The report will be submitted for board approval at the next general meeting.

Mid-Year Report: Chair John Malmstrom gave a mid-year of progress in the village of Bear River. He emphasized that we are at the six-month point of his time as chairperson, and it is important for the group to be looking toward the future. Mr. Malmstrom’s report:
Bear River, the Village has:
1. Identified and built strong consensus amongst community stake holders through dialogues with area volunteer organizations and village-wide “town hall” presentations/gatherings
2. Based upon the community’s input, created a “Vision Document” which sets out the general objectives of Bear River’s short, intermediate, and long term goals
3. Formalized the structure of the BRIDGS organization including subcommittees, by-laws, incorporation and regular open meetings for the community.
4. Successfully lobbied with municipal government to secure feasibility studies for local infrastructure improvement necessary for the realization of the village’s long term goals
5. Built a successful relationship with the local and regional press to help the greater community remain informed and involved with the village’s progress
6. Exceeded expectations through local grass-roots fundraising to enable the imminent opening of a village “Youth Centre” – the first short term goal identified by the community
7. Established encouraging contacts with local, provincial, and federal funding sources including, in particular, a $10,000.00 grant for the partial funding of a Community Economic Development Strategy from the Nova Scotia Office of Economic Development
8. Begun to change perceptions to reflect BR as a “vital community”
9. Have demonstrated that the funding is available, unified voice is the way towards government support, sustainable economic development is key to infrastructure repair –BR’s revitalization can be done if the village wills it.

Challenges and recommendations in the next 6 months will be:
1. Opening the Bear River Youth Centre (BRYC)
2. Continuing maintenance of BRYC
3. Scheduling another village wide meeting to report progress
4. Preparing for shift in executive committee (new Chair to be elected in December), on-going board development
5. Community Economic Development Strategy Document—funding completion, bids, selection of vendor, writing
6. Establishing, strengthening subcommittees for
a. BRYC
b. Village meeting
c. Economic Development Report
d. Board development
7. Bear River’s future can be bright if the village wills it.

Youth Centre: Several things need to be finalized before the Youth Centre can be officially opened. Recreation Nova Scotia has not contacted us regarding our application, which means that we do not have liability insurance. The toilet has been installed, and the issue of power to the building has been resolved. After much discussion regarding what remains to be accomplished, John called for volunteers to serve on the Youth Subcommittee to complete these tasks. Barbara Graham, Julian Graham, and Tim Wilson all volunteered to serve.
André Bouchard led a discussion on opening the Centre. His suggestions included:
• Special invitations to young persons for a grand opening;
• Establish a proper foundation to create a safe space;
• Some community standards will be non-negotiable (i.e. no drugs, alcohol, smoking, etc.)
• Establish minimum age groups and times/days;
• Give the youth a feeling of ownership of the space;
• Set up relationships first, then create the programming;
• Who are the chaperones? BRIDGS members, parents, the Subcommittee, other volunteers.

5. Review and Adoption of Minutes from Previous Meeting
MOTION: Moved by Tim Wilson, seconded by Cindy Harris to approve and adopt the Minutes of the May 10, 2006 meeting. CARRIED.

6. Next Meeting
Wednesday, July 12, at 7:30 pm at the Youth Centre (Trading Post).

7. Adjournment
Motion made by Don Rice for adjournment, seconded by Susan Malmstrom.
CARRIED. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM.

Executive Committee Report – June/06

BRIDGS
Executive Committee Report
June
Trading Post/Youth Centre

Present: John Malmstrom, Wayne Smith, Susan Malmstrom, Hal Theriault, Tim Wilson.

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 AM.

Youth Centre:
• Sarah Peck of Greenland won the Garden Basket.
• John and Tim could not reach Julian and Barbara Graham to work on opening the Youth Centre; Tim will try emailing them again.
• Jane Kingston and Tim worked through the insurance application. The fee is $500. As soon as Tim finds out the terms of the insurance, Wayne will forward the check to Recreation Nova Scotia. John said that we need to have something in writing before the check is forwarded.
• John suggests that Tim ask Jane if she would like to join the Youth Subcommittee.

