The chairs set up in the Ottawa Food Bank warehouse were filled with people who toughed the cold weather to attend the Special and Annual General Meeting on January 16.
Representatives from Ottawa Food Bank Member Agencies, colleagues, friends, and associates gathered to discuss the activities and finances of the past-year, and to acknowledge the changes, challenges, and excitement of the year ahead.
The meeting began with the Ottawa Food Bank Board President, Michael G. Adams reflecting on the accomplishments of the year just past, including a prestigious recognition bestowed upon the Ottawa Food Bank.
“I am pleased to announce that, for the second year in a row, the Ottawa Food bank was recognized as a Recommended Charity of Choice by Charity Intelligence Canada,” says Adams. “That means that, of 320 Canadian charities that were assessed in 2011 – examining criteria such as strong management, efficiency and bottom-line-management – the Ottawa Food Bank was one of only 35 charities approved this year by the group at CI, the only one in Ottawa, I might add.” Adams closed his report from the board stating that, all in all, he was pleased to report that the Board of Directors was happy with the achievements of the 2010-11 fiscal year, and is prepared to face any challenges as the Ottawa Food Bank continues to move forward.
The meeting was also a time to express thanks to all who had a hand in helping those in need.
“We again thank all of our donors, supporters and volunteers – in particular those who run our Member Agency programs on a daily basis – for all they do in making this fine city of ours such a great place to live,” says Peter Tilley, Ottawa Food Bank Executive Director. “Even if that means just making it a somewhat more bearable place to live, just for today, as may be the case for so many we assist.”
The Keynote Address by Graham Richardson, Chief News Anchor at CTV Ottawa, was inspirational as he reflected on the Ottawa community and the possibility for us all to fall on hard times. With this in mind, Richardson encouraged his attentive audience to continue their much needed hard work helping those in need in the Ottawa Region.
Earlier in the evening, as a motion was passed to welcome three new members to the Ottawa Food Bank Board of Directors, we also had to bid farewell to three outgoing members. A big thank you to John Jarvis, Michael Sangster and Donna Levesque for the time they’ve spent on the Board, and for everything they have done for the Ottawa Food Bank.
The three new members of the Board are Jim Devoe, Sheila Fraser and Graham Richardson.
Jim Devoe
Jim has been the executive director of the Caldwell Family Centre, an Ottawa Food Bank Member Agency, since 2009. Before that he had a multi-faceted career in social work beginning in Alberta on a First Nations Reserve with Child and Family Services. From there he moved to Banff to work at the YWCA, and later ended up working for Child and Family Services again, but this time in Canmore, B.C. In 2003 Jim moved to Ottawa to accept the position of program manager for the Nepean Community Resource Centre. Jim also sits on the board of Mothercraft Ottawa as President.
Sheila Fraser
Sheila served as the first female Auditor General of Canada from 2001 to 2011. In this role, Sheila focused the Offices efforts on serving the needs of parliamentarians and ensuring they had the objective and reliable information needed to hold government accountable for its stewardship of public funds. Before joining the Office of the Auditor General in 1999, Sheila had a career at Ernst & Young, where she became partner in 1981. In 2009 Sheila was awarded the highest honour front the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, the ICAO Award of Outstanding Merit.
Graham Richardson
Graham has been the Chief News Anchor at CTV Ottawa since January 2010. Along with Co-Anchor Carol Anne Meehan, Graham anchors the number one television program in all of Eastern Ontario – CTV News at 6. Before joining CTV Ottawa, Graham covered Parliament Hill for CTV National News, and is CTV’s former Los Angeles Bureau Chief. Graham is a member on several non-profit boards including the Royal Ottawa Hospital Foundation and Bruyere Continuing Care.
