SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
RETIREES ASSOCIATION
THURSDAY MAY 1, 2014
EAGLE CREEK RESTAURANT BURNABY MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE
AGM AGENDA
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MEETING CALLED TO ORDER (5:15)
WELCOME -- PRESIDENT
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF 2013 AGM MINUTES
PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT
TREASURER’S REPORT
COMMITTEE REPORTS
NEW BUSINESS
(a) 50th ANNIVERSARY AWARD
9. ELECTION 2014 – 2015 EXECUTIVE BOARD
10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Annual General Meeting
Eagle Creek Restaurant
1 May 2013
1. Call to order. Hiromi Matsui called the meeting to order.
2. Approval of Agenda. Moved by Bob Horsfall, seconded by Marv Wideen, and carried, that the
agenda be approved as circulated.
3.
Approval of Minutes. Moved byMarilyn Bowman, seconded by Bob Horsfall, and carried, that the
minutes be approved as previously circulated.
4. President’s Report. Hiromi Matsui began her report with the introduction of several individuals
who had contributed to the organization in the previous year: Marilyn Pankratz (outgoing treasurer),
Ted Cohn, Percilla Groves, Margaret Jones, Evelyn Palmer, Philip Mah. She also mentioned two
absent board members: Tom O’Shea (traveling in Europe) and Maurice Gibbons (celebrating his
birthday). She noted that the SFURA board met eleven times during the year, and that social events
for the membership included the fall luncheon, the fall dinner, and the Ides of March reception. Six
seminars were organized by Ted Cohn, including one that was taped for production as a DVD which
will also be available along with earlier DVDs and tapes through the SFU Library Institutional
Repository as arranged by Evelyn Palmer. SFURA also sponsored a well-attended travel insurance
seminar. The Walking Group led by Ted Cohn, David Ryeburn, Parveen Bawa, Dan McDonald and Bob
Horsfall met almost every Wednesday in the past year. Moved by Marv Wideen, seconded by
Marilyn Bowman, and carried, that the report be accepted as distributed.
5. Treasurer’s Report. Marilyn Pankratz circulated the Treasurer’s Report. She noted that the
association has two accounts, one with Vancity, and the other the SFU grant fund which is used to pay
for services supplied by the University. This fiscal year the University increased the grant to a total of
$3000.00. The SFURA funds held at Vancity come from membership fees. She noted that although
the organization has a substantial amount of money in its account, many areas of the University now
operate on a cost-recovery basis, and funds need to be available for that purpose. For example, the
Halpern Centre now charges SFURA for the setup for chairs. SFURA may also wish to sponsor
activities for the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations. Philip Mah reviewed the report and
suggested that in the future the charges against the Vancity account be marked as disbursements
rather than expenses. Moved by Evelyn Palmer, seconded by Marilyn Bowman, and carried, that the
Treasurer’s Report be accepted.
6. Committee Reports. Moved by John Walkley, seconded by Marv Wideen, and carried, that the
reports be accepted as distributed.
7. New members. Hiromi Matsui read the names of new members.
8. Election of Officers. Hiromi Matsui reported on behalf of the Nominating Committee (Tom
O’Shea, Adam Horvath, and herself). Nominated were Jim Boyd, John D’Auria, Denyse Dallaire,
Maurice Gibbons, Percilla Groves, Jacqueline Viswanathan. Agreeing to appointment was Ron
Long. Hiromi Matsui will continue as Past President ex officio. Moved by Carole Goldsmith,
seconded by Bill Yule, and carried, that the list of nominees be approved. The President, VicePresident, Treasurer, and Secretary are to be elected by the incoming board from among its
members.
9. Other business. Moved by Percilla Groves, seconded by Marv Wideen, and carried, that thanks
be given to Hiromi Matsui as outgoing president.
