GBA 2021 - Summer Update

14 www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Summer 2021 I ’m honoured to be appointed your next GBA president. As such, I promise you and your respective association members that I, along with your Board, will do our very best to ensure the careful stewardship of the greater Georgian Bay environment so that our grandchildren’s grandchildren will be able to enjoy the same beauty and benefits that this special place provides us with today. Before I say anything more, I’d like to give a big shoutout to our outgoing president John Carson on a job very well done. John has been an incredible leader, helping us drive positive results on many important files across our organization on behalf of you, your families, and the Bay. John – your dedication, hard work and passion for excellence would be the envy of any board, anywhere, at any level. I am glad you chose ours! We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated executive director in Rupert Kindersley. Rupert’s knowledge of GBA and the issues that we face on Georgian Bay is a tremendous asset to our organization. He works tirelessly to promote GBA and the issues that are important to the Bay – day in and day out. Assisting Rupert is Shannon Farquharson, GBA’s Communications and Executive Services Coordinator. Shannon is responsible for keeping our website current, sending out eUpdates, managing our billing and accounts receivables - among countless other important tasks – thank you Shannon! I learned long ago that every successful leader surrounds themselves with smart, talented people. Those smart people are our Board members – your local association members – whose commitment and countless hours of hard work help us accomplish our goals and crest the many challenges we face on a daily basis. Thank you for your dedication to Georgian Bay and I look forward to working with each of you as we take on the important initiatives ahead. Last, and certainly not least, I’d like to thank Liz Phillips and Allison Needham for taking on UPDATE . Liz is a writer by profession and has been our deputy editor on UPDATE for the last two years. Liz will take over from me as editor on the fall issue and Allison Needham, who has an extensive corporate communications background, will take over as Liz’s deputy. I am confident that the two of them will take UPDATE to the next level! So let’s bring this back to the here and now. I am very proud to be your next GBA president. My wife Susan and I are part of the Cognashene Cottagers’ Association (CCA). Susie introduced me to Georgian Bay over Thanksgiving weekend in 1988, and I’ve been in love with the Bay ever since. To help me to get to know the greater community better, Susie “volunteered” me to be the publisher of the Cottager, our association’s annual publication. Since then I’ve been on the CCA Board twice and have served two six-year terms. I can honestly say that I have met just about everybody in our community now. I’ve been on the GBA Board for almost seven years and have chaired or played a part in a number of different committees. As the incoming president I’m excited to work with every committee! I’d also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone reading this message that we are all guardians of Georgian Bay. The power to make a difference starts with each of us making better choices when we’re on the Bay. We all need to work together better, smarter, and more effectively to bring about positive change. For example, we all have a role to play in keeping unencapsulated dock foam from polluting the Bay, as Rupert outlines in his article in this issue of UPDATE . We also have to be vigilant in inspecting and maintaining our cottage septic systems to ensure they don’t accidentally release sewage into our waters, a challenge that has become all the more acute with the recent high water levels. And as we plan and build along the shores of the Bay, it is also important to keep the environment and natural habitat in mind. Many years ago, when I first joined the CCA Board, I heard some very wise words from one of my colleagues. She said, “When we were growing up, we used to make our cottages conform to the rock, now it seems that people want to make the rock conform to the cottage.” We all love Georgian Bay for what it is; let’s not try and reshape it into something that it isn’t! Before I sign off, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the presidents who I worked with during my tenure on the GBA Board: Sue Grundy, John McMullen, Rupert Kindersley, and John Carson – all of whom provided the Board with sage counsel and steady direction during their terms. I am proud to be your next president. Remember that the power to make a difference starts with each of us making better choices and better decisions. It is our collective actions as GBA members that will make the greatest difference to the Bay now, and of course, for our grandchildren’s grandchildren. Miigwech/Thank you – I wish each of you a happy, safe, and hopefully a very social summer! PRESIDENT’S REPORT Moving Forward By Rolfe Jones, GBA President