Irish Asssociation of Manitoba

I am pleased to announce that in July of this year both Mr. Paul Gray, Artistic Director and Shannon O’Brien, General Manager of the Tara Players have stepped down after 4 years of dedicated service. We would like to welcome our new Artistic Director, Ms. Mary Kelly Campbell and our new General Manager, Mr. Tom Holder. Both Mary and Tom have been long time members of the Tara Players and have served in many different capacities. They bring new energy and ideas to the Tara Players and I look forward to this upcoming season with enthusiasm. Please join me in supporting them and wishing them good luck and success in their new roles.

Dear all Members,

This year’s AGM has been set for Oct. 18th at 1:00 PM at the Irish Association. This year the Board has spent a lot of time looking at where we are and where we’re going. Much time and discussion has been had on our future direction and how we can continue to be a vibrant on valuable association for years to come. Over the course of this year the Board has come to the realization that as the membership grows older and as social behavior changes over time, the IAM cannot rely entirely on the support of its members in order to fund operations. Attendance at events held by the IAM this year has dropped, bar sales are down, and sponsorship fatigue has begun to set in. If the IAM wants to continue operating many years into the future we need to re-invent ourselves. This will be an ongoing project for next year’s Board.

At the AGM this year we will of course be having elections. The Board is in need of dedicated people that are willing to take on a key role. Some of the duties and responsibilities we are looking for people to take on include Bar Operations, Membership, Building and Maintenance, Constitutional Review and the running of some special events. If you know of someone who would be well suited to one of these roles, or anyone looking to take a more active part in the running of the organization, please nominate them for election. The nomination sheets will be posted down at the club on the wall between the bathrooms.

I look forward to seeing you all next month. I hope that we have an excellent turn out of this year’s AGM. I am very excited about this upcoming year. We have some wonderful events and activities coming up and I hope that you will all come out to support.

Regards,
Shannon O’Brien
President, IAM

The Board of Trustees will be accepting applications for 2009 scholarships until October 2, 2009. To be eligible to receive a scholarship, an applicant must:

• be a voting member of the Irish Association of Manitoba for a period of at least three consecutive
  years prior to applying for a scholarship, or the child or grandchild of such a member, and

• be a registered full time student in a program of at least one year duration at a Canadian college,
  university or other institution of post secondary training, and

• not have previously received a Damian Bessette Scholarship.

Application forms may be obtained by contacting Tim Ryan by e-mail at mltjryan@mts.net or telephone at 837-1444.

Start Time: 13:00

To take part in the AGM, all memberships must be renewed. You can renew at the club between now and October 18, or on the day when we shall have a membership table in operation in the hour prior to the meeting. As usual, nomination sheets for board members are on the wall near the bathrooms – nominate someone who you think will make a difference. As the Presidency is a two-year term, this year the Vice-President is up for election as are the remainder of the board.