10. Adjournment. Marilyn Bowman moved adjournment.
President’s Report
John M. D’Auria
1. SFURA Board for 2013/14
Hiromi Matsui/Past President, Jim Boyd/Vice President, Denyse Dallaire/Treasurer,
Percilla Graves/Secretary Evelyn Palmer/Archives, Jean Trask/Membership,
Jackie Viswanathan/Seminar Program, Tom O’Shea/Social Activities, Maurice
Gibbons/Newsletter, and Margaret Jones/Executive Assistant
2. Board Meetings – 10 Meetings;
3. Social Events – Three events, namely Welcome Back Fall Luncheon, Fall Dinner,
Luncheon for Volunteers and possible new members, and Ides of March Reception
4. Seminar Series – 7 Seminars
5. Walking Group – Organized by committee, David Ryeburn, Ted Cohn, Parveen Bawa,
and Clarence Aasen; Walks organized almost weekly with about 15 -26 walkers/per.
6. Issues/Activities
a. Funding for Research Projects in Faculty of Science;
b. Parking – Temporary method with membership cards on dashboards but will be
replaced ultimately by use of license plates;
c. PayPal – New method of making payments for membership and later for events;
d. Static Membership – Efforts made to attract more members as present
membership size is static; better communication with preretirees needed; push SFU Human Resources for
Pre-Retirement Workshop
e. Tri-Uni Summit Meeting – organized by HM (UBC, UVic, SFU)
7. Special Activity – Proposal to establish a special Scholarship award to be sponsored
by SFURA for the SFU Open-of-University 50th Anniversary in 2015. The following motion
was approved by Executive for presentation at the AGM , namely "Moved that in
celebration of the 50th anniversary of Simon Fraser University, SFURA provides up to
$10,000 in matching funds for an undergraduate scholarship honouring academic
achievement". If approved at AGM, details on how SFURA members can financially
support this activity with matching funds will be made available, but any such funds
must be provided before June 30, 2014.
Secretary’s Report
Percilla Groves
Following meetings of the SFURA board I distributed draft minutes, first to President John
D'Auria and then to the other board members for correction prior to the distribution of minutes
prior to the next board meeting.
In order to recruit new members, at the President's request I began a new mail list sfurapotential@sfu.ca including the email addresses of all new retirees identified on a report
received by SFURA from SFU Human Resources each month. Most work email addresses
can be found through a search of the SFU web site and the others can be provided by SFU
Archives from old phone directories.
Karen Truong, the web site designer who set up the SFURA web site, under my supervision,
made changes to the web site so that it would appear to best advantage on smart phones and
tablets. With guidance from Denyse Dallaire, SFURA Treasurer, Karen and I agreed on how to
include a PayPal button to best advantage on the site.
Following a meeting with representatives of Johnsons, a company offering extended health
insurance and travel medical insurance, which I attended with Hiromi Matsui and Jim Boyd I
prepared a detailed report of this company and the policies which have been negotiated by
University of Victoria and UBC.
Following meetings with SFU Human Resources Pensions and Benefits staff regarding Pacific
Blue Cross rates for singles, couples and families I wrote a report explaining the seeming
discrepancy and recommending no further action. At the same meeting, also attended by Jim
Boyd, there was discussion of the increase in the deductible that would be associated with a
Pacific Blue Cross pay direct card. Again I recommended no further action.
With John D'Auria I attended a meeting of representatives of SFU employee groups and
suggested that it would be helpful if SFU Human Resources Pensions and Benefits staff
organized a pre-retirement workshop. We explained that SFURA would be ready to assist with
the programme if SFU HR organized the event.
With John D'Auria and Shaughn Clements I worked on a draft of a description of a 50th
anniversary scholarship to be funded from SFURA accounts.
On the fun side of things, I initiated and participated in a project which resulted in a quilt which
has raised four hundred dollars for the Campus Community Bursary. The other quilters were
Jackie Weinstein, Phyllis Wrenn, Lynn Kumpula, and Susan Stevenson.
