Good Evening,
Let me first thank all of you for coming out and joining us on this Sunday night. We truly appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules to join us as we review the events of the last year and lay out our plans for the year ahead. As we say good bye to those that have stepped down and thank you to those who have put their name forward to help run this amazing community association. As president, I have the opportunity to work with these wonderful people that you see sitting with me at this head table and the many more that volunteer their time at our many events. It is amazing how our feeling of exhaustion dissipates at the end of a long eventful day when a member of the community says they had a good time as they leave an event. Or they say thank you for what we have done or they ask us to keep doing what we are doing. Our batteries get recharged and we go forward with renewed energy to serve the community that we all love. In the same respect, it depletes our energy when we feel, as a result of comments made, that we have let down a member or members of our community because we did not take something into consideration when we planned an event. Please remember that we are all volunteers and that we dedicate many hours each week so that all of you, our friends and neighbours, can more fully enjoy the community in which they live. We ask for nothing in return except that perhaps the community realizes that we are doing the best we can with the resources we have to make Manordale-Woodvale Community a neighbourhood that we can all be proud of.
I wish to tell you a story about 2 young boys, one in grade 4 and one in grade 7. They both attended our Canada Day Festivities, they both misbehaved and they both were spoken to by one of our volunteers because of their behaviour. However, the story does not end there. When the Corn Roast and the Halloween Party came around, these 2 boys that got into trouble at our Canada Day Festivities were first in line to help us out and volunteer their time. They are too young for volunteer hours, so all they get for their volunteerism is the satisfaction that they they are doing something positive for their community. Our community is filled with volunteers both young and old that come out and help out at our events because they care for their community. Tonight we honoured 4 volunteers that have stepped out of their comfort zone to make this community better for all of us. However, they are a mere sample of the many volunteers in this community!
In closing, I wish to thank all of my neighbours that volunteer their time in this community to make it a better place for all of us. I, also, wish to ask you here in attendance and those that follow us on Facebook and through our website to consider coming out to our monthly meetings to see what we are all about. Perhaps once you come to a few meetings you will realize we are a fun group to be part of and you might consider joining us on a more regular basis. Many hands make lighter work for all of us and makes this community much richer in community spirit!
