The 53rd Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday, July 19th, 2014 at the Port Carling Community Centre. Doors opened at 9:30 for coffee and cookies and President Liz Denyar called the meeting to order at 10 sharp.

This year, several community organizations had displays at the back of the hall, or in the case of the Fire Department – the entire paring lot. Each group was given a couple of minutes to address the meeting. The groups represented included:

  • The Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce – Jane Templeton
  • The Nursing Station – Allen Edwards
  • The Lions’ Seniors Home Project – Ted Daglish
  • The Muskoka Watershed – Patricia Arney
  • The Muskoka Lakes Museum – Doug Smith
  • Dark Sky – Mike Silver

All these organizations deserve your support, and it was particularly exciting to hear about the progress of the Nursing Station and the Lion’s Senior Home Project.

Most of our Township and District Councillors attended, as did Mayor Alice Murphy and District Chair John Klinck.

The business portion of the meeting addressed the normal (and required) items – minutes, financial statements, auditor, etc. and also included passage of our revised by-laws. We also elected the board of directors for the coming year, and elected Liz Denyar as our President.

Once again, the MRA gave out two bursaries to graduating high school students – Katie Campbell from Bracebridge Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, and Kate O’Brien from Gravenhurst High School. It should be noted that bursaries have been a long standing tradition of the MRA, and to date, we have awarded more than $100,000 to Muskoka students.

This year, we featured two key-note speakers, both in the area of emergency services.

  • Harry Baranik, the Township Deputy Fire Chief, presented a very informative talk on fire safety, a riveting video clip of how fast fires can spread, and what we can do to help protect our homes and cottages. A copy of Harry’s presentation may be found by clicking on the following link – Fire Safety Presentation. It should also be noted that the Fire Department set up a very extensive display of the type of equipment it uses to fight fires and assist in medical emergencies. Our profound thanks to the Fire Department and the numerous volunteer fire fighters for setting this all up.
  • Terri Burton is the Director of Emergency Services for the District of Muskoka (see her bio – Terri Burton Bio)discussed many (but not all) of the emergency services that are available in Muskoka. Among other topics, she discussed 911 calls and how they are dispatched, automated defibrillators and their use (sounds real easy), CPR courses they teach, and community education. We are truly fortunate to have someone of Terri’s stature here in Muskoka, and the well organized team that she facilitates. Her presentation may be found at the following link – EMS Presentation.

Again we wish to thank the many members and friends that attended, and look forward to seeing you again next year.