Annual Reports 2013-17

This past year, the 75th anniversary of CFUW North Bay, has been an auspicious one. The anniversary organizing committee and all club members past and present who pitched in, organized and participated in our 75th anniversary celebrations deserve kudos for their hard work in providing a lovely dinner and entertainment at the North Bay Golf & Country Club in October. What a memorable occasion with many previous members in attendance and several guests making this a special trip.

CFUW North Bay embarked on a new format of monthly meetings, which were structured to increase membership, leadership, participation and enjoyment. Our executive collaborated with the program committee to implement the suggestions from members. Those combined efforts led to informative and engaging general meetings. The program committee delivered on their promise that the membership would be entertained by meaningful and engaging speakers. Throughout the year, our social committee served faithfully at each meeting to ensure we were well looked after. Thank you!

Our September meet and greet on the theme of Me, You and CFUW was fun, informative and brought out new members.

The auction in November, called Countdown to Christmas, was well attended and a great success as our major fundraiser. The Indian Friendship Centre’s Traditional Fiddling Program provided entertainment for all.

In early December, the Charitable Trust Dinner, which commemorates the students of the Ecole Polytechnique massacre, was enhanced with a presentation by Brenda Quenneville from Amelia Rising. Unfortunately our Christmas Memories celebration was cancelled due to inclement weather.

January brought fun and laughs from trying to guess the New Year’s resolution and from Laura Rainer’s gift draw. We had insightful discussion and debate on the national issue of whether to continue support for Graduate Women International.

Terry Campbell made a superb presentation in February on children’s literature, which included sharing many selections, reading some favourites, and even an example of her wonderful storytelling. This was followed by activities to conduct with youngsters in the areas of visual arts and food preparation.

March was the resolutions meeting, which was presented in a novel format. We had a potluck dinner of delicious finger foods, resolutions presentation, and stimulating discussion about the issues. Many thanks to all those in the Issues and Advocacy committee who worked so diligently to summarize and present the resolutions so clearly.

Lunch and Learn in April featured Don Wallace and Melissa Sagit from the firm Wallace and Klein Partners in Law. They provided clear and direct information on the importance of having a will and powers of attorney.

The month of May will see our club informed on water conservation in horticulture and once again we will delve into the issues of the AGM. We are looking forward to our dinner meeting in June at Zorba’s with guest speaker Kate Bevan, proprietor from our local downtown store, The Farm.

In closing, we wish to thank our diligent executive and those members who enthusiastically took the opportunity to lead the program this year. We were informed and educated and endeavoured to provide benefit to the community, advance human rights and improve the status of women. We are blessed to be part of a wonderful and supportive group of women, sharing the goal of supporting women.

Scholarship Committee Report

Heather Chambers, Scholarship Chair

I am pleased to report that CFUW North Bay has been able to give $4500.00 in scholarships and bursaries for 2016-17. This is the first year with our new trust agreement. The intent of the new agreement is to help women further their education and keep our scholarship money local. In rewriting the trust, we felt it was important to support women who are attending both Nipissing University and Canadore College. We are therefore giving three $500.00 scholarships to Nipissing instead of five as we have done in the past and two $500.00 bursaries to Canadore College. It is the same amount of money, just divided differently. The two $500.00 secondary school scholarships state that the students must be proceeding to Nipissing University or Canadore College.

This year we have extra money, and so we are in the process of giving two $500.00 community awards: one to the Multicultural Centre, in memory of Mary Chandler-Payne, and the other to the Transition House. We hope to help further the education of a deserving woman in need who will be attending a local post-secondary institution.

Last year the recipients of our CFUW NB secondary school scholarships from Ecole public Odyssée were Chelsee Lefebvre and Kaylee Bell. This June our secondary school scholarships will be going to West Ferris Secondary School in memory of Christine Whatmore and Nancy Ferguson.

The following students were the recipients of our 2016 -17 Nipissing University Scholarships: CFUW NB Faculty of Arts and Science Scholarship, Kelly Gillard; CFUW NB Faculty of Applied and Professional Studies Scholarship, Cassandra Fernandes; and CFUW NB Schulich School of Education Scholarship, Brittany Holliday.

The following students were the recipients of the Canadore bursaries: CFUW NB Canadore College Non-Traditional Program Bursary, Jennifer French, Civil Engineering Technician and CFUW NB Canadore College Bursary, Robyn Sloan, Mechanical Technician – Welding.

Membership Committee

Marilyn Smith and Lise King, Co-Chairs

As of December 2016, CFUW North Bay had 61 members. There were 7 new members. Unfortunately, 13 members didn't rejoin this year.

Due to a winter storm, the new members social gathering with the executive will be at the home of Marilyn Smith on Wednesday, May 31.

Programme Committee

Mae MacDonald, Chair

Each year the program committee keeps in mind CFUW's purpose. Our initial meeting in September welcomed everyone with a fun evening with Terryl Ryan: scarves as an accessory. October was the celebration of our75th anniversary with dinner at the North Bay Golf & Country Club. November's highlight is always the silent auction. December brings the Charitable Trust Dinner. Brenda Quenneville from Amelia Rising was the speaker. Due to inclement weather our Christmas get-together and January's meeting were cancelled. In February Heli Vail and Susanne Carr initiated potluck and resolutions and April brings lunch and learn: Wills and Powers of Attorney. The annual general meeting occurs in May, and June is our end-of-year dinner.

As program chair I would sincerely like to thank the committee for all their time and effort. However I do have a concern about our meetings. The new structure was set in place to encourage more membership participation in taking some responsibility in the meetings. The leads for the meetings were basically program committee members except for those meetings chaired by the co-president. I believe we need to find ways of involving the membership more fully.

Communications

Mary Catherine O'Hagan and Marg Mullan, Co-Chairs

Each month, we notify media about upcoming CFUW North Bay meetings and special events. We send out emails at least two weeks ahead of scheduled events to local radio stations, cable television, The Nugget, and Community Voices.. Notices include time, meeting location, topic, and guest speakers. An invitation is always included to guests and anyone interested in finding out more about CFUW North Bay.

Social Committee

Anne McNutt, Chair

Venues:

• Cementation: Many thanks to Cementation and Brianne Bourke for accepting and booking our CFUW meetings.The bookings are done by the social committee chair in August once the programme is set for the year. The key fob pick-up and return requires signage. The key fob must be picked up at front desk before 5 p.m the day of meeting. A phone number is required on the back entry door for late-comers. This has been used often.

• Holy Name Church: Kaarina Tulisalo books this venue as she knows all the people there, especially Tony who helps us a lot.

• Woodlands: Doris Toswell (resident) must book this venue. All plans were in place for a great Christmas party, but it was cancelled due to foul weather.

Food and Drink:

• Thanks to all members who contributed such tasty snacks/nibbles, cookies and squares over the year. A sign-up sheet is available at all meetings so members can choose dates for their convenience. I phone a week before as a reminder.

Expenses:

• Receipts are submitted on a regular basis to Marianne Rogers and duly reimbursed. The total is in financial report.

Telephone Team:

• Set up for implementation.

Analysis:

• All seems to have run smoothly.

• Thanks to Bunty Swanson and Heli Vail for assisting with social duties when required.

• Thanks to members who have done a great job as greeters at meetings and events.

• Members who remember to bring their mugs and wear their name tags are very much appreciated.

Archives

Anna Petruzella and Doris Toswell

Many thanks go out to Sharon and Paul Walker who began the project to review and catalogue the

CFUW North Bay information stored at the North Bay Public Library. We now have five bins and information about what is in each of them.

A working group of Terry Martinelli, Marilyn Smith, Kaarina Tulisalo. Doris Toswell and Anna Petruzella

began to go through each bin and to further organize what is there. More purging needs to be done.

Work was also done on year books for the last four years.

We still need to develop a full job description for the archivist, a decision on how we want to store information, and a policy on access to the archives.

Gift of Reading

Doris Toswell

The Gift of Reading was held on March 8 at St. Luke's Catholic Church. About 25 senior kindergarten children received books donated by CFUW members. Next year’s convener will be Nat Brunette.

Issues and Advocacy

Heli Vail, Chair

1. Enhancing a Partnership with the North East Women’s Health Alliance (NEWHA)

NEWHA is a group of over 20 agencies, groups and individuals working collaboratively to actively promote, educate and advocate for the health and wellness of women in our community. Actions included:

• Attended monthly meetings as a subcommittee of NEWHA.

• Shared national CFUW advocacy initiatives with NEWHA members.

• Shared information with our members regarding community initiatives such as Travel Link, Free Smiles Dental Care, and North Bay and Area Food Charter.

• Arranged for CFUW members to continue to support the ACNBA Bathtub Project, Sock It to Us, and the Red Scarf initiatives.

• Attended the ceremonies with regard to the Red Scarf Campaign on AIDS Awareness Day.

2. International Women’s Day Program Planning and Participation

CFUW North Bay was a member of the NEWHA planning committee for a coordinated schedule of events recognizing International Women’s Day. CFUW North Bay was responsible for the following:

• Hosting the pre and post receptions for the Join Me on the Bridge event in partnership with ACNBA.

• Promoting and participating the International Women’s Day Tea at Calvary Pentecostal Church North Bay. The guest speaker was Dima Abdulaziz, a Syrian refugee. This was organized by one of our CFUW members who is the co-pastor at Calvary Pentecostal Church and a NEWHA member.

• Also promoted and participated in Tampon Tuesday, a drive for feminine hygiene products drive; A Day Without a Woman march where women were encouraged to wear red, not shop, not work to recognize women’s value to socio-economic system; Women’s Wellness Day at North Bay Public Library; and seminar at Nipissing University on How to Have Good Sext: Sexting, Privacy and Consent seminar by Dr. Amy Hasinoff, University of Colorado

3. Additional Advocacy Initiatives:

• Promoted and participated in a Gift of Reading event held in a kindergarten class at one of our elementary schools, where our members provide new books for all the children and read to them.

• Met with our MP and MPP to discuss the resolutions passed at our National AGM in 2016.

Interest Groups

Bridge Club - Helen Manning

Our bridge club meets on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Numbers vary as our members are travellers. We usually have only one table. Sometimes a fifth person participates and we take turns sitting out. On the odd occasion, we have had eight people to play two-table bridge. Although we play duplicate rules from lessons taken at the North Bay Bridge Club, we take time to discuss the hands. Anyone wishing to join us can call me at 705-495-4271.

Book Club - Caroline Haist

The book club meets every fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in members’ homes. Although we have a member present information about the book of that month and lead the discussion, the meetings are informal.

In June at the annual pot luck dinner, members suggest books for the following year - books that they have enjoyed reading themselves and that they feel will result in a lively discussion. Members then take a couple of weeks to check reviews and then vote by email for the books they would like to read. The list for 2017-18 will be available as soon as the voting is complete, usually by the end of July. Lists of the books chosen for 2015-16 and 2016-17 are still on the website.

Heritage Gardeners - Diane Steward

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Heritage Gardeners. CFUW is pleased to have been part of this community endeavour from its beginnings in 1997. Over the years our team has had a number of our members take part in keeping several garden beds weeded and planted. Presently we are still redoing our main bed that faces the waterfront. Our present team has six CFUW members as well as two men and another woman from our community.

We meet Wednesday mornings at 8:30 in May through October. If you have an interest in gardening you can contact Diane Steward, team leader, at fredifred@gmail.com to learn how to sign up, or speak to Bonnie Cappadocia, alternate team leader, for information as Diane is in Vancouver until April 30.

Gourmet Luncheon Group - Sue Fisher and Marianne Rogers

This year the gourmet luncheon group had 15 members. In September we met at the Urban Café to decide who would cook with whom in November, February, April, May and June. It was also decided to forgo the December luncheon as the season is so busy. In March we met for a delicious lunch at the Kabuki House where all but one ordered the same meal!

The recipes for our lunches are on the website. Each meal this year was beautifully presented and very yummy. Our times together are special - lots of laughter and entertaining conversation.

Gourmet Dinner Group - Christine Todd Mitchell

The gourmet dinner group initiated some changes this year. The first was appointing Christine Todd as the convener. The second was rebranding our name so that we are also known as the dinner group. The third initiative was to extend the dinner invitation to all members to join us in our adventures in dining. This year we enjoyed culinary delights at Average Joe’s, Casey’s, Chicago Cafe, 100 Element, and the Ram’s Head. Excellent food plus great company equal a most enjoyable evening. What an equation! Do join us next year.

Roamers - Kaarina Tulisalo

Roamers events continue to provide excellent opportunities for members to educate, advocate, and socialize. We bring community events to the attention of our members through the newsletter, the website, and direct mailings to members on the Roamers signup sheet. Our participation in and support of community events and organizations raise our profile in the community. This year some of the events and organizations included a fashion show and concert for Grandmothers for Africa, the North Bay Symphony, Near North Voices Community Choir, the Rapport Singers, the North Bay Choral Society, the Gateway Theatre Guild, the North East Women’s Health Alliance, the AIDS Committee of North Bay and Area, Sunday Night Cinema, Live at the Met opera, Canadian International Council, Nipissing Branch, the Canadian Club, Trinity United Church, St. Andrew’s Church, Powassan and Chisholm United Churches, and the Callander Public Library. Special events included the DIA Showtime, the CFUW Cool Cats and the Coldest Night fundraiser, An Evening to Celebrate Women, Join Me on the Bridge, the Women’s Day March, and other IWD events. Upcoming events include the Hospice hike and Nipissing Region Curatorial Collective Paddle Project Exhibition, Gala andArt Auction. Special thanks go to Caroline Haist for the excellent posts on the website. Keep checking the website for updates and additional information. Thanks to members for continuing to submit suggestions for Roamers events.

Sunrise Breakfast - Susanne Carr

The Sunrise Breakfast group met on the last Friday of every month from June through May with the exception of December. We meet at 9 a.m. at Guido and Arlene's Restaurant on Trout Lake Road. It is a very informal come-as-you can group of members and sometimes friends or family join us. We talk, network, and catch up with each other while enjoying a great breakfast. Everyone is welcome to join us.

CFUW North Bay’s Annual Reports for 2015-16

Presidents’ Report

Terry Martinelli and Diane Wallace

This past year has been another great one for CFUW North Bay.

Our executive has worked together to plan a year of interesting and informative general meetings. Our program committee, with suggestions from many of our members, have ensured that we have been entertained by wonderful and very meaningful speakers.

The auction in November, our major fundraiser, as always was a great success. Many thanks to our auction committee, who brought it together so beautifully, and to all who donated items and services.

During December, we paused to remember the students of the Ecole Polytechnique massacre, assisted so ably by North Bay Police Chief Paul Cook. In mid December, Gail graciously welcomed us once more into her beautiful home for a wonderful Christmas social.

January brought the start of our 75th anniversary celebration, with the presentation and flag raising at City Hall and social at the library. Thanks to the organizers of these wonderful events.

March was the resolutions meeting. A huge thanks to our advocacy committee members; the members worked tirelessly to summarize the six resolutions and present them so clearly to us all.

In April the Lunch and Learn, featuring the Serenity Hospice, was a great success. Many thanks to all who put this event together so well.

May 1 saw a large contingent of CFUW members and friends joining the Hike for the Hospice. CFUW members are proud to have raised over $1000 for this worthy cause.

May will also see our club, so ably lead by our sub committee on GWI, tackle the issue of learning about and voting on the most important issue that our club has been confronted with for many years. A special thank you to the members of this sub committee for your leadership and hard work.

Throughout the year, our social committee has served faithfully at every meeting to ensure that we are well looked after.

In closing, we wish to thank all the members of our executive for performing their duties so capably and for making this past year one full of service, learning, adventure and fun. We thank all of our members for their enthusiastic participation and support of each of our events. We appreciate their role in supporting us so well as co-presidents. We are all blessed to be part of such a wonderful and supportive group of women, sharing the goal of supporting women everywhere.

Scholarship Committee Report

Sharon Walker, Scholarship Chair

This past year has been a busy one for the scholarship committee. Our club donated $2500 to Nipissing University for four scholarships and one bursary. The scholarships were in education, biology, criminal justice, and nursing. We also gave a memorial bursary award. A $750 award was donated to Canadore College for a student in a non-traditional program.

École publique l'Odyssée will be receiving the two high school awards of $500 each for math and science. This amount was increased from $400 this past year.

The scholarship committee also redrafted the Charitable Trust Agreement to better reflect the current needs of students. It will be presented at the AGM for ratification.

Membership Committee

Marilyn Smith and Lise King, Co-Chairs

As of December 2015, CFUW North Bay has 68 members, the same number as last year. Five of them are new. In December, Gail Thomsen invited the new members and the executive to her home for appetizers before the Christmas social. Information about CFUW was presented to the group.

Programme Committee

Mae MacDonald, Chair

As my tenure as program co-ordinator ends, I would be remiss in not thanking those members who volunteered to help on the program committee, both in the planning and executing of each month's theme. This past year we had many excellent speakers such as Hannah Bywater, Paul Cook, and Matilde Bazinet, to mention only a few. I know we all gained from each program. As well, our annual activities such as the silent auction, Christmas at Gail's, the potluck/resolutions meeting, and Lunch and Learn were enjoyable and helped in our promotion of education both in the community and the club. The 75th anniversary activities were well received. A special thank you to those members who organized and presented. Thanks again to all who gave of their time and talents to ensure our programs met with our purpose.

Communications

Mary Catherine O'Hagan and Marg Mullan, Co-Chairs

Each month, we notify media about upcoming CFUW North Bay meetings and special events. We send out emails at least two weeks ahead of scheduled events to local radio stations, cable television, The Nugget, and free publications such as Nipissing Reader. Notices include time, meeting location, topic, and guest speakers. An invitation is always included to guests and anyone interested in finding out more about CFUW North Bay. We also include the club’s website address as a source of further information.

Publicity

Kaarina Tulisalo, Chair

The new job description for publicity is posted on the website. Publicity works together with other committees to promote CFUW North Bay and to publicize events. A roll-up banner was designed, purchased, and unveiled at the 75th anniversary flag raising ceremonies. Articles and photos were submitted for our monthly newsletter and website. A window display in the North Bay Public Library in August promoted membership in the club. In September a notice was posted on Kijiji promoting CFUW North Bay. A window display in the library in January promoted the 75th anniversary kick off. Articles appeared in the CFUW Club Action Newsletter, The Nugget, Community Voices, and Bay Today and on air with Cogeco and CTV. The partnership with the North East Women’s Health Alliance is a strong working relationship with five club members forming the CFUW sub committee. Meetings are held monthly and updates are shared with over 20 agencies and professionals working on women’s issues.

The functioning of the publicity committee continues to be a work in progress.

Social Committee

Anne McNutt, Chair

Helpers: Bonnie Roynon, Bunty Swanson, Lynn Ingham

Venues: Cementation, Holy Name Church, and North Bay Public Library

Bookings are made for Cementation through Brianne Bourke, our liaison. She has also helped with the technical equipment when required. On October 21 two separate presentations, requiring different set-ups, worked with no malfunctions.

A new arrangement is in place for key fob pick-up. It must be signed out before 5 p.m. under “assembly room” sign and signed back in upon return to the front desk.

Stronger lights have been installed in the parking lot. There is a camera also, so drive carefully.

Thanks to Lynn Ingham and others who open the door.

Food and Drink: Each event is different, so it is necessary to “customize” the goods taken to each. Thanks to all for all the goodies provided. The pot luck and resolutions meeting with 23 members present was great. Members brought many tasty ready-to-serve appetizers and sandwiches. Clean up was easy.

The downstairs room of the library was a good venue for the 33 people who attended the reception following the flag raising. Cake with very blue icing was served, along with coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. We managed to blow the fuses twice with all the plug-ins.

Holy Name Church proved a great venue for Lunch and Learn, where 42 members and guests attended. A beautiful cake with the CFUW logo was served.

Many thanks to Bunty Swanson for her assistance for all these events.

Expenses to April 30 were $35.07. Cake expenses came out of the 75th anniversary budget.

Telephone Team: We may need to use the team for the June 13 dinner at Osprey Links.

Analysis: Our approach to meetings seems to work well. We welcome suggestions for improvement. Members who bring their own mugs have been a big help.

CFUW Liaison

Heather Chambers

I have enjoyed the last two years as the CFUW Liaison. It is a relatively easy job forwarding the communications from Ontario Council and CFUW National. That being said, it is a wonderful opportunity that all members have to know what is going on in our broader organization and in other clubs. I remember years ago, when we received a few copies of the Communique, that the president or CFUW Liaison would give highlights at a meeting, and then a few would take the Communique home. Now we all are getting the information at the same time. I hope you enjoy reading these communications and feel proud to be part of a larger group that is very much respected. During a webinar I participated in his month, CFUW President Doris Mae Oulton said that MP’s from “the Hill” are coming to CFUW to see if they have research material for a bill the MP’s would like to put forward. With this type of respect and with an organized staff at head office, you can see that we do make a difference.

Advocacy and Issues

Janet Poudrier, Acting Chair

1. Enhancing a Partnership with the North East Women’s Health Alliance (NEWHA). NEWHA is a group of over 20 agencies, groups and individuals working collaboratively to actively promote, educate and advocate for the health and wellness of women in our community. Actions included:

• Attended monthly meetings as a subcommittee of NEWHA.