Other Topics:
• We need to be in better contact with the village at large so that everyone is informed of what BRIDGS is doing. A brief, monthly 1 paragraph press release to the Tributary was suggested.

• TO DO LIST:
1. Tim will contact Recreation Nova Scotia regarding the insurance terms; Wayne will forward the check.
2. Tim will call Glendean to get the name of the electrician who inspected the space, as well as the meter number, so that Nova Scotia Power can be contacted regarding regular service.
3. Tim will draft and John will edit a report for The Tributary.
4. Hal will continue to work on the Economic Development Report.

Meeting adjourned at 11:00 AM.

Minutes, May 10, 2006

BRIDGS
(Bear River Innovation, Development and Growth Society)
May 10, 2006
Bear River First Nations Cultural Center

Present: Cindy Harris, John & Susan Malmstrom, Hal Theriault, David Isles, Don Rice, Rob Buckland, George Barron, Tim Wilson, Julian Graham, Wayne Smith.

1. Call to Order
Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM

2. Introduction of Minutes from Previous Meeting

3. New Business
Executive Committee Minutes: were read by Secretary Susan Malmstrom.
BRIDGS Liaisons: as per the suggestion of the Executive Committee, it was decided that a good way to connect with the other organizations in town was to assign BRIDGS members to act as go-betweens for these groups. The liaisons don’t need to attend the other groups’ meetings, although many of them are already doing this; they only need to contact the group prior to a BRIDGS general meeting to see if the other organization has any concerns that they would like to see raised at our meeting. The assignments are: Fire Hall: Cindy Harris, Oakdene: Cindy Harris, BREDS: Rob Buckland, Health Centre: Don Rice, Legion: Susan Malmstrom.
New Member: Julian Graham, a supporter of the Youth Centre, was welcomed as he joined us for the first time.
Treasurer’s Report: Wayne Smith presented his initial report. John suggested that in future reports, noting pending receipts and debits would be helpful. George suggested that it might be worthwhile to research the pros and cons of charitable status for the organization. Cindy offered to look into this for the next meeting. MOTION to accept the Treasurer’s Report made by Wayne Smith, seconded by Cindy Harris. CARRIED.

4. Youth Centre: Power still needs to be hooked up and the toilet installed. John offered to come by and get this done. Supplies need to be purchased. Rob suggested approaching Wilson’s Hardware to see if they could donate supplies, or sell them to us at a discount; Hal offered to look into this. Equipment, signage and programming were discussed at length. John and Hal will contact Andre Bouchard for assistance. We cannot have anyone other than board members in the space, however, until liability insurance has been purchased. We are still waiting for membership status from Recreation Nova Scotia, so that we can get insurance through them at a discounted rate.

5. Strategic Development Plan: John and Hal met with Louise Watson of the Office of Economic Development. They will provide funding for the initial investment of $10,000. The estimate for the overall cost may be around $30,000. We will have to put this out to tender. It will be necessary to have the endorsement of both the municipalities to proceed with the plan, via a token amount of funding. John and Hal are scheduled to present to the Municipality of Annapolis on May 16. The strategic plan is a critical step for moving BRIDGS forward; we cannot secure any kind of substantial funding without it. Hal is also conducting ongoing research of cultural and tourism grant opportunities.

6. Review and Adoption of Minutes from Previous Meeting
MOTION: Moved by Cindy Harris, seconded by Don Rice to approve and adopt the Minutes of the March 29, 2006 meeting. CARRIED.

7. Next Meeting
June 14, at 7:30 pm at the Youth Centre (Trading Post).

8. Adjournment
Motion made by Tim Wilson for adjournment, seconded by Susan Malmstrom.
CARRIED. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM.