AnnualReport 20

19PARALYMPIC SPORTS ASSOCIAT ION

Annual General Meeting

24 September 2019

Paralympic Sports Association

Annual General meeting

Tuesday September 24th, 2019

MEC 11904 104th ave Edmonton, AB

1. Presentation by Edmonton Community Foundation

2.Call to Order

3. Adoption of the Agenda

4. Approval of the PSA Annual General Meeting Minutes May 8, 2018

5. Reports

President's report

Executive Director's report

Programs reports

Committee reports

6. Approval of the Financial Statements for 2018 and January - May of 2019

7. Appointment of the Reviewer for June 2019- May 2020 Financial statements

8. Election of the Board of Directors

9. Adjournment

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PAGE 02

AGENDA

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PAGE 03PSA AGM Minutes 2018

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PAGE 04

PSA AGM Minutes 2018

PRESIDENT REPORT PA

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PAGE 05

A friend of mine asked me a couple of weeks ago: “What am I most proud of about PSA”?

My response was:

1.    “Inclusive of all disabilities- mental and physical,

2.    Inclusive of all ages, and

3.    Medicine Hat Chapter, and

4.    Year-round programming”.

The past year certainly has had its challenges, the largest one being financial, as grants

are becoming fewer and more groups are applying for the same grants. However, under

the leadership of Amy MacKinnon, Executive Director, donations and fund-raising have

increase dramatically.

The Board would like to welcome four new members for a total Board of ten members.

The addition of three new committees Finance, Fund Development and HR, Bylaw and

Policy will spread the work out over the entire Board.

In order to qualify for a casino in Medicine Hat, PSA had to amend the bylaws. The new

bylaws have been approved by Corporate Registry and AGLC. Medicine Hat is now in

the queue for a casino in Medicine Hat.

On behalf of the Board I would like to thank all of the participants, volunteers and staff

for the fantastic year!

Gary Marcellus

President

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT The two priority strategic directions in 2018 and the beginning of 2019 were:

- Secure diverse sources of funding to protect and expand programs and create stability of on-goingprogramming for those served by the organization and- Establish governance practises that provide leadership and direction 

The PSA team worked tirelessly in 2018 and the first half of 2019 to improve the financial situation of the

organization, and work towards more sustainable fund development. As a result, PSA is in a much better

position than it was a year ago, but we cannot rest on our accomplishments. The reality is that more than

half of PSA’s annual income comes from non-sustainable sources, and even the sustainable sources, being

gaming revenues from Casinos and Bingos, is not secure due to the ongoing AGLC review. Real change is

needed to ensure PSA continues to deliver high quality programming, and grows to meet the demands of

the community. The Fund Development Committee will be instrumental in ensuring a plan focussed on

sustainability and long term funding is created and maintained.

 

Governance was the second priority of the organization for the period in question. We are not operating in

the same landscape that we were even five years ago, and good governance with a focus on risk

management is essential. For example, issues around safe sport have come to the forefront, highlighting the

need to continually review and revise all governing documents and procedures, and ensure a high level of

transparency with our members and participants. I am a firm believer that good governance is the key that

will propel the performance of the organization forward. The activation of the committees contributes to

this good governance, with notable contributions from both the Finance and HR, Policy and Bylaw

committees tasked with the review and development of many of the association’s policies.

 

The work on these two strategic directions is far from over; however, the work completed allows us to put

some effort into also focussing on the third strategic priority:

- Increase the visibility of the organization to service those who could benefit from its serviceThis work will take us into 2020, and to the end of our current Strategic Plan, which has served us well. I am

looking forward to the next year at PSA as I believe the members and participants will see the fruits of the

hard work that has been put in by the board and staff over the past few years.

 

We could not have accomplished anything without the hard work of our members, the volunteers of the

organization. PSA benefits from thousands of volunteer hours devoted to delivering programming, and

governance, and would not be heading into its 55th year without this dedication and commitment. From the

bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you do.

 

Sincerely,

Amy MacKinnon

Executive Director

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PAGE 06

PROGRAM COORDINATOR'S REPORT

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Participation rates stayed relatively stable in both Edmonton and Medicine Hat

programs, with a few exceptions. Medicine Hat added a second sledge hockey team,

which boosted the participation rate, and received some funding for their sledges in

schools program, which also boosted their capacity to deliver this program. Red Deer

has also seen a steady climb in participation in their sledge hockey program since its

inception. Edmonton did not run its sledge camp in 2018 due to funding constraints, but

was able to bring it back, in a modified version, for the summer of 2019 mostly due to

the success of the Birdies for Kids program Presented by AltaLink.