• Shared national CFUW advocacy initiatives with NEWHA members.

• Suggested and assisted the NEWHA Committee to apply for a $1000 grant from the Retired Teachers of Ontario Nipissing District 43 to cover the cost of medical supplies for the Rock Rose Clinic, which provides healthcare on a voluntary basis for marginalized women and their children who do not have access to a family doctor.

• Shared information with our members regarding community initiatives such as Travel Link, Free Smiles Dental Care, and North Bay and Area Food Charter.

• Arranged for CFUW members to continue to support the ACNBA Bathtub Project, Sock It to Us, and the Red Scarf initiatives.

• Attended the ceremonies with regard to the Red Scarf Campaign on AIDS Awareness Day, December 1.

• Attended a rally to protest the health care cuts at the North Bay Regional Health Centre.

2. International Women’s Day Program Planning and Participation: CFUW North Bay was a member of the NEWHA planning committee for a coordinated schedule of events recognizing International Women’s Day. CFUW North Bay was responsible for the following:

• Hosting the pre and post receptions for the Meet Me on the Bridge event in partnership with ACNBA.

• Promoting and participating in a community event, a Celebration of Women, an evening tea “Sharing Our Stories and Nourishing Our Souls,” organized by one of our CFUW members who is the co-pastor at Calvary Pentecostal Church and a NEWHA member.

3. Additional Advocacy Initiatives:

• Invited Hannah Bywater, a 15-year-old secondary school student, to speak at the October general meeting in recognition of the International Day of the Girl Child. Hannah`s goal is to change the world one project at a time. She has been working to get clean water to villages in Africa.

• Arranged to have Paul Cook, North Bay Chief of Police Services, to speak at our Charitable Trust Dinner on Violence Against Women and Domestic Abuse.

• Promoted and participated in a Gift of Reading event held in a kindergarten class at one of our elementary schools, where our members provide new books for all the children and read to them.

• Participated in all of the Meet the Candidates Event for the 2015 Federal Election, especially the one which involved the Students` Councils from Nipissing University and Canadore College sponsored by the Retired Teachers of Ontario Nipissing District 43.

• Met with our MP and MPP to discuss the resolutions passed at our National AGM in 2015.

CFUW hosted a Lunch and Learn on April 20 on the New Serenity Hospice, which will be built in North Bay in the near future. It emphasized the need for hospice care as well as the support of the community, both morally and financially. CFUW North Bay entered a team in the Hike for Hospice fundraiser on May 1.

Interest Groups

Bridge Club - Helen Manning

Book Club - Caroline Haist

In June at the annual pot luck dinner, members suggest books for the following year - books that they have enjoyed reading themselves and that they feel will result in a lively discussion. Members then take a couple of weeks to check reviews and then vote by email for the books they would like to read. The list for 2016-17 will be available as soon as the voting is complete, usually by the end of July . A list of the books chosen for 2015-16 is still on the website.

This year there were 35 members on the list, but not all attend every meeting. Our best-attended meeting was in September, when over 20 members participated.

Heritage Gardeners - Diane Steward

The design team has assisted us with a new look, so we’re in the process of redoing our main bed.

Our team is made up of four CFUW members and a couple of interested community members. If you are interested in waterfront gardening, Diane Steward, team leader, can give you information on signing up with the city.

We garden from May to October most years. Last year the team met Wednesday mornings. During May and June of this year, we plan to garden on Wednesday afternoons.

Gourmet Luncheon Group - Gail Thomsen

This year the gourmet lunch group had 20 members. We met on the first Tuesday of the month at 12:30 p.m.. Our first organizational meeting was held at the the Ram’s Head in October, when we selected dates and cooking partners. There were two fall luncheons in members’ homes. We resumed our regular schedule for the months of February, March, April and May. The June lunch will be a pot luck. This is a very active and animated group, and nothing is off limits for conversation or discussion. We enjoy good food and better friends.

Gourmet Dinner Group - Cheryl Nidd

It has been a very busy season for the gourmet dinner group. We may be few in number, but we are big on spirit and the desire to seek out the perfect meal. We did a lot of roaming this year, beginning with our September meeting at the Chicago Cafe's Chinese feast. From there, our journey continued to include stops at the home of Terry Martinelli for a genuine Mennonite feast and at the Ram's Head restaurant. When the new year began, we ventured out in the cold to Canadore College's famed 100 Elements. The meal was amazing, and I think most of us went home with leftovers.Then, we finally got to experience one of Chef Tanya Cross' Full Moon Feasts at the Artisan Café. It was a spectacular meal, and we recommend it to anyone who has not yet been. When spring finally decided to arrive, we ate at Churchill's and Average Joe's restaurants. June will bring us to a meal hosted by Heli and Linda. It is an event to which we all look forward. Please consider joining our little group next year. We are a lot of fun, and we know how to eat well.

Roamers - Kaarina Tulisalo

Roamers events provide excellent opportunities for members to engage in the four descriptors on our new banner: Education, Advocacy, Networking, Fellowship. We alert members about community events of interest through our listings in the newsletter, on the website, and through announcements at meetings. Our participation in and support of community events raise our profile in the community. Some of the organizations and events included the North Bay Grandmothers for Africa dare-to-dine fundraiser, the North Bay Symphony, the Canadian Club, Near North Voices Community Choir, the Rapport Singers, the North Bay Choral Society, the Gateway Theatre Guild, Dreamcoat Theatre, North East Women’s Health Alliance, The AIDS Committee, and Live at the Met Opera.

Special events included the Hospice Hike, An Evening to Celebrate Women, Stop the Cuts Rally, and Join Me on the Bridge. The Roamers events provide many opportunities for members to learn, to advocate, to socialize, and to relax and enjoy. Special thanks go to Caroline Haist who does such an excellent job posting the Roamers events.

Sunrise Breakfast - Terry Martinelli

CFUW North Bay Annual Reports for 2014-15

Presidents’ Report

Terry Martinelli and Diane Wallace

CFUW North Bay continues to promote education for women by giving scholarships. This year we gave $4900 in scholarships to Nipissing University, Canadore College, and Nbissing SS, a North Bay Literary Council student, and a Montessori School in Tanzania. In addition, as a club we contributed to the Charitable Trust National CFUW Fund. We assisted internationally by sending $70 to the Bina Roy Partners in Development. The total raised was $5770.

Thanks to our members for donating directly to our Scholarship Fund and to those who have made Memorial Donations to our Scholarship Fund. Tax receipts are issued by our club. Again this year, we fundraised with our November auction and our summer garden tour, in partnership with Grandmothers for Africa. The majority of money raised from our auction went to the Scholarship Fund and our portion of proceeds from the Garden Tour did so as well. Great work, CFUW North Bay!

Our Issues and Advocacy Committee worked very hard this year to fulfill our club mandate to stimulate the interest of members and the community at large in public affairs. Please see this committee's report to appreciate all that they have accomplished this year. Of special note is the relationship they have established with NEWHA in partnering to host a variety of events to celebrate International Women's Week in early March. Thank you, I and A members!

