A Message from our President

(from the League’s Annual General Meeting, October 18, 2023)

Our Achievements

Maintained an active community presence and supported shared programming with neighbouring communities.

Connections have been built with neighbouring leagues such as the Ellerslie Community League through joint hosting of the winter festival, the outdoor movie night and youth basketball as well as the Knottwood Community League through the Outgrown-It Sale. City Councilor Keren Tang or a representative from her office have been invited to and attended board meetings and community events.

Outdoor rink space, swimming at the Meadows and the temporary dog park on 88th street and accessible trick or treating on Grande Boulevard are examples of community focused programming the HCL have directly supported or provided.

Improved Membership Registration and Communication

The HCL implemented Communal, an all-in-one software solution for member-based non-profits. There is streamlined registration for members. It allows programs and events to easily be created with tailored registration, payment and reporting. It will also provide an easier means of collating and updating membership data and engaging with members.

Updated Bylaws and Cleaned up Financial Statements

Our Board reviewed our existing bylaws and made updates with the format aligned to the guidelines followed by Edmonton Community Leagues. We have improved our financial management and reporting.

Goals and Priorities

We are excited about the year to come. Some of the priorities for the HCL will remain from the prior year.

Recruitment and Engagement

We are focused on recruiting and engaging with members as a primary purpose this year. Our league has over 14,000 households. It represents six young communities, all of which have grown (or continue to grow) fast. Community Leagues are recognized by the City as the primary speaking body for the community. They receive funding from the City to organize recreation, social and other community building programs and amenities. They can be wonderful connectors that do not have the restrictions or self-focus of residents associations.

We are a young league still working to form an identity collectively. To help form that identity and to be able to use the resources we have to develop innovative community program we need people. We need new directors to help generate and organize ideas. We need volunteers to help make the programs successful. We need members to attend and help shape programming. If you are reading this tonight and interested let us know, we can find a role for you that fits your interests and availability.

Programming

We have put on programs this past year and in years prior that were well attended and appreciated events. We want to maintain these as a base. Communal makes the process of organizing volunteers and creating both small and large events and programs easier. We plan to leverage this resource to expand our sporting, social and community engagement programming this year.

Long Term Priority Setting

We will engage community members to determine the long-term priorities of our Board. Do we want a community hall? How should we use the green space allocated by the City to our league? Are there priority issues that we should be advocating on behalf of our league to the City or other officials about. We will gather feedback and use this to help generate a strategic plan.

Community is collective by nature but always evolving. Our League is an exciting place to live in and one that we on the Board are all proud to represent.

Greg Miskie