Happy New Year to all.
On January 13, Mike Block e-mailed all 2021 and 2022 members regarding the Annual General Meeting, which would normally be held on the last Thursday of January. Because of COVID, no meeting was possible, so Michael indicated to members that if they were interested in running for the Board, they should notify him and, if necessary, an election would be held electronically.
As it turns out, we received nominations for all positions on the Board, but no position was contested, so an election was not needed. The new slate of officers is:
| Executive | ||
|---|---|---|
| President | Geoff Norman | president.brcm@gmail.com |
| Vice President | Bill Ayre | vicepresident.brcm@gmail.com |
| Secretary | Dwayne Baldwin | secretary.brcm@gmail.com |
| Treasurer | Victor Wells | treasurer.brcm@gmail.com |
| Directors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Director at Large | Alex Hutchinson | director1.brcm@gmail.com |
| Director at Large | Eric Klepsch | director2.brcm@gmail.com |
| Field Manager | Ken Sisler | field.brcm@gmail.com |
| Memberships | Steve Waterfall | memberships@brcm.org |
| Past President | Mike Block | pastpresident.brcm@gmail.com |
| Program | Ian Browsn | program.brcm@gmail.com |
| Web Site | Nicholas Jacobs | website.brcm@gmail.com |
| Wings | Don Irvine | wings.brcm@gmail.com |
A second issue that would normally be addressed at the AGM is approval of the 2022 budget. This was presented to the Board at the January meeting. There are no unusual capital expenses, and it is virtually identical to the 2021 budget with the exception that costs associated with the runway improvement are deleted. If anyone wants more details, feel free to contact me or another Board member.
The new Board held its first meeting on Feb 1. Minutes of the meeting are attached to this email. They will also be posted on the website.
Winter meetings
All indications are that the current wave driven by the Omicron variant is now on the wane. New cases in Ontario are less than 20% of the 4th wave peak (2600 on Feb 1 vs. 18000 on Jan 1). It appears likely that the government will be able to stay with the planned 3 stage reduction in precautions, which means that by March 14, indoor social gatherings with up to 50 people (with masks and social distancing) will be permitted.
It therefore will be possible to restart a winter program, with a meeting on the 4th week of March. However, it remains to be seen if there is sufficient interest among club members to justify the planning of indoor events.
Discussion with the Burlington Library did not arrive at any conclusion regarding availability of a meeting room. Accordingly we have identified another venue, the parish hall of St. Matthews Church, 126 Plains Road E., directly across Plains Road from Skycraft. The room will hold 100 people so is sufficient to permit social distancing. Once we are more certain of the winter schedule (if there is one), we will firm up rental.
To gauge interest, we will be sending out an electronic survey by mid-February, assessing whether you would attend a winter meeting and assessing interest in various proposed topics. Please complete it promptly. We will compile results and then let the club know whether we will proceed with a winter program for March—May.
Summer Events
Looking ahead to summer, we are hoping to hold several events – a spring “Maidenfest” to check out new planes, summer Fun Fly, and September Corn Roast and wrapup. We will keep you informed.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not express to Mike a sincere vote of thanks on behalf of all the members for his guidance and leadership over some very difficult years. Thanks so much!
Geoff Norman