Jun 19, 2014


At the Land O' Lakes Community Services’ annual general meeting on June 16, which was held at the Lions hall in Northbrook, three persons were unanimously elected to the organization’s new board of directors.

Carl Gray, who was born and raised in Harlowe, practiced as head OR nurse at Hotel Dieu in Kingston before returning to school at Dalhousie University in Halifax to complete his degree. He then worked in Thunder Bay first as a clinical instructor in the OR, then later in the education sector at Confederation College as coordinator and chair of the nursing program there. Gray worked for 10 years at Algonquin College in Ottawa as the coordinator for practical nursing. He has been a board member, has chaired boards and has worked as a volunteer in numerous capacities. Most recently, up until his retirement, he was the Ontario representative for all of the practical nursing programs in the province for the Canadian Association of Practical Nurse Educators. He currently lives on Massasagagon Lake with his partner, with whom he runs a shop on Highway 41 called Schoolhouse of Treasures.

Anne Marie Langan, who lives in Mountain Grove with her husband and children, is a practicing lawyer who works at the local legal aid clinic. The clinic was formerly known as Rural Legal Services and was renamed the Legal Clinic in April this year after merging with similar services offered in Lanark County. Langan works once a week at the clinic’s satellite office in the LOLCS office in Cloyne. She also has a degree in Theology. She worked as a social worker in homeless shelters across the country before returning to school to study law at Queens Law School. She operated her own law office in Sharbot Lake before going to work at the Legal Aid Clinic.

Helen Welburn, who served last year as the appointed member of the board, grew up in northern Quebec and in Arden where her mother’s side of the family (the Pringles) were long-time Kennebec residents. She has two children and six grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 2000 and she has since remarried and moved back to the community. She has been part of the local swim committee in the area and said she understands that the LOLCS requires a strong board in order to provide the guidance and respect necessary to properly serve people in the community.

Regarding other business on the agenda, Ernest Lapchinski raised his concerns, citing “tensions over the last two years” because of the change of holding the LOLCS' regular monthly drop ins in Flinton instead of at the Northbrook Lions Hall, where they were formerly held. Lapchinski put forth a motion asking that the regular meetings return to the Lions Hall as a “complimentary support for the Northbrook Lions Club.” After much discussion about whether the board or LOLCS staff should make that decision, one member pointed out that when the former change of location was made, it was done by the board and not the staff though the staff offered their recommendations. In the end Lapchinski's original motion was amended to state that the issue be referred to the board to make a final decision, after which the motion was passed.

The guest speaker at the AGM was Derek Maschke, director of Milestone Funeral Center. He gave a presentation titled “Looking Ahead”, which informed individuals and families of how best to plan ahead for a funeral.

 

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