Programs continue to struggle to attract an adequate number of consistent volunteers,

causing program staff to spend a majority of their time on volunteer recruitment,

training and management. In this next fiscal year, we will work with some of our

partners to create a universal volunteer program with the aim of being more effective

and efficient with recruitment, screening and training, and reach a higher retention

rate.

Increasing support for the Medicine Hat chapter is a high priority, with many initiatives

underway to assist with the sustainability of the chapter. One such initiative is the

application, and approval for a casino in Medicine Hat. While this is good news, the

chapter will not benefit from this hard work until its first casino in April of 2021.

Partnerships continue to be a cornerstone to delivering high quality programming in all

locations, while keeping costs low, and management of these essential partnerships is

ongoing. We want to thank all of our community partners because without you, we

would not be able to deliver the high quality programming that we do. We would also

like to thank all of our volunteers, participants and families who contribute to the fabric

of PSA and MHASR.

Stephanie Fleming – Program Coordinator

Kacey Paplawski – Program Coordinator

Tara Chisholm – Program Director MHASR

FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT PAGE 08

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· The Finance committee is comprised of three members being Arth Pahwa, Gary

Marcellus and Dale Briske. Dale is acting as the chair of the committee. The committee

had is

inaugural and only meeting this summer on August 20, 2019. Future meetings will

be conducted throughout the coming fiscal year which ends May 31, 2020. The

committee’s terms of reference were reviewed and will be submitted for formal

approval by the board. The main aspects of the terms of reference for this

committee are as follows:

o   Budgeting and financial planning

o   Internal and accounting controls

o   Annual review/audit of the PSA financial statements

o   Direction for creation and handling of PSA investments

o   Monitoring of interim financial reports, statements and tax returns

One major issue besides forming the committee and its terms of reference, the

committee also discussed the change in the fiscal year-end of PSA from its historical date

of December 31 each year to now be May 31st of each year. This change

necessitated the preparation and filing of two financial statements in the last

year and a half being:

o   December 31,2018 (twelve months then ended)

o   May 31, 2019 (5 months then ended) and then each May 31st (twelve months) going

forward  

The committee is looking forward to exercising its mandate in the coming year.

Dale Briske

Chair of Finance Committee

FUND DEVELOPMENTCOMMITTEE REPORT

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2019 saw the fund development committee work on the following tasks:

Terms of Reference for the committee

An annual work plan

Review of the fund development plan

Review and decision on priority areas for the remainder of the fiscal year

 

Highlights for this year include:

Higher income from donations mainly due to the Birdies for Kids initiative, than in

previous years

Although opportunities for grants are down, in general our % success rate in applying

for grants is high, because we are targeted about the grants we apply for

Higher income in general from all fund development activities than what was

budgeted

 

Opportunities for growth:

Development of a donation program which will include monthly donor program

Proper stewardship and appreciation of our existing and future donors

Getting set up with ATB cares once PSA banking services are with ATB

Researching and utilizing donor management software

Magic of Ability partnered event

Endowment fund

 

The committee looks forward to steering PSA in its work towards consistent

sustainable funding that will allow the organization to grow.

 

Nicholas Good

Chair of the Fund Development Committee

HR, BYLAW & POLICYCOMMITTEE REPORT

PAGE 10

Committee members are Michelle Lebeuf, Iman

Jomha and Gary Marcellus.

Two meetings have occurred since the end of

June.

Terms of Reference have been worked on and a

final draft is ready to go to the Board for

approval.

A workflow plan for the 2019-2020 year is

being developed.

Two areas that are going to take a great deal of

effort is developing a Risk Management Policy

and a policy on Succession for the Executive

Director’s position and members of the

Executive Committee.

The Committee feels that it would be highly

useful to have someone on the committee with

an HR background.

Thank you to all of my fellow Committee members

for their dedication and work for PSA.

Submitted by,

Gary Marcellus

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ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

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THE FOLLOWING DIRECTORS ARE STANDING FOR RE- ELECTION FOR ANOTHER 2-

YEAR TERM:

DONNA PAWLIW

GARY MARCELLUS         

THE FOLLOWING DIRECTORS HAVE ONE YEAR OF THEIR TERM REMAINING:

SANDY JACOBSON

NICHOLAS GOOD

DALE BRISKE

KATRINA MAXIMCHUK

 

THE FOLLOWING DIRECTORS’ TERMS WILL TERMINATE IN 2021:

MARK HAMILTON

IMAN JOMHA

ARTH PAHWA

MICHELLE LEE

 

NO CANDIDATES STANDING FOR ELECTION