As we move towards the end of the year, I wanted to reflect on everything that has been going on with the Mid-Sun Community Association recently. As discussed in the November issue of Mid-Sun Message, finishing up the Sun Valley Boulevard fence art project was a major undertaking in recent months, but there have been many other events and projects going on, and many people to credit for their success.
First, I wanted to thank everyone who came out to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on October 3. With a strong showing from members, we were able to pass a Special Resolution, clarifying our boundaries and moving our fiscal year end from May 31 to June 30. This will help make our financial records more accurate. It will also mean that, starting next year, Mid-Sun memberships will be valid from July 1 to June 30.
At the AGM, we also elected our Board of Directors for the 2018-2019 term. I will continue as President for the next year, and all our current directors will be staying on the board, with a couple of changes. After graciously stepping in as secretary for our September and October meetings, Courtney Heppner will continue in the role for this term. Meanwhile, our past secretary, Patsy McNish, will be moving on to a new role as policy director. Thanks to both of you for taking on these roles, and thanks to all our directors for continuing to serve the community so well.
The day of our AGM, fundraising director Rose-Marie McKinnon also informed us that our casino nights this past May earned the CA $80, 000! These funds will go towards ensuring our community centre stays viable, and we couldn’t have done it without the hard work of all our volunteers. Way to go everybody!
On October 14, the Mid-Sun Community Garden hosted their Wind-Up BBQ to mark the end of the season. I had a great time there enjoying food, catching up with an old friend, and celebrating the garden’s 10th Anniversary. Thanks to the garden’s Social Butterflies for putting on such fantastic events, and to all the gardeners for creating such an inspirational little community within Mid-Sun. Here is to another 10 years.
Then on November 3, the Playground Committee had its Family Fun Market at the community centre. So many in the community helped to make it a success. We appreciate the attendees, vendors and sponsors who helped contribute to the Sunlake Road Playground, as well as the hard work of the Playground Committee in creating an event like this for the community.
Besides events, in the last few months the CA has been busy with community projects, such as reaching out to businesses in Midnapore and Sundance, to see how we can work together. So far, we have built a directory of the many businesses in our community, which we will be sharing with residents. We look forward to seeing how else we can work with local businesses. A very special thanks to Faye Andrews and Vanessa Huszar for all your work with this.
With so much help from our staff, especially General Manager Sharmaleigh Luft, the Mid-Sun Board of Directors has also been busy sorting out the new exterior for our community centre. The design will have panels of fibre cement on the top and middle, with a stone vaneer along the bottom. There are three colour options we have been considering (the third is a variant of the first, based on some early resident feedback). Here are some rough mock-ups of how the front entrance to our building could look with each of them, let me know what you think. We will be making our final decision soon, and the work will be completed in spring or summer of 2019.
2018 was a busy year for Mid-Sun, and it’s clear 2019 will be too. Note, the Mid-Sun Community Centre will be closed for annual maintenance from Saturday, December 22nd to Monday, January 7th. The board and staff are looking forward to focusing on family and friends during that time, and I hope everyone in the community can do so as well.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We’ll see you in 2019.
-Mark Schmidt
President, Mid-Sun Community Association
