President’s Report
As I come to the end of my first term as President of the MWCA, I wish to reflect upon the accomplishments we have made both as a community association and a community. When I first ran it was my desire to make the community association a more active participant in the Manordale-Woodvale Community. Together with my fellow members, our team has strived to make the MWCA a relevant component in the everyday lives of our friends and neighbours in Manordale. Whether it was by having a softball league for the young, a boat cruise for a relaxing evening for the adults, a Halloween or Christmas party for the young and young at heart, we have tried to fill a void in today’s society and be a comfort for all those that live in the area. We hold monthly euchres, clean our community’s parks and walkways, we offer the youth a chance to earn their volunteer hours and we act as a liaison between the members of the community and the city. We have our annual corn roast and community day, not to mention our spring garage sale.
Our goal was and is to make this community building and this park the hub of our community. More importantly, we want the Community Association to be the vehicle that works with you and for you so that Manordale-Woodvale is the community that everyone wants to be part of.
We have spent the better part of the last year amending our constitution so that the role of the MWCA and its executive is more clearly defined in the community in which it works. We have established a website and Facebook page so that we can reach more of you. With the help of the Councillor we now have a bulletin board in front of the building to help promote not only our events but the events of other organizations within our boundaries. Our hope is that we can be there for the community in a way that makes our community work. We do not want to become another level of bureaucracy; however, we want to be there to help this community grow. We want to be there for you and work with you so that the events we have and the help we offer is what you as a community want. We have many volunteers that help us at our events for which we are truly grateful. However, we need more of you to join us to make us strong.
Our hope for the next year is to make the events that we currently have better, more enjoyable as well as being better attended. In order to do that we need to hear from you, we need you to tell us what you would like to see. If you own a small business come meet with us and we can discuss with you how we can work with you to help increase your business and help improve our events.
As well, the people that form the executive of the MWCA are your friends and neighbours. We do this because we love the community and wish to give back to the community that has given us so much! Most of us are long term residents of this wonderful neighbourhood. Many of you probably recognize me even if you don’t know me because I have walked my dog in the neighbourhood for over fifteen years. Please feel free to send us an e-mail or stop us on the street if you have a question, a concern or just want to say hello. We are here for you and want to work with you to make the community better.
Lastly, the MWCA wishes to say a special thank you to three members of its current executive that will be stepping down as of tonight. Myrna Hay and Ray Martinuk are moving on to the next chapter in their lives. They both have been an integral part of this Community Association for more years than any of us can remember. Their dedication to the community is what makes this neighbourhood so special. They will be truly missed. The other member of the current executive stepping down is Brittany Seguin. Although, she has not served nearly as long, she too has played an integral role in the association. She was our first youth coordinator and played a key role in the amending of our current constitution. We wish the three of them all the best in their future endeavours.