Treasurer’s Report
Denyse Dellaire
The financial situation of the Association remains excellent with the bank balance, as well as the
investments, increased slightly over last year. The grant from the President’s office was increased to
$3,500, from $3,000, with a balance of $247 remaining in the SFU account. This increase in grant will
help defray the additional cost of organizing seminars in Halpern Centre. This year the Board decided to
raise the amount of subsidies for the most attended activities of the year where participation varies
between 70 and 85 members. For the first time, revenue and expenses were monitored against a yearly
budget and this practice will continue in the new year in view of cost increases for some activities. In
December the Association started paying a charge of $25/mo for the telephone. The Board will review
existing procedures and endeavor toward more effective control & operation. Below is full fiscal report.
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Committee Reports
SFURA Archives and Oral History DVD’s
Evelyn Palmer
SFURA Archives
The SFURA Archives committee is composed of Percilla Groves, Len Evenden and Evelyn
Palmer. The Archives are housed in the SFURA Office Suite in AQ 3048. Items include the
documents registering SFURA under the Societies Act, financial reports, lists of social events,
information from other Retirement Associations, minutes of Annual General Meetings, minutes
of Executive Board meetings, old and current newsletters, brochures and photograph albums of
Social Events.
We also have copies of our Oral History DVD's and details of their production, and other
documents related to the history of SFU and the SFURA. The Human Resources Department
published booklets honouring new retirees each year for several years. These booklets are also
in the files.
Ongoing activity includes sorting and classifying material in the files and adding recent
Newsletters and other documents of interest to the files.
SFURA Oral History Project
The SFURA produced six Oral History DVD’s in the period 2005 - 2013. The latest was a DVD
of the seminar on April 16, 2013; Creating SFU: An Inside Story by Ron Baker.
Descriptions of the Oral History Project can be found on the SFURA web page under the
Column “About Us”, at http://www.sfu.ca/retirees/about-us/dvd-oral-histories-of-sfu.html
The first four DVD’s are offered for sale and can be ordered through the website. The fourth,
fifth and sixth are available online through Summit, the Library’s electronic archive. The
Executive Board plans to put the first three online as well.
The titles of the six DVD’s are;
1) The Excitement of the Early Years (2005)
2) The Instant University (2006)
3) Thelma Finlayson: A Conversation with John Webster (2007)
4) A Conversation with Erickson and Massey, SFU Architects (2006)
also on You Tube through the SFU website: http://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/news/story_05210901.shtml
5) SFU: The Years of Turbulence (2012)
6) Creating SFU: An Inside Story by Ron Baker
Seminar Series 2013 - 2014
Jacqueline Viswanathan
September 17, 2013. Sandra Djwa led off the 2013-14 Seminar Series with a talk on
WRITING A CANADIAN LIFE: P. K. PAGE, A JOURNEY WITH NO MAPS.
October 15, 2013. Clarence Aasen gave a talk on MATERIALIZING A DIASPORA:
Southeast Asian Chinese Communities & their Urbanism, Architecture & Associated Artefacts.
November 19, 2013. Ron Long gave a talk on THE AMAZING GAME PARKS OF
NAMIBIA AND BOTSWANA
February 18, 2014. Thomas Ruth gave a talk on THE MEDICAL ISOTOPE
CRISIS: how did this happen and what is being done to solve it?
March 18 , 2014. Lionel Jackson gave a talk on ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE ?
Geological Enquiries into the Unlikelihood of Us.
April 1, 2014. Marilyn Bowman gave a talk on BHUTAN: LAND OF THE THUNDER
DRAGON
April 15, 2014 Percilla Groves organized a workshop on CONDOMINIUM LIVING with a
panel of experts and SFU retirees.
The talks were followed by questions, and then we invited the speakers to lunch at the
DAC along with anyone else who wanted to join us.
I want to thank everyone who attended the seminars.
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Special social events coordinator
Tom O’Shea
Your nominal social events coordinator coordinated only one social event since the previous
AGM. The annual Day at the Races at Hastings Racetrack on August 10th, 2013, attracted 34
SFURA diners and punters, most of whom ended up portlier and poorer at the end of the day.
