AGM recap from IYAC/ACYI President Linda Shevloff

Dear Members,

On October 23 2022, the virtual IYAC/ACYI Annual General Meeting was held and was well attended with about fifty people online. We reviewed the activities of the previous year and discussed future plans.  If you were unable to attend the meetings, it is possible to read the Annual Reports for 2022 as they are posted on the website. Later in the new year the minutes from the AGM will also be posted.

The Board said farewell and thank you to several of our members. Bev Kallstrom and Inga Norkute will step away from their roles after three years of work. Bev was our Treasurer and Inga, our Webmaster. Barb Deneka has also completed her three-year term as the MailChimp representative, but she will continue to do that work even though she will no longer be on the Board. Shannon Cameron is stepping down from the Secretary’s role and Niren Pandya leaves the Communication Chair position. Petra Rykers, though now completing her three years on the Board, will stay on the Board to do the Communications role.

The new Board is made up of the following members:

Linda Shevloff – President
Pam Nelson – Vice President
Linda Fernandes – Secretary
Susie Chan – Treasurer
Deepak Karivelil – Web Chair
Petra Rykers – Communications Chair
Martina Walsh – Membership Chair
Gary Wong – Trademark and Ethics Liaison
Jocelyn Hollmann – Professional Development Representative
Regan Tataryn – Professional Development Representative
Skjei Sharma – Member at Large

2022 was a busy and productive year and we expect next year will be the same. We are now waiting for a confirmation of dates from Abhijata who would like to come to Canada to teach, perhaps in 2024 or 2025. The Montreal teachers are enthusiastic about hosting a conference, as almost everything except the work visa for Abhi was completed for the now cancelled 2023 conference.  Ginette Dion gave a summary of the events leading up to the cancellation.

If any members would like to work on committees or projects this year, please contact me or one of the Board members. As yet we do not have an Insurance Representative, and we are looking for a French/English speaker to help with the Membership renewal process. As well, there are many committees that could use some help. We welcome you with open arms.

Sincerely,

Linda Shevloff
President