Our meetings, Lunch and Learn, and Charitable Trust Dinner have provided the opportunity to hear a variety of interesting speakers and raise awareness of CFUW North Bay. Thank you to our Program and Social Committees for working so well together to provide us all with such wonderful gatherings.

Our very special thanks to Caroline Haist for her continued work with our website, keeping our finances in order, and producing our monthly newsletter. You are appreciated, Caroline!

Heartfelt thanks to Kaarina Tulisalo, our Regional Director, who continues to give so freely of her time in so many areas of our club. She is our archivist, Roamers chair, Issues and an Advocacy and Program member, who tirelessly champions our club in the community.

Many thanks to our Membership Committee and Kaarina for our significant increase in members this year. Well done, all!

We are grateful for our expanding list of interest groups, which provide opportunities for members to connect in such fun and stimulating ways.

We have enjoyed serving as Co-Presidents this year, sharing responsibilities and learning together.

We wish to thank each member of our executive for her part in such a successful year for CFUW North Bay.

Finally, we appreciate you, our members: your interest and support of events and fundraisers, your input and creative ideas and your friendship.

Scholarship Committee

Sharon Walker, Chair

This year, the Scholarship Committee awarded five scholarships to Nipissing University at $500 each: a Nursing Scholarship, a Bachelor of Education Admission Scholarship, a Criminal Justice Scholarship, a Biology Scholarship and a Memorial Bursary. In June, two Secondary School Scholarships at $400 each will be awarded to Nbisiing Secondary School: a Secondary School Math Award and a Secondary School Science Award. In addition, a $500 bursary was awarded to Canadore College for the Registered Practical Nursing Program. Another $500 scholarship was awarded to the North Bay Literacy Council for a graduate of their program who was going on to a college or university program.

Membership Committee

Laura Rainer and Marg Louko, Co-Chairs

• Membership numbers at 68, 9 of them new.

• Set up display at the North Bay Public Library to increase awareness of the club and increase membership.

• Prepared the roster and sent it on to Gail Thomsen for printing.

• Organized and sent invitations for the new members’ social. This year we had it coincide with the Christmas party hosted by Gail Thomsen.

• Ordered name tags for all new members.

• Ordered certificates for all members with significant years of service. These will be presented at June meeting.

Programme Committee

Mae MacDonald, Chair

Our programme consisted of eleven meetings. Due to the generosity of Cementation we were able to use their facilities again gratis. The majority of our meetings were held there. Three of our special luncheon/dinner meetings were held at Holy Name Catholic Church and one dinner meeting known as The Charitable Trust dinner at Average Joe’s restaurant. We also were hosted by Gail Thomsen for a Christmas evening. The final dinner meeting will be held at Osprey Links Golf Club.

Our yearly programmes were as follows:

September 17, 2014 — The Special Olympics with speakers Merv Shantz and Shannon Johnson.

October 15, 2014 — Women’s History Month—speaker Heather Stemp introduced her book Amelia and Me.

November 12, 2014 — Mistletoe and Holly-demonstrating seasonal centerpieces were Bonnie Hebert and Leslie Clark. Our annual Silent Auction took place too.

December 2, 2014 – Charitable Trust Dinner with speaker Kathleen Jodouin.

December10, 2014 – “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” with special guest John Balfe.

January 21, 2015 – Civil Liberties Association with speaker April Julian.

February 18, 2015 – The Gathering Place with speaker Jill Clark.

March 18, 2015 – Potluck and Resolutions - CFUW Issues and Advocacy Committee.

April 15, 2015 – Lunch and Learn - The Election Process with speaker Jim Mallory.

May 20, 2015 – Annual General Meeting and The Farmers’ Market with speaker Heather Cote.

June 11, 2015 – End of year Buffet Dinner – “Getting People Excited About Our Northern Ontario Destinations” with speaker Bill Steer.

As our previous chairperson Gail Thomsen suggested, each meeting should be managed by one person, either a programme committee member or a designated club member. This includes welcoming, introducing and thanking the speaker. This person would also acquire a gift, write a note of thanks, and present gift to the speaker at the meeting. As the present chairperson I recommend we continue to follow this procedure as it has worked well this year. As well the annual ‘thank you’ letter to Cementation should be continued.

Publicity

Mary Catherine O'Hagan and Marg Mullan, Co-Chairs

Each month, media are notified about upcoming CFUW North Bay meetings and special events. Emails are sent out two weeks ahead of scheduled events to local radio stations, cable television, The Nugget, and Nipissing News. Notices include time, meeting location, topic, and guest speakers. An invitation is always included to guests and anyone interested in finding out more about CFUW North Bay.

Social Committee

Bonnie Roynon, Chair

Helpers: Anne McNutt, Bunty Swanson, Lynn Ingham.

Venues: Cementation Assembly Room – 3 meetings – great room, awkward entry.

Woodlands Group Meeting Room - emergency situation, great room.

Holy Name Catholic Church Hall – 3 meetings – accessible, good location.

Gail Thomsen’s home – Christmas social – warm and inviting.

Cecil's Restaurant - June dinner meeting.

Snacks: Abundant variety of regular and gluten-free snacks at each meeting thanks to

generous volunteers.

Refreshments: Good supply of coffee and tea, regular and decaf, juice on occasion and jugs of fresh water.

Venues permit the use of their equipment; therefore fewer appliances are required to be brought in to each location.

Tablecloths, napkins, plastic cups and a few mugs available for those who forget to bring their own mug.

The only consumables that are required for each meeting are cream and milk.

Telephone Team: This team communication strategy has been implemented once this year when we had to change venue on an emergency basis in February. It will be effective in contacting members about the June dinner.

Analysis: This approach appears to be working in order to facilitate a sociable monthly meeting. Suggestions about making it better are always welcome. We will continue to remind members to bring their own mugs. Sincere thanks to members who assist in the set-up and clean-up following the meeting.

CFUW Liaison

Heather Chambers

The correspondence that comes from CFUW, The Week in Review and the CFUW News & Updates along with the Ontario Council newsletter “Dates and Data,” was forwarded to the members regularly with a highlight in each issue.

Members were encouraged to join the “Up for Debate Campaign” and stand alongside 100 women’s organizations and their allies and demand a debate on the issues women and girls care about in the 2015 election. To date the New Democratic Party and the Green Party have been willing to join the debate. Members were asked to write letters to the Conservative Party, Liberal Party and Bloc Québecois leaders to join in the debate.

