FMCBC Directors met in Castlegar over the June 7th weekend for our Annual General Meeting. The Kootenay Mountaineering Club (KMC) hosted the weekend providing many opportunities to socialize, get outdoors and discuss the direction of the FMCBC for the coming year.
Directors attended a BBQ at KMC President, Doug Clark’s home on Friday night. The FMCBC took the opportunity to congratulate the KMC on their 50 year anniversary. Thank you to Doug and Linda for hosting a great BBQ for us!
The meeting was held at the Castlegar Community Complex on the Saturday. Lots of good discussion was had in the morning. Andrew Drouin from the Member Club Grant Committee presented the awards for this year’s grants. Congratulations to the following clubs – we look forward to hearing about your projects later this year:
- Alberni Valley Outdoor Club was awarded $500 towards their Engineering for Franklin River Bridge project.
- Caledonia Ramblers was awarded $1370 towards their Ancient Forest Trail Tread Protection project.
- South Okanagan Trail Alliance was awarded $470 towards their Tool Acquisition project.
- UBC Varsity Outdoor Club was awarded $1270 towards their Harrison Hut Outhouse Improvements project
- Vancouver Rock Climbing Group was awarded $690 towards their Climb and Conquer Outdoor Climbing Sessions for At-risk Youth project.
After lunch the directors voted in officers for this year’s executive. Congratulations to the following people who will sit on the FMCBC Executive for 2014-2015:
- President: Bob St. John from the Comox District Mountaineering Club
- Vice President: Dave Wharton from the Valley Outdoor Association
- Treasurer: James Proctor from the ACC-Vancouver Section
- Secretary: Mack Skinner from the North Shore Hikers
- Past President: Scott Webster from the UBC Varsity Outdoor Club moved into the role of past president
After the voting, the directors broke out into smaller groups to discuss the topics of fundraising, outreach and member services. Each group reported out on their topic and some great ideas came out of their discussions. The board and committees will further discuss these ideas and decide on which ones are feasible to implement over the coming year.
To wrap up the AGM Scott Webster gave a presentation on the results of the two studies commissioned by the FMCBC, evaluating both participation rates in non-motorized outdoor recreational activities and their economic and health impacts. The research, conducted by the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, clearly shows these activities have enormous benefits both for participants and the economy. Thank you to Scott for sharing these with us.
During the AGM, the KMC hosted an orienteering event at Selkirk College open to FMCBC directors, KMC members and the general public. Many AGM attendees headed over to participate after the meeting. It was a good opportunity for everyone to get outside after a long day. Jeff van Santen from the Varsity Outdoor Club Okanagan (red shirt, far left) showed us all how it was done and ran the course completing it in the best time.
Saturday evening the directors went out for dinner at The Element and then took in a presentation by Dave Quinn which was hosted by the KMC and FMCBC at the Old Castlegar Theatre.
Lots was going on in town that weekend as Castlegar was celebrating their annual Sunfest weekend. Although the directors missed the parade while they were in the meeting on Saturday morning many of them did take in other activities including the fireworks on Saturday night.
Sunday morning the KMC hosted two hikes. A shorter one to Dove Hill and a longer and steeper one to Mount Sentinel. Many directors participated before heading home. Thank you to the KMC for organizing a great weekend for us and to all those people who hosted our directors as billets. We couldn’t have done it without your help!