Annual Report 2003-2004 - Independent Living Centre of Waterloo ...

2003-2004• approved minutes of theboard and board committees,financial reports and budget,and executive director reports• heard from staff by reviewingstrategic plan areas of effortand program reports• elected Randy Barrett aspresident and Deb Bergey asvice president for one year• filled vacancies with threenew members• evaluated performance ofexecutive director• drafted action plans based onresults of the board evaluation• dissolved board appealcommittee; duties will becovered by volunteers• disbanded the developmentfunding committee; duties willbe covered by staff• made amendments topolicy 4: Board ExecutiveRelationship• invited Margaret Sanderson,Deb Bergey, Judy Bruyn andDan Lajoie to speak about theOntarians with Disabilities Act• allocated $10,000 from thebalance sheet to establish theAccess Fund• released money from anappropriated fund to coverrenovations for the new office• accepted new ILCWRmembersBoard PresidentListed on the left are many of the decisions the board of directors made during the eightor nine meetings we had throughout the year. These decisions were not made lightly.With the help of many staff at ILC, we went through a great amount of informationbefore reaching our decisions. And we hope these decisions will benefit ILCWRpresently and in the future. Because the world around us is ever changing, we feel theneed to continually evaluate our policies to make sure they are meeting the needs of ourmembers and our staff.The work we do has its highs and lows but I think that I can speak for the rest of theboard members when I say that we feel it is important work that needs to be done andthat we are proud to represent the ILCWR members and staff in this capacity.I would like to thank the rest of the board for their hard work throughout this pastyear, and also the many staff who have attended and/or contributed to our meetingsthis past year.Best Wishes, Randy BarrettExecutive DirectorBy the time you read this report, we will have moved into our new home at127 Victoria Street South in Kitchener. This no doubt was one of our majoraccomplishments in the past year. After bouncing around for 20 years in six differentlocations, we have finally landed in a “permanent home.” And with a 20-year lease,we expect to quickly feel quite settled.So just exactly what do we mean when we call this our home? The dictionary hasmany meanings. One of my favourites is, “a familiar or usual setting; a congenialenvironment.” I think we have more than accomplished the latter—our main officecontinues to be a very welcoming place thanks to the smiling faces and accommodatingattitude of all our staff. People feel “at home” whenever they visit us. Now, with a newlong-term lease, it will become a familiar setting as well.Another definition of home is, “a place where something began and flourished.”This is most appropriate, albeit more about our community and our founders, thanabout our physical location. Not only were we the first independent living centre inCanada, but the Canadian definition and the birth of CAILC also blossomed right herein Kitchener. We are the home of the independent living movement in Canada.And finally, a home is “a place where something is discovered, developed, andpromoted.” There is no question that this organization has grown tremendously inits 22-year history. And we continue to promote independent living (and ourown philosophy) amidst our agency and throughout the community.Fred KinsieWe have many partners in all this: our staff and volunteers, membersand friends, funders and donors, and many community agenciesand companies that share our vision for what this communitymight be. With your help, good things will continue tohappen in our home for many years to come.Fred KinsieRandy Barrett2INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTRE | 2003-2004 Annual Report