September Message from President Sandy Evans

As we roll into a new programming year there is a lot happening behind the scenes to support clubs, parents and leaders in our amazing program.  Our strength and your connection to our JFW community is best  built by working on things together.  

So what has the AJ Board been up to?  

The Board (Regional representatives and elected executive) is a group of dedicated members who have taken on the exciting task of steering our JFW canoe.   Governing an organization is about encouraging the growth of people and community with an eye on potential storms and risks.  There are boundaries that limit our actions  - legal and financial obligations and our own bylaws that we agree to as a whole membership.  There are policies and procedures that we create to document and guide our day to day actions.  And over all of this are our values and mission that create the culture of our JFW community.  

We have a number of committees that all members can grab a paddle to help out with these endeavours.  

The CommT keeps our communication flowing across the  province, and our technological structure healthy.  They are like invisible gnomes and fairies that tweak and fix things so the garden of our virtual network is useful and helpful.  (As a non techie, I am in awe and always grateful when I can just click a button). 

The Membership and REC committees have been refining and testing the registration and chartering processes.  We have some great documents and training to help registrars and all members with this process.  

JPCC has organized a wonderful event commemorating some of those who have made huge contributions to our organization and built our history.  

We have a lot to offer the youth, families and the environment in our broader communities. The Canada committee is working hard to help promote JFW and get our “secret” out.  Governance is working hard to build and keep current the documentation of our policies and procedures and Fund Development is working to defer some of the costs of our programming with grant applications and searches for  sponsorship.  These are just a few of the committee activities over the past few months.  I encourage all members to check out the committee page on  our website and see if there is something that grabs your interest.    

The Directors on the board often wear many hats.  Their job on the Board involves looking forward, looking back, providing diverse perspectives from across the province and working to steer us in a good direction.   In the next few weeks the regional boards will be looking for representatives for the AJ board, and Committee chairs will be looking for new members.   This is OUR organization.  See what you can do!!  We all have ways to contribute.  Grab  a paddle, even if it is a small one, or you can only take a few strokes at a  time.  A few strokes from everyone helps us all move forward.

Sandy Evans

AJFWA President