Committee Minutes
March 8, 2005

• Ted Claxton
• Bill Connor
• Liam Morland
• George Repar
• Tony Roberts

Regrets

• Lou Cahill, OEB International
• Bill Lindsay

Ted opened the meeting at 19:12.

An application has been made to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for a grant of $14,700. The application was formally endorsed with enthusiasm by Scouts Canada. The application includes monies for tents, programs, photography, mailings, and more. Trillium's decision will be announced in July. The grant can cover expenses incurred after that date.

A letter has been received from John Maloney MP, whose office is assisting with a $17,000 grant application to the Department of Canadian Heritage. This grant could provide money as soon as April 1. If both grant applications are successful, one may have to be turned down.

Bill reported that Doug Frazer has a copy of the list of sponsors from 1955 and will start to work the list.

George has been in contact with the Event Management program at Niagara College. An intern has been offered to start the week of March 15. The committee discussed the difficulties of supervising the person and finding a place for them to work. It was suggested that the person could work out of Niagara Falls Scout House, though a phone line would be required. Due to these difficulties, it was decided to not pursue this for now.

An application has been made to the Foster Hewitt Foundation to fund the monument. A response is expected around July 1. Tony showed the proposed wording and design. Tony continue to work with Ron Dale on the project.

Friday Gathering

Tony will see if the meet-and-greet on Friday can take place in the Navy Hall. Transportation may need to be organized for this. The collectors who are showing stamps would like an indoor place to display them. The Navy Hall would be a good place for this as well. Meet-and-greet will be from 18:00 to 22:00, allowing people to drop in after the afternoon show at the Shaw or before the evening show.

Saturday Dinner

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club is not available to host the dinner. Ted, Bill, and Liam have visited several halls to find a location for the dinner. The nicest is the church hall of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 342 Simcoe Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake. The hall is wheelchair accessible and is able to accommodate up to 150 people in buffet or family style dining. The church may offer catering. Tony's Gilwell Club also does catering. It was agreed that there would be no cash bar and that, following dinner, those who would like could go out to a specified establishment.

Other Programs

On Sunday, participants will be able to observe the Scout Brigade's final battle in Fort George. It was also suggested that Church Parade could be organized on Sunday. Other program ideas include visiting the Niagara Scouting Museum, floral clock, falls, Fort Erie, and bus tours.

Registration

The committee discussed how to manage registration for the event. It was decided that the fee should be about $25. This would include the Friday gathering, admission to Fort George and the museum, parking, name tag, and a crest. Dinner would be an additional fee. It must be made clear what is included in the registration.

Special Guests

The committee discussed dignitaries who should be invited to the event. The lists includes the Chief Scout & Governor General, John Maloney MP, Scouts Canada's Chief Commissioner, the Secretary General of WOSM, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Jim Bradley MPP, the Premier, the Lieutenant Governor, the Lord Major of Niagara-on-the-Lake, a representative of the Niagara Park's Commission, and the Niagara Region Chair.

Jennifer Austin, PR staff for Scouts Canada, has suggested that the story is best started locally. National news will pick it up from there. This interest can be generated by spreading the backgrounder and a series of articles about the event, etc. Jennifer Austin can work on a cost-recovering basis from $30/hour. Bill will work on getting a media alert sent.

Penny Coles of the Niagara Advance is happy to take human interest stories and would like photographs. The paper has a special rate for advertisements from non-profit associations.

The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at Niagara Falls Scout House.

—Minutes by Liam Morland.