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Hi Everyone,
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I would like to thank all that attended and participated in Queer Ontario’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, November 4, 2012.
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This is to announce our new Steering Committee roster as elected at the AGM (election results in parentheses, positions are staggered):
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Queer Ontario Steering Committee
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Chairperson: Nick Mulé
Vice Chairperson: Davina Hader (Newly Elected)
Secretary: Martin Otarola
Treasurer: Richard Hudler (Re-Elected)
Member At Large: Alana Boltwood (Newly Elected)
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We have a very promising team of individuals to assist Queer Ontario in continuing our important work.  Congratulations to Richard Hudler on his re-election as Treasurer, who has our trust and confidence in overseeing the QO finances and advising us on budgetary matters; Davina Hader who was an important and effective liaison to QO on trans issues and carried out extensive cinematography work on the Queer Liberation Theory Project and was a Member At Large, now moves into the role of Vice Chairperson where she will carry on with these duties and more; and Alana Boltwood whose far reaching work on multiple issues as Chairperson of the Research and Education Committee and her ongoing assistance with the QO Think Tank positions her well as our newly elected Member At Large.
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A special thanks is extended to Casey Oraa who chose not to stand in the role of Vice Chairperson.  In this position Casey contributed immensely to QO doing extensive behind the scenes work at every level.  Of course he is best known for raising the profile of issues such as GSAs, queer youth and the education system, with his skilled handling of these difficult issues in the media and his ongoing coalition work with community activists and organizations.  Although he will be greatly missed on the QO Steering Committee, we look forward to continuing to work with him within QO in general.
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In order to align our governance with our fiscal year, Queer Ontario’s next AGM will be in May 2013 at which time the positions of Chairperson, Secretary and Members At Large (1 position within Toronto and 2 outside) will open up for elections.
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Thanks everyone and we look forward to another exciting year made even more so by the promise and talent of our newly elected Queer Ontario Steering Committee members.
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Cheers,
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Nick Mulé
Chairperson,
Queer Ontario
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Queer Ontario’s first Annual General Meeting and Elections were held Saturday, November 5, 2011 at the 519 Community Centre in Toronto.

Elected to the steering committee were Chair Nick Mule, Vice-Chair Casey Oraa, Secretary Martin Otarola and Treasurer Richard Hudler, as well as At-Large Members Lisa Duke and Davina Hader. They join fellow steering committee members Alana Boltwood (Chair, Research and Education), Dwayne Shaw (Chair, Events) and David Demchuk (Chair, Governance and Media).

AGM Reports

The following reports are now available in the Documents section of the website, under Queer Ontario 2011 AGM, as well as via the links below:

Nick Mule – Chair’s report

Richard Hudler – Treasurer’s report

A.J. Lowik – Queer Liberation Theory Project report

Participation from Outside Toronto

To encourage participation from outside Toronto, Queer Ontario used Cover It Live to live-blog the event, streamed an audio webcast via UStream and created the hashtag #QO2011 for participation on Twitter. The archive of the Cover It Live live-blog is now available, as is the audio recording of the meeting (part one, part two – apologies for the ads).

NOTICE: Queer Ontario’s first Annual General Meeting and Elections
Saturday, November 5, 2011 – Light Meal: 7 p.m. – Meeting 8 p.m.
519 Community Centre, Toronto – Room 100/106 (main floor)

NOTE: Nominations for steering committee at-large positions and senior coordinator positions are extended to Monday, October 24, 2011.

Queer Ontario invites you to join us for our first Annual General Meeting and Elections, being held Saturday, November 5, 2011 – light meal at 7 p.m., meeting at 8 p.m. – at the 519 Community Centre, 519 Church Street, Toronto. All members and friends are welcome to join us.

A free light meal will be provided at 7 p.m. (donations appreciated) before the meeting begins at 8 p.m. We will have an ASL interpreter, and childcare will be provided with advance request at info@queerontario.org. The meeting agenda and meeting documents are available below.

Participation from Outside Toronto

Queer Ontario welcomes and encourages participation in this meeting from members and friends outside of Toronto. QO is in the process of evaluating the best method by which to include those who are unable to attend in person (i.e. Skype, Cover It Live, Ustream, etc.). Notice of the online participation process will be posted once the steering committee and senior coordinator nominees are announced.

Voting and Proxies

Please note that Queer Ontario participating members (those who participated in three or more monthly, general or committee meetings between February 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011) are eligible to vote in the elections, to vote on bylaw revisions, and to participate in consensus decisions on other AGM items as required. For voting purposes only, participating members unable to attend may designate a proxy, who need not be a Queer Ontario member. Each individual may hold and cast a maximum of one proxy vote. Participating members holding proxy votes may cast one vote of their own, and one proxy vote. Please bring one piece of valid identification (photo not required) with you to verify your membership or proxy eligibility. 

Steering Committee and Senior Coordinator Nominations

Nominations are now open for positions on Queer Ontario’s steering committee (two at-large positions) and senior coordinators (chair, two-year term; vice-chair, one-year term; secretary, two-year term; treasurer, one-year term). All participating members (those who participated in three or more monthly, general or committee meetings between between February 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011) are eligible to run for these positions. Participating members may nominate themselves, or may be nominated by another participating member with the nominee’s consent. Nominations close on October 24, 2011. Nominees will be posted on the Queer Ontario website shortly after, and notice of the posting will be sent to the general membership.

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