GBA Update Summer 2024

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

What’s New With GBA

By Liz Phillips, GBA President

W ith the Annual Meeting of Members (AMM) behind us and cottage season starting in another month or so, the summer issue of UPDATE always feels like a good time to reflect on the new initiatives that GBA has underway. This year, led by the Guardians of the Bay Committee, we are launching the GBA Champion of the Bay Award to recognize the great work of individuals protecting and enhancing the Georgian Bay environment. Each GBA member association will be asked to put forward one name from their members in the fall. All the nominees will receive a certificate and be recognized in the pages of UPDATE . The Guardians of the Bay Committee will also select one overall winner who will be profiled in more detail and will receive a beautiful and unique prize. We are excited and inspired by our members' work, and we can’t wait to hear more about your many and varied accomplishments. We also hope the stories will inspire more engagement and good deeds. A Presidents' Forum is also planned for the fall, organized by the Membership Committee. While the AMM is a way for us to connect with the presidents of GBA’s member associations, it’s always a busy meeting, full of many updates, business items, and presentations. Over the last few years, we have been hearing more and more about how the presidents value listening and learning from each other, and we also want to hear directly from them about what is important to you, our members. We are excited to bring this group together for a working session and hope it will become a regular event.

We are also interested in including more non-Board volunteers on GBA committees. This

isn’t without precedent—in the past, Board members who have left the Board have stayed on a GBA committee because of their ongoing interest in an issue. In other cases, we have contacted external resources to tap into their specific subject matter expertise. But with this new initiative, we are looking for volunteers with any level of experience—the important thing is that you are enthusiastic about an issue and are willing to spend a few hours a month moving things forward. All of GBA’s committees would welcome volunteers, but the Water Committee is the one that has an active request for more help, as you might have noticed in the ad in this issue of UPDATE . They are tackling several issues, and your help could make a difference. For example, we would like to finally see legislation requiring all washing machines sold in Canada to be fitted with a filter to prevent microplastics from entering our water bodies. Also, now that we have legislation banning unencapsulated dock foam, there is work to be done to educate members on the alternatives or advocate for financial incentives to help people get rid of their unencapsulated foam docks. We are excited about the prospect of inviting new volunteers to GBA committees. Not only will this help GBA accomplish more, but we also hope it will give our members a chance to become more involved and engaged in our mission. If you are curious about an issue and would like to attend a committee meeting to find out more, we encourage you to email info@ georgianbay.ca for more information.

Directors of the Georgian Bay Association

Association

Director

Association

Director

Bay of Islands Blackstone Lake

Liz Phillips

Northern Georgian Bay

Freda Klassen

Andy Metelka Gordon Johnson Doug Ferguson David Matthews Tom Halpenny Armin Grigaitis Andrew Hurlbut Jim Rusak Liz Drayton Doug Whitton Dan Busse

PaBIA PaBIA

Seymour Hadwen

BNIA BNIA

Hannah Willis

Sans Souci & Copperhead Sans Souci & Copperhead

Katherine Denune

Cognashene Cognashene

Al Stratton

South Channel Twelve Mile Bay Wah Wah Taysee

Steven Sprague Brett Harris Gord Forstner Allison Needham Richard Wilson Heather Sargeant

Honey Harbour Honey Harbour

Key River

West Carling West Carling Woods Bay

Madawaska Club

Manitou

McGregor Bay

www.georgianbay.ca

GBA UPDATE Summer 2024

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