They say the heavy lifting is behind them; heading into their first official annual general meeting, the members of the North Thompson Valley Hospice House Society (NTVHHS) are looking for a few fresh faces for the year ahead.
Two years ago, what was to become the NTVHHS were a few valley residents with a shared goal — establishment of a hospice facility to serve the North Thompson Valley.
One year ago, with an inaugural executive and board of directors in place, the group assembled a constitution and bylaws, and set about obtaining official standing with the provincial government and Ottawa.
Today, says NTVHHS secretary-treasurer Barb Denton of Little Fort, that initial Hospice House Society board heads into a 2012 annual meeting as a registered non-profit society as required by the Province of British Columbia, with federal status as a charitable institution, authorized by Ottawa to issue tax-deductible receipts for donations.
Now, says Denton, they are looking for some fresh faces to join the NTVHHS’s 150-plus paid members and continue the drive for a facility to provide close-to-home end-of-life care for valley residents.
That annual general meeting and election of officers is to be held at 7 p.m., June 27, downstairs in the Little Fort Community Hall. Those interested in letting their names stand are advised they will be required to attend the annual general meeting and at least three more general meetings in the course of the year, as well as executive sessions as needed.
The NTVHHS’s stated goals include fund-raising toward the construction of a facility to serve the valley, and research to establish the valley’s specific needs in regard to end-of-life care whether at a location central to the valley as a whole.
The NTVHHS conducts two annual funders intended to raise public awareness of the organization and its goals while adding a lively event to the valley’s social calendar each year.
Each spring, the Hospice House group sponsors an antique appraisal weekend at the Little Fort Hall, bringing in an accredited and widely respected antique appraiser to examine participants’ treasures, provide information and appraise each item’s worth. Spectators are welcome to watch and listen.
Each fall, the group sponsors a competitive ‘ride’ in which a contingent of Hospice House volunteers on bicycles departs Barriere and Clearwater at the same hour, and ride to see where they meet (and therefore, which group is the speedier). For a nominal fee, valley residents place wagers as to the location at which the racers will meet. The winner comes away with his or her name on a plaque and (most importantly) bragging rights and assurance they have contributed to a worthy cause.
Membership is open to all valley residents, and NTVHHS leaders say they hope to draw members from up and down the valley, to represent the interests of all the North Thompson’s communities. The NTVHHS’s annual meeting, at 7 p.m., June 27, at the Little Fort Hall, is open to all interested persons.