South Stipeley

The December regular meeting of the South Stipeley Neighbourhood Association was held at the Heart of the Hammer Café on December 21st, 2009.

ATTENDANCE: Paul Tetley - VP, Rebecca Doll, Sarah Martin - secretary, Mel Griffin, Franci Calhoun, Deborah Munn, and Heather Morrisey. Rose Coole joined the meeting in progress. Mike Hooper (Pres) was absent with regrets.

Paul called the meeting to order.

Rebecca Doll read the minutes from the November meeting. Mel moved that they be approved as read. Paul seconded the motion.
Deborah then gave the treasurers report. Not many volunteers were available to deliver the newsletter – many thanks to those that were faithful in helping! The newsletter was content-light and there were some errors due to the rushed nature of the printing process which resulted in a lack of proof-reading. Mel suggested an article in the next newsletter about volunteering. We also need to find more people to write about what they know. Deborah would also like to include more pictures in the newsletter and it was recommended that we ask Gail if she has any that would be appropriate.
Discussion surrounding the newsletter came up at different points throughout the meeting. It was suggested that we feature volunteers in our newsletters. Franci volunteered to write our “South Stipely Stars” article featuring volunteers that are actively involved in our association. Several specific people were suggested.
We also discussed increasing our school-related content by contacting the schools and asking for their input in the newsletters. We thought it might be nice to feature a grad from each school in our June newsletter (perhaps the valedictorian). Sarah will be in contact with Adelaide Hoodless and Mike Hooper will connect with Prince of Wales. We might also contact St. Columba about an article regarding their closing.
Paul gave an events report regarding the skating event on Saturday the 19th. We took over the public skate at Scott Park Arena and paid for all who attended. Gail arranged for Santa and picked up skates from Jamesville for people to borrow. Deborah and Paul brought snacks. We had over 60 skaters and over 70 total in attendance. We came in at around $142.50 which was significantly less that the $295 that we requested from the South Sherman Hub. We will return the excess to the Hub with thanks.
In evaluating the event, it was determined to be very successful and a definite repeater for the future. We determined that we would really like to work hard to have hot chocolate there next year since that wasn’t possible this year. Sarah volunteered to write notes of thanks to Jamesville, Santa, Scott Park Arena, and the South Sherman Hub on behalf of the association.
The discussion then turned to our need for volunteers. It was agreed that we need more manpower in order to sustain our current level of activity without burning out certain individuals. We spoke of the need to affirm excellence in our volunteers which led to Franci’s article in future newsletters. Paul suggested that we need to push people to make a specific time commitment when they come to our meetings. When we have a guest speaker (eg. Jill Stephenson (LRT) or someone from Waste Management) we need to end our meeting with a firm call to commitment. Rebecca also mentioned that the most effective way to solicit help is to invite your neighbours out personally.
Paul then brought up the suggestion of changing the night of the week that we meet each month. There was discussion among the group about other nights that might work and it was decided that for those that were present, Monday is the night which conflicts the least with their schedules.
We reviewed the Event Schedule for 2010 as outlined in the agenda. A correction was made regarding the Pumpkin Parade in that it would be held on November 1st. Deborah also suggested that she would like to see a perennial exchange scheduled for May. It was also suggested that the “Barnesdale Street Sale” become a neighbourhood sale like the one held in the Beach neighbourhood or Caledonia. We will put an add in our March newsletter with the date and asking for people to contact us if they plan to have a yard sale so that we can publish a map in our June newsletter and advertise in the Spectator, etc. It was also suggested that we advertise that those wearing their South Stipeley shirt on the day of the sale would receive a free burger. In order to do this, we would sell our food at a nominal fee (eg. $1) so as not to make it inaccessible to our neighbours. Rebecca, Deborah, and Franci volunteered to head up the neighbourhood sale committee.
Mel inquired about the status of our incorporation. Paul briefly updated the group. The executive will discuss the details at their next meeting and report back to the group.
Paul moved that the meeting be adjourned at 9:07 pm. Mel seconded.

*Please note, these minutes have not yet been “Passed”.