Committee Minutes
May 3, 2005

• Ted Claxton
• Bill Connor
• Doug Frazer
• Liam Morland
• George Repar
• Tony Roberts
• Lou Cahill, OEB International

Regrets

• Bill Lindsay

Ted opened the meeting at 19:15.

Special Guests

Ted has been working with Ross Francis of Scouts Canada on the guest list. Official invitations will be sent to the Governor General, Premier on Ontario, local MP and MPP, Niagara Regional Chair, Lord Mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Chair and Vice-Chair of the Niagara Parks Commission, and the Parks Canada CEO.

Committee Registration

Members of the committee will complete registration with Scouts Canada.

Tony will write an article for the Leader magazine about the event and partnerships such as the Floral Clock. The article is due mid-May for the August-September issue.

Lou has visited Penny Coles of the Niagara Advance. They are interested. Lou will arrange meetings with various other local newspapers for June 13.

Lou suggested collecting newspaper clippings and making a booklet. Politicians like to see that events they are connected with receive favourable coverage. Lou also suggested that there be a media table at the unveiling of the plaque. The table should be staffed and have a press kit with information and backgrounders on various aspects of the event.

Delegation to Niagara-on-the-Lake City Council

Liam and Ted have confirmed that the committee will present a delegation to the Niagara-on-the-Lake city council on Monday, June 13. The committee will meet afterwards, either in the city hall or Joseph's Estate. Lou will arrange for a meeting place. Lou suggested visiting the Lord Mayor sometime before the meeting. Lou will arrange this meeting.

The delegation should be about five minutes long. The purpose is to ask for a proclamation recognizing the event. Tony will speak on the committee's behalf. Everyone on the committee is encouraged to attend.

Niagara-on-the-Lake Floral Garden

Ted and Liam met with Clive Buist regarding the sign for the floral garden. Their sign painter will make a sign similar to the masthead on the web site. It will be 18" tall. The WJ'55 emblem is too detailed to be painted. a 12x12" decal or printed sign will have to be provided. The final arrangement need to be made by the middle of June.

Niagara Parks Commission

Bill met with the Niagara Parks Commission. They are working to restore Paradise Grove (which hosted the Timberlands sub-camp in 1955) into an oak savanna and tall grass prairie. They would like to plant a memorial oak as part of the celebration and use that as the kick-off to a program in which local Scouts will plant lupins to attract butterflies. Tony reports that Niagara Area Commissioner is interested. The Commission would also like to unveil an interpretive sign. Bill will work with the Commission to determine the best time for this, probably Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. The Commission will run a story about this project and the Floral Clock planting.

Doug has sent twenty personal letters to potential supporters and has received four replies. Doug has met with the advertising director of the Toronto Star, who is a Scouter. Doug will continue his efforts.

Donations to the WJ'55 commemoration should be by cheque made out to "Scouts Canada — WJ'55" and mailed to the Committee's mailbox in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Scouts Canada has agreed to issue tax receipts for amounts over $10. The money will be held in the North Waterloo Scouting account hosted by the 6th Waterloo.

The DVD of the Jamboree film is now ready to be ordered. Liam will add an order page to the web site.

SOSSI has arranged for a commemorative postal cancel. It is available on request at the Niagara-on-the-Lake post office.

Honour Guard

Dave Fredericks has agreed to lend green shirts for the honour guard.

Niagara Historical Society

The Niagara Historical Society Museum is now assembling the display which includes artifacts from the Jamboree.

Plan for Rain

The committee discussed what to do if the Saturday is very rainy. Fort George may have a marquee which can be used for the ceremony. If weather if severe, it may be possible to arrange to use the Shaw Festival's large rehearsal hall.

Scout Brigade of Fort George

Attendance for the Scout Brigade appears to be up. There are 1200 to 1500 expected. Many people are ordering WJ'55 commemorative crests through the Scout Brigade. Camping for commemoration participants is possible, but there are no grey water facilities. Participants could buy into the existing meal plan.

The ceremony will need to be no longer than half an hour in order to keep the Scouts' interest. At the end, the Scout Brigade will do a march past on their way out. Committee and visitors are invited to attend the Company of Good Cheer, an adult social occasional late Saturday evening. The Scout Brigade is very supportive of having a band in the parade.

Keynote Speaker

The committee briefly discussed who could be the keynote speaker for the celebration. Normally, a senior VIP would do this. A prominent Jamboree participant would be ideal. It may be difficult to find someone like this as there is no list of prominent Scouts or of WJ'55 participants.

Several WJ'55 participants from Japan will visit Niagara-on-the-Lake in late May. They are prominent in Scouting and in business. Tony is helping to arrange their visit with Roy Nagami of St. Catharines, who was a translator in 1955. There is a potential story here.

The meeting was adjourned at 21:28. The next meeting will be Monday, June 13, 2005 at Niagara-on-the-Lake City Hall. The following two meetings will be Tuesday, July 12 and Tuesday, August 9.

—Minutes by Liam Morland.