Advocacy and Issues

Janet Poudrier, Acting Chair

CFUW North Bay members have advocated for and taken action on the following local, provincial and national issues:

1. Establishing a Partnership with the North East Women’s Health Alliance (NEWHA). NEWHA is a group of over 20 agencies, groups and individuals working collaboratively to actively promote, educate and advocate for/on women’s health and wellness in our community. Actions included

• Attending monthly meetings as a subcommittee of NEWHA

• Sharing CFUW advocacy initiatives

• Attending the Laker’s Hockey game and raising awareness on the need to end Violence Against Women. A CFUW North Bay display on the National Initiative, the One Pledge campaign and distribution of literature, buttons, etc., were included

• Arranged to have Kathleen Jodouin, the chair of NEWHA as the speaker at the Charitable Trust Dinner. She is also the Women and HIV Coordinator for The AIDS Committee of North Bay and Area (ACNBA) and the NDP candidate for the Nipissing-Timiskaming district in the upcoming Federal Election

• Arranged for CFUW members to support the ACNBA Bathtub Project, Sock It to Us and the Red Scarf initiatives

• Attended the ceremonies on AIDS Awareness Day, December 1

• Participated in the noon hour Meet the Candidates Forum for municipal candidates focusing on women’s issues

2. International Women’s Day Programme Planning and Participation: CFUW North Bay was a member of the NEWHA planning committee for a coordinated schedule of events recognizing International Women’s Day. CFUW North Bay was responsible for the following:

• Planning the opening event, the showing of the film Nefarious: Merchant of Souls in partnership with the Calvary Pentecostal Temple

• Hosting the pre and post receptions for the “Meet Me on the Bridge” event in partnership with ACNBA

• Promoting and participating in the other IWD events including EVE-olution, a celebration of women and their talents, hosted by Amelia Rising and the four lectures at Nipissing University and Canadore College “Fifty Shades of NO”

• Selecting the recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Service in Women’s Wellness award

3. Lunch and Learn 2015: The Issues and Advocacy Committee has organized a community education event on “The Election Process.” It is a panel presentation providing information regarding how voting requirements in a Federal Election have changed. Panel members included Jim Mallory, the local returning officer, and David Tabachnick, Nipissing University political science professor. Invitations were sent to all Federal candidates, the Mayor, and the media, and flyers, to over 20 community agencies, churches, schools, Nipissing University, Canadore College and others.

4. Other: Attended the Rotary Fundraising luncheon in support of eradicating polio.

5. Future Initiatives: Up for Debate, a woman’s initiative for the Federal Election.

Gift of Reading

Doris Toswell

The Gift of Reading was presented to a combined JK-SK class at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School on March 6, 2015. Several members participated in the presentation. Cogeco was present, interviewed me, took pictures and showed this during Cogeco news on Monday, March 10 – an excellent portrayal of a CFUW event to celebrate International Women’s Day. Thanks goes to all the members for their donations of excellent books. Joellen Brown has graciously offered to continue the Gift of Reading which I initiated in 2000 – 16 presentations to public and Catholic schools.

Interest Groups

Bridge Club - Helen Manning

Our bridge club meets on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Numbers vary as our members are travellers. We usually have only one table. Sometimes a fifth person participates and we take turns sitting out. On the odd occasion, we have had eight people to play two table bridge. Although we play duplicate rules from lessons taken at the North Bay Bridge Club, we take time to discuss the hands. Anyone wishing to join us can call me at 705-495-4271.

Book Club - Helen Somerville

The books for the next year are suggested in June at the annual potluck and then voted on via email. A list of the books chosen for 2014-15 is on the website. The list for 2015-16 will be available as soon as the voting is complete. This year there were 15 members, but new members are welcome.

Heritage Gardeners - Diane Steward

Heritage Gardeners are busy during the spring, summer, and fall working in the flower and shrub in three of the beds on North Bay's Waterfront. This project began in 1997. Several of our gardeners have been involved since that time. Last year six club members were on the Voyageurs team. We usually work for at least a couple of hours on Wednesday mornings.

Anyone who is interested must sign up at the Heritage Gardeners’ office. The phone number is 705-472 4006, and the coordinator is Monica McLaren.

Gourmet Luncheon Group - Gail Thomsen

This year the Gourmet Lunch Group had 17 members. We met on a regular basis the first Tuesday of every month at 12:30 p.m.. Our first organizational meeting was held at the Kabuki House in October where we selected dates and cooking partners. There were two fall luncheons in members’ homes. Usually this group eats out in January as we tend to be “cooked out.” However, this year, because the back-to-routine date was so late, we opted out of our lunch at a restaurant citing the fact we were all “too full.” We resumed our regular schedule for the months of February, March, April and May. The June culinary extravaganza will be a pot luck. This is a very active and animated group and nothing is off limits for conversation or discussion. Good food and better friends.

Gourmet Dinner Group - Sharon Walker

This year, the gourmet dinner group sampled culinary delights at many local restaurants including Churchill’s, Green Bamboo, The Raven and Republic, 100 Elements, The Crown and Beaver, and Average Joe’s. In November there was a home-based pot-luck featuring soup and various appetizers and desserts. In May a trip to The Ram’s Head is much anticipated. We all enjoy the food and good company.

Roamers - Kaarina Tulisalo

The Roamers continue to meet the needs of members to educate, to advocate and socialize. Not only do we educate others with our scholarships and community events, but we also educate ourselves by attending events such as the community round-table discussions on suicide prevention, lectures at Nipissing University, and our own general meetings with guest speakers on a variety of topics. We advocate by attending rallies such as Bring Back Our Girls, Stop Health Cuts, AIDS Awareness Day, Join Me on the Bridge, the Lakers Hockey Team Awareness Night on Ending Violence Against Women and the Rotary fund raiser to end polio. Roamers events provide excellent opportunities to socialize, relax and enjoy. Roamers attend events hosted by various community groups such as the North Bay Symphony, Near North Voices, North Bay Choral Society, the 22 Wing concert evening, Canadian Club speaker series, Live at the Met opera series, art gallery hops, NEWHA events and the North Bay Public Library presentations. The lunch and fashion show hosted by the Callander Library was a special highlight this year. The Roamers events provide many opportunities to get together and be visible in the community. Special thanks go to Caroline Haist who does such an excellent job posting the Roamers events on the website.

Sunrise Breakfast - Terry Martinelli

The Sunrise Breakfast Group meets at 9 a.m. at Guido and Arlene's Restaurant on Trout Lake Road on the last Friday of the month from September to November and January to June. This year we also decided to meet in July and August. Our group is casual. We enjoy breakfast while catching up on each other’s news. Everyone is welcome.

CFUW North Bay’s Annual Reports for 2013-14

Presidents’ Report

Heather Chambers and Anna Petruzella

One of our mandates as members of CFUW is to promote education for women by giving scholarships. As you will see in the scholarship report, this year we gave $4800 in scholarships. In addition to the Nipissing University and high school scholarships that we are committed to giving on an annual basis, we were able to provide a scholarship to Canadore, contribute as a club to the Charitable Trust National CFUW fund and also provide assistance to Youth in Transition. We helped internationally by sending $118.70 (our loonie/toonie collections) to the CFUW-IFUW Bina Roy Partners in Development. I think as a club we are to be commended for raising this $4918.70. It is thanks to our members who so kindly donate directly to the Scholarship Fund and to those members who donate memorials to the Scholarship Fund. As we have a charitable number, tax receipts are issued for these donations. We also raised money through our auction and some of its proceeds went to the Scholarship Fund. The Garden Tour proceeds, which we will share with the Grandmothers for Africa this July 26, will also go to the Scholarship Fund. Well done, CFUW North Bay.

A second purpose of the club is to stimulate the interest of the members in public affairs and to afford the opportunity for expression of united opinion. We are very thankful to the Issues and Advocacy Committee who so diligently carry out this mandate. They have been very visible in the community making presentations and attending important meetings on various issues on behalf of CFUW North Bay.

The executive has worked hard this year to update all the job description. They are now complete and all in- coming executive members will have revised guidelines to help them get started in their new positions.

