On behalf of the 2020-2021 Board of Directors for the Hidden Valley Community Association, welcome to June and the beginning of another Alberta summer, and the imminent end of the Board’s term. I find it strange to think that we are nearly halfway through 2021 and that, very soon, both the first day of summer and your HVCA’s Annual General Meeting will be upon us.
Last year, the 2019-2020 Board of Directors deferred the AGM into September to manage the uncertainty we were facing. This year, though some uncertainty remains, we are doing our part to try to get back to the schedule established in our bylaws to make sure that our members and residents are clearly connected to the business and well-being of our community.
Although the Board’s term has been most unusual, the Directors have continued to work with our community partners, building now and for the future. Since the AGM in September, the 2020-2021 Board of Directors have pursued and achieved capital grants, contributions, and donations for park funding, and coordinated with the City for revitalization of our park spaces at the Hidden Hut and the “duck pond” off the 14th Street entrance. Directors have driven and built the replacement of our online membership system and website, built another Little Free Library in the community, continued to develop our membership and incentive program with local businesses, and made sure that the business of the association has continued to run.
But your Board of Directors’ ability to accomplish the work that needed to get done would not have been possible without HVCA members and residents who contributed their time, expertise, care, strength, skill, creativity, know-how, energy, and – through membership fees or donations- money to maintain and improve the well-being of their neighbours. Even with the unprecedented challenges over the past year, our membership increased over 2019-2020, and community members and residents stepped up to help their neighbours keep their sidewalks clear, balanced the Association’s books, helped out at our drive-through bottle drive (dropping off and collecting bottles), festively decorated different parts of our community, and showed up in April and May to help keep the community clean. And, during the coldest and snowiest part of the year, Spencer, Aaron, and their team were up early in the mornings doing their best to keep the ice ready for skating on the big rink and pleasure rink, despite the changing weather and restrictions.
On behalf of the Board, members and residents of Hidden Valley and Hanson Ranch, we are grateful for your contributions, and my thanks go out to those who get involved in whatever way they can to make our community a better, more-livable place to be.
I’d like to close this month’s update with an ask of our members: Please join the outgoing 2020-2021 Board of Directors at the AGM on June 22, 2021 at 6:30 pm to create the Board of Directors for 2021-2022. The AGM is that time every year where active members of the HVCA support the direction our community is heading or introduce change to that direction. Your lived experience means you know what is working and what is not meeting your needs and the needs of your friends, neighbours, and families. As a Hidden Valley or Hanson Ranch resident with an active HVCA membership who attends the AGM in person, you can vote for members standing for election or re-election, and you can have the opportunity to have your name put forward to join the Board. This means that you direct and shape the future of the community. Please help us as we continue to build and maintain a healthy, happy community
