OSCA Document Archive

President's Report July/August 2012

New OSCAR Editor

I am pleased to be able to announce that the selection process for the new OSCAR editor position has been completed and the selection committee, chaired by Michaela Tokarski, has chosen Brendan McCoy as the new editor, succeeding Mary Anne Thompson. Brendan, a long time Old Ottawa South resident, has served on the OSCA Board and as co-chair of OSWATCH for a number of years and is very familiar with community issues and interests. The position of editor is a contractual one for effectively a two year term which is renewable with the agreement of both parties. Brendan will be starting on the paper over the summer and taking over with the September issue. A total of over 30 individuals submitted applications for the position in what emerged as a very rigorous and demanding competitive process. From the applications the selection committee interviewed seven of the most promising candidates by telephone and three finalists in person. Our thanks go out to Michaela and the members of the selection committee for the many long hours they put in to review the applications ad interview the finalists.

The Board would also like to thank Mary Anne for her many years of dedicated service as OSCAR Editor during which the paper has grown significantly in terms of both its content and its impact in the community. We are all very grateful to her for her hard work and commitment to building a vibrant and respected community paper of which we are all very proud. Brendan has a strong legacy on which to build and we wish him well in his new role.

City Reduces Resources at Firehall

OSCA was informed late in May by the City that the Centre Director position at the Firehall will be reduced from a fulltime to a half time position effective in June. The Centre Director is responsible for the overall management of the community centre`s operations and ensures that the building is safe and secure and is able to cope with the programming demands placed on it. The Director has also played a key role in helping to ensure that our programming operates effectively and, in an informal way, helps us manage our programming at the Firehall. The current incumbent, Cathie Buchanan, has been in the position for close on twenty years and will be familiar to many of you who use the Firehall. Cathie has been a great supporter of community based programming at the Firehall and has been of immeasurable assistance to us over the years in helping us deliver a varied and responsive suite of programs to residents. I am sad to report to you that we will also be losing Cathie`s wealth of experience and enthusiasm as she has also decided to retire, effective the end of the first week in June. A new City staff person will be assigned to take on the responsibility of managing both our centre and the Glebe Community Centre on Third Avenue. We are currently in the process of determining the impact of these changes for our programming operations and they will certainly pose some major challenges for us. The City still supports us through a full-time program co-ordinator and helping to fund the provision of Customer Service Representative at the front desk, but we are clearly concerned what the future holds for us both in coping with the current reduction in resources and what additional cuts may be in store for us in forthcoming budget cycles. We will keep you posted on how we intend to respond to these changes.

OSCA Executive Officers and Committee Chairs Appointed

In my last column I provided an update on the Board members who were elected at our AGM in May. As is traditional, once the Board meets at its regular May meeting after the AGM it elects its executive members and appoints its Committee Chairs. For this year I will serve again as your President with Linda Hancock as Vice-President, Steve Mennill as Treasurer and Michaela Tokarski as Secretary. Program Committee Co-chairs are Emilie Taman and Ian Beck-MacNeil who will also serve as executive committee members. Mike Lascelles and Sarah Fraser will co-chair ECOS and Graham Deline will co-chair OSWATCH. Gwen Gall will be our Web Committee chair once again and Isla Jordan will serve as our representative on the Federation of Community Associations. We are still searching for a Chair of the Special Events Committee and hope to find one soon. You can find the complete list of OSCA Board members on our website at www.oldottawasouth.ca by clicking on the “OSCA” tab at the top of the main page.

Farewell to Deirdre

As many of you will know by now, Deirdre McQuillan, our Executive Director for some twenty years, will be retiring at the end of June. It is very rare for an organization to have their senior staff person serve in a leadership role for so long, in fact for a generation! Deirdre has seen OSCA grow over the years and change as the community has. While Deirdre has been our key employee, she has been more than a staff member and over the years has put in countless hours of volunteer time as well attending evening meetings, and organizing and managing a vast array of special and community events. She has also been a source of wisdom and advice to Board members given her long experience in delivering community programming and events and indeed, in running a community organization. We will miss her deeply and are profoundly grateful to her for the tremendous contribution she has made to OSCA and the community over the past twenty years. At our June Board meeting we will be making a presentation to Deirdre in honour of her service to OSCA and we will be hosting a reception in her honour at Patty`s Pub on June 27 where former colleagues and members can come and toast her on her retirement. May you have a long and enjoyable retirement Deirdre – you will always be remembered and honoured at the Firehall and in Old Ottawa South!

Summer Holidays

While summer programming continues at the Firehall, the OSCA Board takes a break over the summer and does not meet in July and August; our next meeting will be the third Tuesday in September. Christy Savage our new Executive Director will be available at the OSCA office for most of the summer period and the OSCA Executive members have a mandate to meet and make decisions on the Board`s behalf if necessary during the summer holidays.

Porch Sale

OSCA will be holding its neighbourhood wide Porch Sale on the first Saturday after Labour Day, which this year is September 8th. The event takes place rain or shine from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and it’s a great opportunity to offer up all those treasures that have been hiding in your closets, in the basement or the attic. People sell just about everything imaginable from clothes, to records, kitchen appliances and utensils, furniture, books and movies, you name it. The Porch Sale is also a great opportunity to meet your neighbours as well as the hordes of people who come from far and wide to pick over our bargains.

We do ask that you consider making a donation to OSCA of say 10% of your sales to help us promote the event and cover the costs of the special events we run in the community throughout the year. You can send a cheque payable to OSCA to the Firehall, 260 Sunnyside Avenue, Ottawa ON K1S 0R7, after the event.