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BOARD BRIEFINGS March I344, 2000 Board Directors gathered for a two-day meet- ing in mid-March at the Provincial Office in Guelph. The agenda included a variety of topics. The following are highlights from the March meeting. Contact your Board Director or Provincial Advisory Councillor if you have any questions. PROGRAMMING IDEAS "Water or lack of It!" This is the title of an article by FWIO Lobbying Coordinator Anne Dyas on the opposite page. The article states that it is essential to move now to safeguard our water supply for future genera- tions. Dyas suggests expressing this concern to municipal leaders. local newspapers. Members of Parliament and the Provincial Legislature. And asking ourfriends and neighbours to do likewise. She also suggests signing and returning the petition of the Council of Canadians. The FWIO Board wholeheartedly supported printing this article. Watch for itl Read itl Discuss it at Branch. And take action now, before it is too late! invite a Friend! Spread the word! Ask every member to invite a friend to attend their Branch meeting in June. What a great way to celebrate Wl month - by gaining new members! Grab hold ofthis initiative and increase your Branch membership. Invite a friend and potential new member today! FINANCIAL ITEMS Financial Update The FWIO Board of Directors spent several hours reviewing the organization‘s financial status. Detailed financial statements were pro- vided. including investment summaries and an in-depth fundraising status report. Good discus- sion ensued and many questions were answered by the Financial Coordinator. Board receives quarterly financial statements and detailed sum- maries twice a year. 4 Home & Country, Summer 2000 Impact of New Structure The FWIO Financial Coordinator Lynn Ftuigrok pulled together a detailed chart outlining the financial impact of the new structure on the or- ganization. In the fiscal year from October 1, 1993. to September 30. 1999, there was a sav- ings of approximately $20.000 as a result of restructuring. Car Lease The receipt of motions from the Area level asking to have the President‘s honorariums reâ€"instated prompted the Provincial Board to look at other methods of providing support. Non-profit organi- zations cannot legally give honorariums to officers (including the President) because they are not allowed under the Ontario Agricultural Act. So, in lieu of an honorarium. Board indicated a "show of support" for the FWIO President by passing a motion to lease a vehicle during her term of office. When casted. the leased vehicle turned out to be less than the total honorarium dollars given in the past. The vehicle would also be used as promotional tool with a magnetic sign; and Board members donated enough money to purchase a personalized license plate to read FWIO. INFORMATION ITEMS Branch Mailing Branches should have received a Branch mailing in early March. This mailing included information about the ACWW 2001 Conference in Hamilton. upcoming events at the Erland Lee (Museum) Home and the FWIO international Exchange with the Michigan Association for Family and Consumer Education. Encourage Branches to discuss and consider this information. The Farm Line The Ontario Farm Women's Network (OFWN) proposes to start the first Ontariowide 1<800 help line forfarmers and meirfamiiies. The Farm Line is the result of a research project completed by OFWN in 1999. One of the findings of the project was the need for a communications tool in times of stress in agricultural and rural communities. For example. afterafatal farm accident. bamfire. commodity market collapse or natural disaster, people may be searching for extra information and support. The Farm Line is a hot line for easy access to personal. career and financial informa- tion and support over the phone and for referral to local specialists when needed. As requested by the OFWN, a letter of support from the FWIO Board was written in support of The Farm Line. Promoting the WI Via Radio Several radio stations across Ontario used the WI history book. For Home and Country. as prize for their phone in contests during the we? of February 19, Board members delivered the history books to two different radio stations in their regions. Consequently. several Board Di- rectors were interviewed. What a great way to promote the organization and introduce potential members to the Women's Institutel Good News! The Erland Lee (Museum) Home is the recipient of a recent bequest of $5000. And the FWIO Headquarters Fund received a $2000 bequest. "A Grandmother’s legacy" The project, “A Grandmother’s Legacyf‘ was a great success! Many thanks to those Branches who participated and honoured their oldest member by presenting them with a history book. Due to space constraints. the Editor of the Home & Country newsletter is not able to print the reports or photographs of these presenta- tions. or the Legacies themselves. With over 500 Branches participating in this project. it is not feasibleto print all ofu'tem in the Home a Country newsletter. nor would it be fair to print just a few. The Marketing Committee is reviewing the Lega- cies submitted with the intentions of putting a collection together. Any reports and photo- graphs submitted to the newsletter will b returned by the Editor. . International Quilt Block Competition The Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) Triennial Conference Committee and the Ontario Coordinating Committee (000) in» vited all WI members last fall to enter an International Quilt Block Competition. The Com- petition is being coordinated by the Thunder Bay District in the Northwesth Area of Ontario. The deadline forthis Competition was March 1.2000. The 290 submissions will be made into quilts. wall-hangings and cushions and will be rattled with the proceeds going to Conference 2001. _â€"â€"â€"’ OTHER ITEMS COVERED â€"_â€"â€"â€"-â€"â€" - ROSE Health Program â€" see Spring 2000. p. 5 and this lssu, p. 11 I “The New Millennium" â€" see Vtfinter 1999- 2000. pp. a-e - PHONEBUSTERSâ€" see this issue p. 7 - FWIC Literacy Project â€" LINKS â€" see Spring 2000. p. 13 - Education Coordinator‘s Report 0 Coordinator’s Report Forms - Manual Reviews - Motions