This year’s AGM was a success! The online meeting portion was perhaps a good practice run. We welcomed some new members to the board and said a fond farewell to another. There were some new faces and some very familiar and long-time TGCA supporters in attendance and the wine and cheese was thoroughly enjoyed.

This year’s meeting was a little different, as we attempted to incorporate an online meeting component to accommodate those that wanted to join virtually. We had 3 members join, and we experienced some technical issues with the voting capabilities, but we hope that it proved to be informative for those members.

Councillor Sean Chu’s name came up at the top of the meeting, and the board stated that although they didn’t feel the AGM was the place to discuss the controversy, they’re open to having a town hall to discuss it, should there prove to be enough interest in the community. If you’re interested in such a meeting and are a resident of Thorncliffe or Greenview, please email Vanessa, v.gillard@tgcacalgary.com.

The financial statement was discussed by Treasurer Brad Giddings, who we’re happy to say is staying on for another year in this role. The broad strokes are that the TGCA was able to endure the restrictions and shutdowns of the pandemic by utilizing grants from various levels of government, but most notably, the federal wage subsidy. The TGCA overall managed to have a breakeven year and Brad thanked the general manager, Kevin Kromm, and all the staff at the centre for hanging in there. See the FCC audited financial statement here.

Leslie DeGagne, TGCA President, took the opportunity to relay her thoughts about the year and made note of the 65^th anniversary celebrations and the CA’s successes in bringing the community together again last month. She thanked the board, staff and The 56/Rec Centre manager Chad Ciarrocca’s commitment to the role he’s taken on since he started in the spring. She also noted the TGCA’s long-time caretaking manager, Bob Cassidy, recently retired after 35 years of service to our community and the TGCA. We all wish the best for Bob in his retirement and had a small get together at The 56 to send him off. Other projects/events like Natalie Robertson’s Woonerf and Grant Symon’s Cleanup Day were recognized along with the hard work of many of our board members that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that Thorncliffe and Greenview are heard.

Alison Abbott, VP of public service, discussed the community’s engagement with our area CPS representative, Constable Lower, and provide a brief overview of the year’s public service and safety concerns. The TGCA has a dedicated email, communitysafety@tgcacalgary.com, that residents can submit reports of crime to for Contable Lower’s review. This is intended to offer a broad view of resident’s concerns and trends in crime in the area. The Facebook community chat page is seen by the board as a good tool for communication among neighbours and can serve as a means of staying aware of what is happening in our area, though she did emphasize that apparent increases in crime are happening all across our city and that all crimes of any kind should be reported to CPS.

The membership fees and privileges will remain the same for the 2021/2022 year, with non-resident members paying $15 + GST per year and resident members paying $15 + GST per one year or $30 + GST for a 3-year membership and retaining the right to vote in TGCA meetings.

We said goodbye to Director-at-Large Natalie Robertson, as she’s being kept very busy finishing her Phd. Thanks so much for the projects you spearheaded at the TGCA, Natalie! We know we’ll see you around the neighbourhood and we see a very bright future for you.

While saying goodbye is tough, the loss is softened by our gaining two community fixtures to our board as Directors-at-Large in Sandi Hegland, who is already an enthusiastic member and business member, and Pamela Haskell, who you may know from her recent volunteer work getting a mural coordinated at Nose Hill Park. Welcome to the TGCA Pamela and Sandi, we’re thrilled to have you!

And so, the story of community goes, some folks step up and others step away, but the building blocks of the community association are strengthened by these reconfigurations and by new faces and old.