PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2007::ADEN CRANE

It is with a measure of satisfaction and a great deal of thanks to many members that I leave the HIAA Board once more having served as a Board member on and off over the past several years and as President for the last 2 yrs.

2007 has been a Banner Year for HIAA…a year we will all remember…a very colorful year. I was there and I got the T Shirt!…Before I go into any detail I would like to acknowledge the many volunteers that go into making the Joe King Experience the great organization it has become over the years. Most of us have worked shoulder to shoulder at one time or another to make this place exist and function and its difficult to say all the names so Im going to thank the main persons, in my opinion, over the past year or two and if Ive forgotten someone or some achievement please don’t take it personally…...

Basically most of you will know that the Ballpark is run by Volunteer Board members of which there are elected 7. We hire a cleaning and maintenance staff as required. We also hire a Webmaster for our website….We usually contract out Food Services to local caterers and pay a Sound Technician when needed….….. We rely on a host of Volunteer members to help run Events and look after the Bar and the Door and to these Volunteers I salute you all and without all these Volunteers and service workers the Joe King Machine couldnt run as seamlessly as it mostly does..This past year saw the Board comprised of the following members..Myself, Aden Crane, Melisa Devost, Peter Elkins, Sue Horner,Jeremy Payne, who resigned last july, Jules Platt and Ian Walmsley...

Everyone took on definite positions and responsibilities ranging from Advertising and Promotion to the Bar Management....I would like to really thank my fellow Board members mentioned for all their hours of volunteering for the King and you couldnt find a better crew to work with....The Athletic Components of the Association deserves thanks to Stash Dominiak, Board Member Ian Walmsley and Betty Kennedy for supporting the ongoing BaseBall, Tennis and Hockey Activities during the past busy year.

We do our own Bookeeping presently and id like to thank Board member Soylent Green..our Treasurer/Bookeeper and Business Manager who helped to pull in a significant amount of grant funding for the Fitness Centre and other projects…and provide us with good accounting to make decisions with....especially the timely use of the word... no!.....Culturally::::We have had a very successful year with a large number of Music Events in many genres and thanks to Board Member Sue Horner … we have been treated to a parade of significant Canadian and International Music Talent that are an important Artistic/social and fundraising aspect of this Association….Thanks to Ian Emberton and Mike Lobban for their work as Sound Techs at many events....and the Blues Society for the PA system useage,Thanks also to Board Member Jules Platt for her initiatives in bringing in Local and regional Fine Art Talent to grace the walls of the clubhouse for us all to experience.

Along with the Athletic and Cultural Parts of our Association This past year saw the Bar crew Headed first by Board member Jeremy Payne and then by Lennia Erikson and now Ian Walmsley…. the Joe King Bar serves it right to approx.24 licensed events per year and does its best to look after the interest of members and patrons and garner much needed revenue for the Club.…..Special Thanks to ...Amber, Angelina, Biff, Hilary, Ian .. Lennia and Matisse, We have a Laundry and Bathroom /Shower Complex known as the Washouse which functions to serve the needs of the member populace... Thanks to The Washouse Maintenance and Cleaning Staff of Colleen Work and Rick Graham for making the Washouse a decent place to clean up and do your laundry….

Joe King Park can also be found on the net thanks to Chris P Denton for giving HIAA a cool Website that just keeps improving with age…Thanks to our Food Catering Providers Trish Vet and Michael Selby for serving up economical delicious and nutritious Sweet Thursday meals…The Ballpark is also home to the Radio Society Building and tower which is presently under construction….and of course the Ghost Show Building currently under slow deconstruction!…There are more thanks to come but Id like to move on and talk about some specific achievements and challenges over this past year…

This has been the year of the Fitness Centre which is now open with a complete set of Brandnew equipment and having used it I can assure you that Golds has made it to Hornby…The Fitness Centre has emerged as a fully realized project with its own T shirt!…that no one person can claim credit for. However I would like to Thank and congratulate the following members for help in making this new addition to HIAA a finished reality…Bob Cain and Mike Berman for organizing the original committee and cost analysis....,and working on the building along with myself and Rudy Rogalsky …. Peter  Elkins  for attracting the major part of the Funds and coordinating the effort along with considerable help from Judith Elkins writing grants and coordinating   to to buy Fitness Centre equipment and the materials for the Building Contractors , which included Ron Doucette for Electrical and of Course …Roy Slack... Elisa Fortune and Chris Slack for the excellent Job on the Finishing of the Walls and Ceiling and Lighting which make the FC Room very inviting and bright…..And Thanks as always to Sean Kennedy and company for the Stucco Finish all around which gives the Place a Classy Hornby look…..…. ..and for the cool Fitness Centre T Shirts we thank Carl Osterman and Joan Harris…..

It has also been the year of the Washouse Roller Coaster Ride which has seen many highs and lows…..Highs include the addition of 3 new Maytag Washing Machines and a Shiny new Hot Water Tank along with the lows of having to triple secure our shower coin boxes from theft and repeated vandalism and theft of many hundreds of dollars…. and most recently …dealing with a dangerous electrical overloading situation…Thanks to Rick Graham , Ron Emerson and Ron Doucette for improvements and maintenance to the Washouse and providing much welcome reliable service to Hornby Islanders and visitor members….

Today we will have the opportunity to Elect 4 new Board members..which we will get to after the reports and motions...I would like to especially thanks Colleen Work and Biff for coordinating the election today. We have approx 230 members for this year.

This past year 2006-2007, and I know you will agree , has been a dynamic time for the Ballpark. December 2006 saw Joe King become a shelter for a part of the island population of all ages that endured long periods without electricity , heating or running water due to hurricane force wind damage and other Factors …..HIAA worked with other Island organizations such as Emergency Response Hornby to make as many persons and families comfortable as possible over several days and nights ….Thanks to Susan Crowe and the Hope Kitchen staff in particular on that occasion… Among the many notable changes was the new Clubhouse Kitchen look courtesy of Jules, Elisa and Sue..

Now that we have come around almost one full year since that tough but exciting period its amazing to see the different ways in which the Ballpark has served the needs of the members over this past year…in many different ways….It needs a lot of new Human energy to carry on the necessary work over the next year and im leaving in full confidence that the Joe King Facility will be in good and enthusiastic capable active loving hands…so with thanks to all members and in particular my fellow Board members present and past I encourage you all to volunteer some time to make it happen at Joe King..for the foreseeable future and beyond……

Aden Crane::Hornby Island::: 11/18/2007