President’s Report
Kathryne Foster
December, 2023
It is my honour to present to you the President’s Report for 2023.
2023 started with a full slate of events planned. CHAS hosted the Easter Party on April 6th at The Alberta Children’s Hospital. Patients attending came from the Children’s Hospital Units, Rotary Flames House, In- Patient Mental Health Unit and Gordon Townsend school. This was the first in house party for ACH following COVID. Many thanks to Co-Chairs Ellen Brawn, Louisa Powell and all the volunteers.
July 7th brought the Best Damn Stampede Party hosted by the Laidlaw family. It was a rousing success and raised $133,465 for CHAS! The Laidlaw family continue to be CHAS’s largest supporter.
The 41st Annual CHAS Charity Golf Classic was held on Thursday, August 17th at Silver Springs Golf and Country Club. This was the 11th year hosted by Silver Springs. This year, $150,000 of the net proceeds went to support the ACH “Hospital at Home Program”. Kathryn S. McGill and Peggy Urlacher put together an extremely strong Committee that logged more than a thousand volunteer hours! A great day was had by all.
In early October we were given the opportunity to host a casino, earlier than the typical 18 months. The casino was on October 11th & 12that the Ace Airport location. The earlier date made the money available for our 2024 camperships. In total, 276 volunteer hours were invested under the superlative guidance of Laura Krill.
On October 17th, CHAS hosted the Bridge Luncheon at the Calgary Golf and Country Club. 47 tables were sold including one for Mah-jong. In 2024, we hope to open more tables to other games. Judy Kittleson and her crew put in 211.5 hours to make this event another success. The 2023 recipient was Step by Step Early Intervention Society, helping children with disabilities from the age of 18 months – 3 years; before any government assistance is available.
The 2023 Holiday Luncheon found a new home and date at Gasoline Alley in Heritage Park on the second Monday in December. The primary recipient was ‘I Can for Kids’ supporting their food security program through gift cards. What an event it was! Many thanks to Chair, Marg Traboulsi and Co-Chair, Mary McPhee. Tickets sold out in less than 6 days! The raffle was introduced online for the first time and sold out the day of the event. The revenue stream was diversified by seeking monetary tier donations resulting in $68,500 being raised before the event! Net proceeds were $146,120, a record! The luncheon was a success owing to key ingredients: the vision, the venue, the recipient and finally, the Holiday Luncheon Team!
No organization can operate without effective administration, and CHAS is fortunate to have an outstanding administration team who work diligently to ensure the business side of CHAS is operating efficiently. Wendy Morrow and Alice Griffith did an outstanding job as Secretaries of the Executive and General Meetings. Notes were always informative and posted to the website in a timely manner. Thank you both.
Our membership stands at 63 active members and 10 Honorary Members for a total of 73. At our June luncheon, hosted at the Glencoe Golf and Country Club, we gave 5 new Honorary Life Memberships to:
Barb McKay
Sandra Lyons
Dorothy Woolstencroft
Anthea (Mendham) Frost
Lenore Hoover
We welcomed 9 new members, 3 moved to Associate and sadly 4 left CHAS completely. We also bid adieu to 2 long time members of our organization who served CHAS in a multitude of positions. Betty Woofter, HLM and Associate, Bev Macleod both passed away in early fall. Lori Moch stewarded the membership throughout 2023. She implemented follow up conversations for any who were changing their status. Her welcoming letters for new members were both informative and inviting. Thank you Lori!
We rely greatly on our External Communications team, led by Geri Moon, and Murlyne Fong, our website social media wizard. Together, they organize Newsletters, Social Media Posts and Events, keep our website current, interview members, and continue to work on creating a video. The External Communications team supports our event chairs with creative digital designs for event marketing and letters for sponsorship packages. This year, a golf video was created which will be included in the golf sponsorship package. CHAS now has a branded media wall, flag banners, silk scarves, golf wear and aprons. The work these amazing ladies have done is astounding!
Through snowstorms and whatever else Calgary’s weather threw at us, Louisa Powell and Bonnie Kucey made sure the room was ready for the General meetings. Upon arrival, members were greeted by the aroma of hot coffee and plated goodies. YUM! We are grateful to these two amazing ladies.
Volunteering is a large part of what CHAS does within the community. Penny Hume searched out many opportunities in 2023 including:
Basically Babies
I Can for Kids
Made by Momma
Discovery House
Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids
310 hours were accumulated by CHAS volunteers. Thank you to Penny and all who gave up their time to help at agencies that make Calgary a better place for and young people.
Liette Desrochers and Bonnie Kucey, thank-you! These two wonderful members keep our books updated, statements delivered monthly and meet the stringent audit requirements at year end. Phone calls from Bonnie asking to have a cheque signed meant she had received the request, wrote the cheque and then arrived at my house to have it signed. 3 steps to my 1. Thank you both!
Our e-Office team of Ursula and Imad Tabsh, and Jan Bellis continually worked to improve the module. They answered questions and provided guidance on a daily, if not hourly, basis; always, in a welcoming manner. Here are a few of their accomplishments during 2023:
Expanded eOffice committee by adding “Specialist” roles.
Added How-to documents where needed.
Provided on-going training.
Provided support for event set-up and management.
Set up the ‘In the Spotlight’ Module to highlight members, both current and gone.
This is just a small portion of all they have done for CHAS. My thanks are immeasurable.
During 2023 CHAS allocated $543,225. All in all, we supported 9 camperships, 29 community organizations and $150,000 to ACHF in support of their ‘Hospital at Home” program. This was done under the guidance of Co-chairs Toshimi Sembo and Jer Cox. Their leadership and guidance to their committee members and the CHAS general membership was invaluable, exemplifying all CHAS stands for in the community we serve.
Dianne Ferguson, our historian, educated us on CHAS’s history. So informative and important as she reminded us of all CHAS has contributed over the last 115 years. Thank you Dianne and please, keep them coming.
Carrie Ferguson was our Nominations Chair for 2023. Her diligence was very appreciated. As I have often mentioned at meetings, volunteering for both Executive and Committee positions is what keeps CHAS operational. We all need to come forward and offer our help, which in turn, helps the nomination process move forward. 2023 had challenges with golf, Carrie and her team worked hard to resolve all problems and we are very grateful. Thank you to Glenys Ryan and Joyce Laidlaw who stepped into the Chair and Co-Chair positions.
Patricia Rossiter, 2023 Admin VP, updated Policy & Procedures, job descriptions. The application for Birdies for Kids was completed successfully. Her continued support of the executive as a past President is appreciated, especially by me.
To all the members of CHAS who help govern and head up committees, thank you. CHAS is blessed to have so many capable members, always willing to assist and contribute to CHAS’s ongoing success.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Jennifer Foss for stepping in to help while I was away in Australia for March and April. She made it workable and together, we showed that it is possible to travel and take on Executive roles.
As a member of CHAS, I believe in the importance of working in a collaborative manner. Respect for each other is first and foremost. As we welcome both new members and existing members, please remember we were all ‘new’ once. Welcome each other, respect each other and remember that without each other, CHAS would be no more.
Anna Maier will step into the President’s role for 2024 and she has an abundance of plans for the year. I am excited to watch and help as the year evolves. Thank you Anna!
I was asked in the early months of my presidency to provide a statement on what CHAS meant to me. As I end my tenure, I offer the same belief.
To me, the meaning of CHAS is Caring, Helping, Assisting and Serving. The ladies of CHAS exemplify this every day and I am grateful and humbled to be part of this amazing group.
With immense gratitude, I respectfully submit the 2023 President’s report,
Kathryne Foster, President