We have enjoyed a varied program this past year with many interesting speakers that we think have helped to raise awareness of CFUW in our community

We would be remiss if we did not thank Caroline Haist for her diligent work in keeping our web site current. At any time you can visit the web site at www.cfuwnorthbay.ca and get up-to-date information. Did you know that she even posts the Gourmet Lunch Group recipes?

It has been a pleasure for us to serve as Co-Presidents. Our travelling schedules were opposite to each other which meant we were able to complete the task as President seamlessly. A big thank you goes to all executive members who carried out their duties so diligently and have made the club’s activities a success this past year.

Scholarship Committee Report

Diane Wallace, Scholarship Chair

CFUW North Bay generously donated a total of $4800 to ten scholarships this past year.

The recipients were as follows:

Sabrina Seymour CFUW Nursing Scholarship Nipissing $500

Anne Brule CFUW Memorial Bursary Nipissing $500

Caitlan Hewitt CFUW Bachelor of Education Nipissing $500

Julia Fazzari CFUW Biology Scholarship Nipissing $500

Amie Currie CFUW Criminal Justice Scholarship Nipissing $500

Katelyn Blackburn CFUW Bursary in Early Childhood Ed Canadore $500

Maggie Veen Youth in Transition Scholarship CAS $500

CFUW Charitable Trust Donation to Scholarships $500

TBA Mathematics Scholarship Widdifield HS $400

TBA Science Scholarship Widdifield HS $400

TOTAL $4800

Thank you to all of our members who have participated in our fundraisers and made personal donations to make such generosity possible for our club. It is wonderful to be able to assist so many young women to further their education.

Membership Committee

Marg Louko and Laura Rainer, Co-Chairs

We now have 61 members. This spring we took in two new members, who will officially join for the next year.

1. Attended executive meetings and general meetings.

2. Organized North Bay Public Library display case to increase awareness of CFUW in North Bay.

3. Prepared the roster with the help of Helen Manning.

4. Co-hosted the new membership meeting in February.

5. Ordered membership certificates, which will be presented at June general meeting, through national office.

6. Booked the Library display case for August and September 2014.

Programme Committee

Gail Thomsen, Chair

The CFUW programme consisted of 10 regular meetings, held at either Cementation, Holy Name Catholic Church or the home of Gail Thomsen and one meeting known as the Charitable Trust Dinner held at Average Joe’s Restaurant. The programme was as follows:

September 18, 2013 – North Bay Women Making a Difference – speaker Dawn Clarke – Community Voices

October 23, 2013 – Habitat for Humanity – speaker John Humble

November 20, 2013 – The 12 Days of Christmas – presented by The Abbey – & annual Silent Auction

December 2, 2013 – Charitable Trust Dinner – speaker Wendy Abdallah, Victim Services

December 11, 2013 – A Christmas Evening in Memory of Anne Bullman – at the home of Gail Thomsen

January 22, 2014 – Countdown to Robotics – speakers Al McDonald and Anthony Rota

February 19, 2014 – Nipissing, North Bay’s University – speaker Dr. Michael DeGagné

March 19, 2014 – Pot Luck and Resolutions – presented by the Issues and Advocacy Committee

April 16, 2014 – Lunch and Learn – The Pipeline – speaker Donna Sinclair

May 21, 2014 – North Bay’s Walk of Fame – speaker Mayor Al McDonald

June 11, 2014 – Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner – progressive dinner hosted by club members

The people at Cementation have been very good to CFUW. It is a comfortable setting that affords a unique and intimate atmosphere for our meetings. The parking is second to none, and they have a good AV system that can offer our guest speakers the opportunity to use Power Point presentations. Tony at Holy Name Catholic Church has been very accommodating for our needs as to tables and room set-up. This area worked well for our meetings that required additional space. As well, Average Joe’s Restaurant has been a wonderful host for the Charitable Trust Dinner and has managed to keep our dinner cost to $30.00 – all inclusive - for the past several years.

As the committee chairperson I would suggest the following: Each meeting should be run by one person designated by the programme committee. This person would be responsible for getting someone to introduce and thank the speaker as well as meeting him or her at the door and making him or her welcome. This person should also be responsible for getting, wrapping, and bringing the gift for the speaker and writing a thank-you note. This gift should be decided upon by the programme committee during their planning sessions. This way it is the group who makes the decision and it does not rest on the shoulders of the meeting co-ordinator. At the completion of each year, a letter should be written to Cementation thanking them for their hospitality and generosity in providing the meeting room and kitchen facilities.

Publicity

Mary Catherine O'Hagan and Marg Mullan, Co-Chairs

Social Committee

Bonnie Roynon, Chair

Helpers: Anne McNutt, Bunty Swanson, Lynn Ingham.

Venues: Cementation Assembly Room – 4 meetings – great room, awkward entry.

Holy Name Catholic Church Hall – 3 meetings – accessible, good location.

Gail Thomsen’s home – Christmas social – warm and inviting.

Snacks: Abundant at each meeting thanks to generous volunteers.

Refreshments: Good supply of coffee and tea, regular and decaf on hand.

Venues permit the use of their equipment; therefore fewer appliances are required to be brought in to each location. Tablecloths, napkins, plastic cups and a few mugs available for those who forget to bring their own mug. The only consumables that are required for each meeting are cream and milk. I often bring fruit and provide jugs of fresh water.

Telephone Team: This team communication strategy has not been implemented as yet this year; however it was effective in contacting members about the progressive dinner last spring and will likely be utilized again for the June meeting.

Analysis: This approach appears to be working in order to facilitate a sociable monthly meeting. Suggestions about making it better are always welcome. The only disappointment is in the few who do not bring their own mugs. Sincere thanks to members who assist in the clean-up following the meeting.

Advocacy and Issues

Janet Poudrier, Chair, and Kaarina Tulisalo, RD Ontario North

CFUW North Bay members have advocated for and taken action on the following local, provincial and national issues:

Bill 88 Accessing Care for Youth

• Forwarded a letter of support for Bill 88 to the committee hearings and to the M.P.P.

• Notified the membership of the OC letter submitted to Premier Kathleen Wynne

• Met with the Executive Director of CAS Nipissing Parry Sound, Giselle Hebert, regarding Bill 88 and to establish a liaison with the local CAS

• Attended a Canadian Club presentation by Giselle Hebert and a Youth In Care on the programs and services offered by the CAS

• Attended a gala dinner sponsored by the CAS recognizing 8 young women, all Youth In Care, who had completed the course in developing self esteem

• Awarded a CFUW scholarship for a Youth in Care continuing her education at the college level

• Attended a Youth in Care Conference where the scholarship was presented and the inspiring guest speaker was Derek Clark from California (Google Derek Clark for more information)

Initiative on Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women and Girls

CFUW North Bay adopted a local approach to the initiative. The membership passed a motion to survey the community and support existing community programmes in a co-ordinated effort to focus more attention on the issue of violence against women The following actions were taken:

• Attending a meeting of the Domestic Violence Community Co-ordinating Committee (DVCCC) and establishing a liaison.

• Attended an all- day conference on Violence Against Women organized by the DVCCC.

