The Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation held its annual general meeting on Wenesday.
Re-elected to the board were Judy Jackson (constituency assistant) and Diane Rogers (Canaccord Independent Wealth Management) who rejoins the board after serving as past-president for the last few years. Newly elected to a two year term were Colin Kinsley (Kinsley Consulting), John Bowman (College of New Caledonia) and Trevor Slaney (Houg Slaney Lawyers).
Appointed to the board as our regional representative is Paul Stewart (Gulbranson Logging, Vanderhoof) and Rhonda Loose (auxiliary to UHNBC). These new directors join Darren Masse, Hugh Nicholson, Trevor Lutes, Andrea Rosa, Shane Lapierre, Michele Santos (Calogheros) and Tom Sentes, as well as past-president Carol Beebe on the board. Also continuing on the board is Dr. Michelle Sutter representing the medical community and Finlay Sinclair representing Northern Health.
Ron Epp of KPMG presented the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011. Last year, the Foundation had gross revenues of $2,820,289 and issued grants totaling $1,360,024 to UHNBC and numerous other Northern Health facilities throughout Northern B.C.
All of the past-presidents of the foundation were honored with the Spirit of the North Award of Merit for their contributions and achievements in the first 20 years of the foundation. On hand to accept the awards were founding president Myron Sambad, founding member and second president Harry Backlin, Tom Griffiths, Diane Rogers and accepting on behalf of the late Del Laverdure was Vickie Laverdure. All spoke for a few minutes but one of the more memorable lines was a light-hearted reflection from Harry Backlin recalling his dismay when presented with a 'quirky fundraising idea' about starting a Festival of Trees. As we all now know, the Festival of Trees is in its 18th year and is one of the biggest annual fundraisers in Prince George.
First vice-president Darren Masse noted in his address that "We have come a long way over the last twenty years as a Foundation, and we are all so very appreciative of the support we have had over those years. Looking toward the future, we as a Foundation have a true desire to help enhance healthcare and promote wellness throughout Northern BC. This is truly a great part of the province to live in and healthcare affects us all. We know we are directly accountable to you, our donors and are working hard to do the best we can with those funds you have entrusted to us. We look forward to many more years of serving the communities in the North."
For more information contact the Spirit of the North office at 250-565-2515
