On Tuesday May 7th, 2024, the New Brunswick Senior Citizens’ Federation held its 56th Annual General Meeting. Under the presidency of Mr. Percy Huntington, this assembly took place at the Legends Room of the Moncton Coliseum with close to 130 members present. Shawn Crossman, deputy-mayor of Moncton, wished everyone a warm welcome to the region. Jean-Eudes Gaudet, K.C., discussed wills and powers of attorney which brought in lots of questions from the crowd.
The Standing Committee Reports painted a positive picture of the Federation:
Coming into the AGM, there was only one candidate for president, Percy Huntington, who had agreed to take on a second term. However, in an interesting turn of events, Alphonse Dionne, former president from 2019 to 2022, was nominated from the floor and he accepted. The delegates present elected Alphonse Dionne as provincial president for a 2-year term. The Board of Directors had a quick meeting right after the end of the AGM to plan their first official meeting for September 24th 2024. The new executive, to join Alphonse Dionne as president and Percy Huntington as past president, will be voted in at that point.
We would like to thank the Legends Room staff, JCB Interpretation, Sonic Image, our volunteers, and all participants who helped to ensure that the day ran smoothly. Wishing everyone health and happiness in the coming year!
- Management: An administrative assistant, Anne Daigle, was hired part-time. The office phone system has been replaced with VOIP and everything is working well. What a discount! We now pay $125/month rather than $521/month with Bell Aliant.
- Marketing and Revenue Generation: The $60,000 Covid loan acquired during the pandemic was repaid before the end of 2023, allowing us to keep $20,000 of the amount. We also applied for and received the Community Services Recovery Fund from the Red Cross and the Government of Canada, a grant of $42,201.60.
- Government Relations: The 2023 resolutions approved at last year's AGM have been sent to the provincial government, along with those from previous years which remain unresolved. The committee met with Kathy Bockus, Minister responsible for Seniors, on August 30th, and Bruce Fitch, Minister of Health, on November 7th. It's been productive meetings so far and they were open to seeing us again. They explained that the process is a bit complicated. When we bring concerns to ministers, they then have to present our ideas to a committee, which can take some time.
- Programs and Services: In November 2022, Lise Guignard, our office manager, had applied for a $25,000 project from the New Horizons for Seniors program entitled: Seniors Gatherings to Learn and Socialize. She also applied this fall for another $19,000 New Horizons project, this time for: Rekindle the Arts. Activities for this project will begin in September.
- Louise Belliveau, accountant, presented a very positive 2023 financial report. Business is going well and our employees, Lise Guignard and Anne Daigle, are doing an amazing job of running the office.
- The four Resolutions: 1. Provide the 2-dose Shingrix vaccine, 2. Property Tax Allowance, 3. Affordable Ozempic Diabetes Medication, and 4. RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine were all accepted, with a few wording changes.
Coming into the AGM, there was only one candidate for president, Percy Huntington, who had agreed to take on a second term. However, in an interesting turn of events, Alphonse Dionne, former president from 2019 to 2022, was nominated from the floor and he accepted. The delegates present elected Alphonse Dionne as provincial president for a 2-year term. The Board of Directors had a quick meeting right after the end of the AGM to plan their first official meeting for September 24th 2024. The new executive, to join Alphonse Dionne as president and Percy Huntington as past president, will be voted in at that point.
We would like to thank the Legends Room staff, JCB Interpretation, Sonic Image, our volunteers, and all participants who helped to ensure that the day ran smoothly. Wishing everyone health and happiness in the coming year!
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