2007 Annual General Meeting Recap &
2006-2007 Annual Report
The 2007 Annual General Meeting for CPRS-Hamilton was held on April 19th, at the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from one of CPRS Hamilton’s award winning public relations practitioners, Tara Sprigg, Senior Communications Officer for the City of Guelph, who is a two-time recipient of the Don Rennie Award for Excellence in Government Communications.
Tara spoke about “Taking Stock Before you Talkâ€, demonstrating how research and knowing “where you are at the moment†can lead to the development of excellent communications plans and tactics, and a seat at the management table. Feedback on the presentation was very positive.
CPRS - Hamilton members also approved its 2007-2008 Board of Directors as well as new by-laws to govern the activities of the Chapter and the 2006 - 2007 Annual Report (PDF 358Kb) was handed out.
May 1st, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I was very disappointed to see the financial results presented in the annual report. I trust that the new strategic plan contains some strategies and accountability measures for recouping the $15,000 lost on operations (assuming the $5,000 website as an investment). When will the plan and progress toward be shared with members?
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:29 pm
In 2006-07, a major investment of $5,000 was made into the CPRS Hamilton website. In this day and age, a robust and interactive website is a key communications medium and something the Board considers as both a membership benefit and a tool to recruit potential members. As the website grows, it will generate revenue for the chapter through job posting fees, advertising, etc.
One of the Board’s priorities for 2007-08 is to start a legacy fund from the revenue generated at the 2006 National Conference in Niagara Falls, a very successful event that helped provide long-term financial stability for the chapter.
We will ensure that this fund is well managed and will continue to provide updates to members about this.
Although not reflected on this statement, the 2007 Pinnacle Awards generated approximately $3,000 in revenue for members. Because the Pinnacle Awards took place so close to year end, not all revenue was accounted for in this statement, and will be accounted for on the 2007-08 financial statement. Also, the Board operated for many years without general liability or director’s liability insurance. This is a significant annual expense that we did not have before this year, and now need to account for.
As we further develop the strategic plan, we will share updates with our membership through our website and other communications vehicles. As a Board, we aim to maintain a balance between providing quality opportunities to the membership and being fiscally responsible. We look forward to the continued and full engagement of members in CPRS Hamilton programs in 2007-08. As always, if members have constructive suggestions for how this balance can be achieved, the Board would be happy to hear them. Any ideas the membership may have to generate revenue for the Chapter are also welcome.
- Liliana Busnello, Vice-President, CPRS Hamilton