It's spring and time for the Capilano Community League Annual General Meeting. The past year has flown by during which the league has had many successes, and as always challenges and opportunities lie ahead. The spirit in Capilano is strong and I am very proud to serve as president.
Being a volunteer is never easy. At times it seems like there are too few people doing way too many things. Sometimes the jobs we take on are an extension of our working lives, and sometimes we step outside of our areas of expertise. No matter the situation, we are doing things that benefit our families, neighbours, and friends. Personally, the experience has been challenging, fun, and rewarding.
During my tenure, the common goal of the league is to learn from the past and improve the future. We have made tremendous strides in areas like facilities management, electronic financial records, communications, and programs. Bingo revenues have declined since the introduction of the non-smoking by-law last July to the point where we are losing money. Bingo is important for our operating expenses, plus Bingo provides an opportunity for local groups to generate revenue for their needs. The league needs to find creative ways to reverse the effect on our bottom line.
The Capilano web site continues to be the best source of community information for programs, news, and announcements. Missed the Southeast Voice? All submissions are available on our site at www.capilano.info. Come back often or better yet, mark us as your home page.
We did not undertake any major projects this past year, however we expect that to change soon. Our casino account, generally used for capital projects, is healthy after hosting a casino in September 2005. There has been a lot of talk on where to focus efforts and we will look to the community for input. We are in the process of gathering estimates to replace the roof on the rink building. Other projects include deck repair and refurbishing of the tennis lounge. The Capilano playground will undergo changes and long-range plans include a complete replacement.
The social calendar included a first annual Capilano Lights Night where we decorated the community hall grounds and lit up one of the large evergreen trees at a fun family night in December. Family Channel brought us Snow Days in January. The committee also organized the Halloween party and Snow Flake Shaker. Many new programs were introduced to Capilano. Our hockey rink enjoyed an extended year with excellent ice and weather.
I have many people to thank for their efforts during the past year and don't have the space to list everyone and fear missing someone. Our annual volunteer night is the leagues way to appreciate our executive, committee chairpersons, and the army of volunteers that help in our membership drive, fundraising efforts, programs, and other events. Although small payment for their contributions, this is one of the best nights of the year in Capilano. And you cannot buy a ticket!
I look forward to continuing as league president for the coming year. Many of our executive are also returning, but we also have vacancies and we always have room for help. If you would like to get involved with current projects, committees, executive position, or would like to realize your ideas for improvement, consider stepping forward. All positions come with the support of the current and past executive so you never have to go it alone. Give me a call (469.5744) to talk about how you can make a difference.
Bill Burtnik
President
Capilano Community League
http://www.capilano.info/downloads/President Report 2006.doc