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Walking Group, 2013/14
Ted Cohn and David Ryeburn
The SFURA walking group continued to have walks almost every Wednesday from January
2013 to April 2014. The organizing committee for the walks includes David Ryeburn, Ted Cohn,
Parveen Bawa, and Clarence Aasen. Committee members and others often take
reconnaissance walks to see whether they would be good for the entire group, and the walk
leaders include committee members and other members of the walking group. From the start
the SFURA walking group has engaged in outreach to the community. The typical walk includes
both SFU retirees and those who were not at SFU, and this has worked very well in practice.
During 2013 we had to deal with “growing pains” because more people were going on the
walks. One way we dealt with this was to divide into 2 groups – those who wanted to take a
longer, more challenging walk, and those who preferred a shorter walk. This system has worked
very well, and the walking group has continued to grow. The numbers on our walks more
recently have ranged from about 15 to as many as 26.
Many members of the walking group have built much more than fair-weather friendships over
the years. We walk through both rain and shine, and we had to cancel only one walk in 2013
because of icy trails. Our memorably wet Wednesdays during the year included walks at Mundy
Park, Lynn Headwaters, Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park, Dog Mountain, Deer Lake, and Trans
Canada Trail behind Capitol Hill. More memorable are the many walks we have taken in
beautiful weather, when we sometimes eat lunch facing a mountain or river landscape. We
have also developed some yearly traditions, such as a day-long summer walk on Bowen Island,
a New Year’s walk at the Richmond Dykes with a lunch afterwards in Steveston, and a walk on
the Old Buck and Baden Powell trails followed by a lunch at Northlands Golf Course. This year
for the first time we had a snowshoeing trip at Cypress, and we had a walk along with birdwatching at the Alaksen Wildlife Refuge (only open on weekdays) and Reifel Bird Sanctuary.
Some of our hikes near the mountains are among the most memorable, including Whyte Lake,
many parts of the Baden-Powell Trail, Buntzen Lake, Belcarra, Norvan Falls, Fisherman’s Trail,
Dog Mountain, and Capilano Pacific Trail. However, walks in more level areas such as the
Alouette River Dykes are also beautiful. Appropriately, we also have had several walks up
Burnaby Mountain. Most important, the walking group is a wonderful place to get exercise, face
new challenges, and build a wide range of friendships on an informal basis.
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Report of the Nominations Committee (H. Matsui, T. O’Shea, M. Pankratz)
The revised slate of candidates for election to the 2014-2015 Executive Board consists of the
following members: Jim Boyd, Denyse Dallaire, Maurice Gibbons, Ralph Korteling, Kathy Mezei
and Jean Trask.
Special Motion for SFURA Membership
Rationale
Simon Fraser University will celebrate its 50th Anniversary for the opening of the
University. In honor of this, the Executive has decided that it would be an
excellent activity to have a Scholarship created by the SFURA.
Such a scholarship requires a minimum of $20,000 to establish such a Scholarship.
The Executive moved to authorize up to $10,000 from the present Association
funds to be available to match contributions from the membership. Approval of
the membership at the AGM is sought to make this a reality.
Motion
"Moved that in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Simon Fraser
University, SFURA provides up to $10,000 in matching funds for an
undergraduate scholarship honouring academic achievement".
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Details
The criteria for the scholarship are:
1. enrollment undergraduate studies at the second year or beyond;
2. must have completed at least 18 units at SFU;
3. must have a minimum CGPA of 3.50 at SFU;
4. must be enrolled in minimum of 9 units of standard SFU graded courses in the term of
application, unless otherwise stipulated;
5. cannot be in receipt of an ongoing SFU entrance scholarship.
Preference will be given to applicants in the following order of priority:
1. a child or grandchild of an SFURA Member in the field of aging- related topics;
2. a child or grandchild of an SFURA Member;
3. any SFU student meeting the criteria.
All funding must be completed by July 1, 2014