Present: (See 2017 WRC AGM Attendee list)
The meeting was called to order at 2:05pm and was chaired by Janine.
Report to the credentials of members present
From the By Laws: “A majority of the Club Members, or at least 30 Club Members present in person or represented by proxy, whichever number is less, shall form a quorum for the transaction of business at a meeting of Club Members.”
A sufficient number of members was found to be present.
Approval of Agenda
Motion to approve agenda; moved by Sandi, seconded by Fernando.
Approval of Minutes of 2016 AGM
The minutes were circulated in advance of the meeting.
Motion to dispense with reading the minutes; moved by Erin, seconded by Theo.
Motion to approve minutes of the 2016 AGM; moved by Eric, seconded by Tracy, all in favour
Presentation of the Directors’ Reports
The following directors reported:
Ron Basarab (House and Ground) – waiting for file, provided report in paper at meeting
Janine Stephens (President) – Report
Tracy Kowal – verbal report on fundraising only, see below for details
Bernie Young (Treasurer) – Report
Motion to receive the 2016 Director’s Reports as information; moved by Erin, seconded by Pat, all in favour.
Adoption of Financial Statements
Bernie presented the financial statements. Sandi asked if taxes are up to date now, Janine reported that thanks to Eric we have submitted taxes up to current.
Motion to adopt the financial statements for the year ended 2016-12-31; moved by Scooter, seconded by Sheila, all in favour.
Dispensing with the appointment of an auditor
Motion to dispense with the appointment of an auditor for the 2016 fiscal year; moved by Erin, seconded by Eric.
Discussion: Ralph asked if we can dispense as long as we want to, Eric explained that we can dispense forever. To anyone’s knowledge we have never done a formal audit. We have many checks and balances, for example all expense requests are signed by two board members, finances are discussed at every board meeting, several members who are CA/CFAs mreview financial statements on an ongoing basis. Doing an audit would be expensive, and in this context a waste of resources.
Vote: all in favour.
Election / Approval for the 2017 Board of Directors
Other than initially reported Janine has agreed to remain in her role as president. The other positions that need filling each had one nominee:
- Sheila Wilson Kowal as Treasurer
- Tracy Kowal as VP
Since there are no other candidates there needs to be no vote.
Janine Stephens will continue in her role as president, and Tina Tenbergen still has one more year in her term as Secretary.
Motion to appointment Sheila as treasurer and Tracy as VP; moved by Sandi, seconded by Freddie.
Additional Reports
Peter Nykoluk Rowing Award
Jim reported that Hanika Nakagawa and Andrej Kao are the winners of this year’s Peter Nykoluk Rowing Award.
Fundraising
Tracy reported on fundraising team discussions. Other places do raffles, but that’s hard on volunteers. The fundraising team decided to focus on the Community Challenge. We are running it again this year, goal is to have 20 teams. Some posters have been printed, please contact Sheila if you want one to put up at your work, gym or similar to recruit additional teams.
Another plan is to organize team building exercises, maybe with Home Depot.
Truck
We sold the truck because it was old and too expensive to maintain. Trailer for regattas is now pulled by rented trucks, paid for by those who are going. This reduces WRC’s risk of being stuck with the bill. Also, it means that we have a new vehicle and roadside assistance.
Bingos
The province’s bingo program has changed. At least for the 2017 year, funding will continue but we will not need to work bingos any longer .
We have had a decrease in volunteer commitments, so we increased the volunteer deposit. The board is working on a new volunteer deposit process. Refund of deposit will likely be based on number of hours worked in qualifying activites, similar to before.
Change in membership fees
all the same fee now. Erin raised concern about low involvement members not willing to pay that, noted.
Regattas for 2017
Sandi suggested we make Head of the Red a noteworthy regatta. We would have to start organizing it very soon. Brandi has offered to run it, Theo and Ed offered to help. Ralph suggested doing e.g. three races: long loop, head race, sprints.
Sandi also suggested we do a 24hr row as a club fundraiser using a relay format.
Adjourned
Motion to adjourn: moved by Eric, seconded by Theo, all in favour.
Winnipeg Rowing Club 