In January, we hold our Annual Meeting and use this to kick off our year of community beautification and horticultural activities. This year our goals include constructing a pavilion at the Arboretum & Learning Trail, adding to our downtown beautification efforts, working with Chatham-Kent to hold an event promoting environmental initiatives available to Wheatley residents, hosting our 3rd Garden Tour and continuing to develop as an organization.
Even if you aren’t able to regularly contribute to our goals, joining us for our annual meeting is an important way for you to show your support for our activities and influence our leadership. On January 27th, our evening will have two parts – a regular monthly meeting, followed by the annual meeting. Full details included below. Light refreshments will be available and there will be a 15 minute break between the two meetings. Join us for what works for you and feel free to reach out with questions.
Monthly Meeting – Jan 27th, 5:45 pm, Village Resource Centre Event Space
Though not originally scheduled, it felt like November to February was too long to go without checking in! Please feel free to join us for a brief business meeting.
Annual Meeting – Jan 27th, 6:30 pm, Village Resource Centre Event Space
The Annual Meeting of the Wheatley Horticultural Society provides all of our members with the opportunity to vote on its leadership, review its official financial position, adjust its constitution and recognize outstanding achievements. The details on the agenda, our reviewed financial statements and details on open volunteer positions and constitutional details are included below.
Volunteer Opportunities
As a group of volunteers, the more volunteers we have, the more we can accomplish! We currently have 2 open elected positions, Vice-President and Director. All of our elected positions are technically 1 year terms and therefore open, but we have individuals who plan to continue filling those roles. Please see the information below and reach out to any executive member for more information.
Vice-President-The Vice-President works with and learns from the President with the goal of eventually filling the role of President. Activities would include helping to set meeting agendas, helping to chair meetings, sitting on the Executive and Finance committees, and contributing to other Society activities that are of interest to the individual. Our current VP is enjoying the position but isn’t interested in taking it to the next level and acting as president.
Director-Directors are part of the board of the Wheatley Horticultural Society and contribute to committees they are interested in. They attend most monthly meetings and stay up to date with Society activities so that they are able to provide guidance to the group. They may be asked to meet or contribute to decision making outside of the monthly meeting schedule.
Constitution Amendment
In an effort to control our administration costs and reflect how we most often communicate with our members, members agreed on the proposed constitutional agreement after discussion at our October and November meetings. This amendment would remove the obligation to advertise our annual meeting in a local newspaper and is consistent with how our local societies are operating. The shift to include “reviewed” financial statements reflects that unless our revenue exceeds $100,000, our financials are reviewed by elected members, not audited by an accounting firm. In order to officially change our constitution, it needs to be voted on at our annual meeting.
Current:
By-Law 11: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
1. The Annual General Meeting shall be held at such time and place as the Board of Directors
may decide for the purpose of allowing members to review the work of the year, prepare
policy, approve the audited financial report, elect officers and auditor, and conduct such
other business deemed necessary. All members shall be notified at least 60 days in
advance of general meetings and invited to attend. Notification may be done through social
media and a notice in the local newspaper.
Proposed Amendment
1. The Annual General Meeting shall be held at such time and place as the Board of Directors
may decide for the purpose of allowing members to review the work of the year, prepare
policy, approve the audited or reviewedfinancial statements, elect officers and auditor, and conduct such other business deemed necessary. All members shall be notified at least 60 days in advance of general meetings and invited to attend. Notification may be done through social
media, a posting on the Society Website and direct email to members who have provided an email address.
Reviewed Financial Statements
