2020 Annual General Meeting & Presentation
BPRO’s second Annual General Meeting was held on the Zoom platform on November 10, 2020. We had 75 advance registrants and were thrilled to confirm that 62 attendees joined us from the comfort of their own home.
Our President, Kirsten Cooke, welcomed everyone to the meeting, with regrets that it could not be conducted in person. After a quick summary of the year’s activities, Kirsten had various Board members report on different projects and initiatives in more detail. For those who were unable to attend the meeting, here are some of the highlights:
- The Board of Directors was ratified with the addition of two new Directors, Doug Baker, and Michelle Moore who has previously and will continue to manage our social media.
- Kirsten Cooke will step down to Past President, Ted Baker will replace her as President
- We had paid memberships of $5.040 and 35 donors contributed $1,657, for total revenue of $6,697. Expenses were 3,809 resulting in an operating gain of $2,888.
- Our total audience is up just a little bit, at 485, which is great considering so much in 2020 was down because of COVID-19. We’ve had a high conversion rate from unpaid subscribers to paid members, increasing from 25% in our first year to 37% this year. Thank you to everyone who has supported us, we’re going in the right direction.
- The status of the three developments in our area were discussed: 250 Lawrence, Avenue Road & Lawrence and the newest one at 3180 Yonge Street.
- Local historian, Gary Schlee, presented a Historical Photo Tour of Bedford Park
- This was followed by a brief quiz for prizes from local retailers (thank you to Robyn’s Cookies, Your Gelato and The Friendly Butcher for their generous prizes).
- The meeting ended with a question and answer period.
We also had a surprise guest from a notable Bedford Park resident. The Honourable Minister Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship, attended the meeting and made a special presentation to Kirsten Cooke, in recognition of her two years of service as BPRO’s Board President. Councillor Mike Colle sent his regrets, but Kirsten was presented with a certificate he sent for Outstanding Volunteer & Community Service Award.
Sincere thanks to those who attended our meeting, and to Gary Shlee, our local historian, for his Historical Photo Tour of Bedford Park. This presentation was enthusiastically received, and we hope we will do something similar in the future.
If you would like to read the full presentation from the Annual General Meeting please click here: November 10, 2020 AGM Presentation.