• Attended the CFUW North Bay Charitable Trust Dinner. The guest speaker was Wendy Abdallah of Victim Services and she outlined the services available to women who are victims of violence.

• Participated in the Sisters in Spirit Vigil and established connections with Aboriginal Groups, Amelia Rising , Transition House and True Self.

• Supported the One Pledge Campaign, a local initiative by Mayor Al McDonald, Police Chief Paul Cook and Janine Lafreniere, executive director of Transition House, to raise awareness within our community about violence against women.

• Participated in IWD events such as “Join Me on the Bridge “ and a presentation on Human Trafficking at Nipissing University “Trafficking In Victims: Sex, Work and the Politics of Gendered Mobility.”

• Supported an initiative by one of our new members by publicizing and attending the screening of the film It’s a Girl.

• Attended a presentation on “Rethinking Gender and Poverty at Home and Abroad.”

Water, the Pipeline and Democracy

CFUW North Bay recognizes the importance of water especially as it pertains to the Energy East Pipeline which, if approved, would pass through North Bay from Alberta to the East coast. The pipeline is close to Trout Lake, the source of the city’s water and passes through the watershed. CFUW North Bay members have taken the following actions:

• Attended a meeting to hear Stan Gibson speak on the work of Ecologos to protect Ontario’s water.

• Registered on the mailing list of the Water Docs North Working Group organizing the Northern Ontario Premiere of the film Watermark June 6.

• Attended presentations by the TransCanada Pipeline at a City Council Meeting and at an open House hosted by TransCanada.

• Attended and made a presentation on behalf of CFUW North Bay at the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) Consultations.

• Attended a presentation by the Council of Canadians “Energy East: Our Risk, Their Reward” with speakers Maude Barlow and Ariel Deranger.

• Organized a “Lunch & Learn” event with the guest speaker Donna Sinclair and the topic “The Pipeline and Democracy.” The event is a noon-hour session with members and guests invited to bring their own lunch and with CFUW providing dessert, coffee, tea and punch. It is an opportunity to “learn” about the pipeline locally, provincially, nationally and internationally while you “lunch.”

CFUW North Bay will continue to advocate and take action on these issues and others such as resolutions, child care, elections, letter writing and visiting the M.P.P., M.P. and municipal officials.

Gift of Reading

Doris Toswell

The Gift of Reading was presented to 26 Senior Kindergarten students at E.T.Carmichael Public School on March 6.

Kaarina Tulisalo kindly framed the letters that were sent to the school, The Nugget and Cogeco. Several members assisted in the presentation, and President Heather’s picture was in The Nugget as part of our celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2014.

Thanks goes to all the CFUW members for their donation of excellent SK books.

Interest Groups

Bridge Club - Helen Manning

Our bridge club meets on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Numbers vary as our members are travellers. We usually have only one table. Sometimes a fifth person participates and we take turns sitting out. On the odd occasion, we have had eight people to play two table bridge. Although we play duplicate rules from lessons taken at the North Bay Bridge Club, we take time to discuss the hands. Anyone wishing to join us can call me at 705-495-4271.

Book Club - Helen Somerville

The book club meets every fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in members’ homes. The meetings are informal and non-critical. The hostess provides coffee and the presenter provides information and conducts the discussion. This year we added a tour of the Nipissing University library and chatted with David Gilham, the author of our April book City of Women, via Skype.

The books for the next year are suggested in June at the annual potluck and then voted on via email. A list of the books chosen for 2013-14 is on the website. The list for 2014-15 will be available as soon as the voting is complete. This year there were 15 members, but new members are welcome.

Heritage Gardeners - Diane Stewart

Last year was our 17th year as Heritage Gardeners. Our CFUW group, the Voyageurs, began working in bed 23, one of the wild rose bed, and now maintain two roadside beds as well. These beds have bulbs, perennials and spirea while our main bed (23) has wild roses, spirea, many bulbs and perennials plus last year's new addition, a birch tree in honour of Annie Bullman.

The City is always looking for help with the Waterfront Garden project known as Heritage Gardeners. Gardening is usually once a week for two hours. Our CFUW and friends group gardens on Wednesday mornings, but other groups garden throughout the week, mornings, afternoons, and evenings. Anyone who wishes to sign up email or call Monica McLaren, Heritage Garden Coordinator (705-472-4006 or heritage.gardeners@heritagenorthbay.com). You will be welcomed with open arms.

Gourmet Luncheon Group - Gail Thomsen

This year, the gourmet luncheon group was the biggest it has ever been – 15 members. This did not cause us a problem as so many of our members travel. We did, however, manage to have at least 10 at every lunch. Our planning meeting took place at the Urban Café and there were eight other occasions we got together for gastronomic experiences. Our January meeting was held at My Thai Palace as we are usually “cooked out” after Christmas. We certainly missed having Anne Bullman in our midst and her name was mentioned at almost every occasion that found the group around the table. The only recommendation that I would have is that the group not exceed 15 members.

Gourmet Dinner Group - Cheryl Nidd

The gourmet dinner group had a very busy season exploring the newer eateries of the North Bay area. Our September meeting took place at the Ram’s Head in Callander. We had a magnificent meal and planned our year. In November we headed to Raina’s Restaurante and had a splendid feast. In December many of us attended the Charitable Trust dinner held at Average Joe’s. In January we had a delightful dinner at the wonderful Kabuki House. In February Mary and Christine hosted a lovely dinner at Mary’s beautiful condo. Dinner was delicious and catered by T. W. Foods. In April many attended a delightful dinner at the White Owl Bistro and welcomed a new member Pat Ahola. In May Kaarina and Cheryl are hosting an old-fashioned high tea out at Kaarina’s In June we are travelling to My Thai Palace, one of North Bay’s newest venues.

If you wish to join us for any event, please let me know. You are always welcome.

Roamers - Kaarina Tulisalo

The Roamers Group continues to flourish and provides members with opportunities to attend and enjoy community events such as theatre productions, movies, dinners, sporting events, musical evenings, art shows, speakers, etc. It is a self-directed initiative by members for members and guests and is coordinated by the convenor. Roamers events provide opportunities for members to enjoy fellowship and friendship and to raise the profile of CFUW North Bay in the community.

Information on Roamers events is sent out in the newsletter, by email and most importantly on the CFUW North Bay website. Check the website regularly for event details, updates and new additions. Caroline Haist does an outstanding job listing the event details and providing links on the website.

This year Roamers attended events hosted by the North Bay Symphony, Canadian Club speaker series, Live At the Met Opera Series, Nipissing University History Series, Gateway Theatre Productions, Near North Voices Choir, First Region Robotics Competitions, TransCanada Open House (Pipeline), City Council meeting (Pipeline), OEB Hearings Council of Canadians Presentation with Maude Barlow and Eriel Deranger, screening of It’s a Girl, Dare to Dine, Davedi Club Celebrations, Sisters in Spirit Walk, presentations on water, poverty, “Join Me on the Bridge” and more. So check the website and join the fun and fellowship.

Sunrise Breakfast - Terry Martinelli

The Sunrise Breakfast Group meets on the last Friday of the month at 9 a.m. at Guido and Arlene's Restaurant on Trout Lake Road. We meet from September to November and from January to June. This is a social group. We chat and catch up over breakfast. All are welcome to attend.