DISTRICT COMMANDER’S REPORT

GOVERNING BOARD AND NATIONAL CONFERENCE

SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 3, 2009 

I travelled in company with Barb Hoffstrom, our travel was uneventful, and the weekend was extremely busy, but very enjoyable.  As Deputy of the Seamanship Course I also filled in for Clifford Miller who was unable to attend, and attended all of the Training Meetings, so I did not have a lot of free time.   

The 2010 National Conference representatives (Sue and Bryan Loveless, and Marg Dash), along with the rest of us when we had a free moment, manned a promotional booth throughout the conference which was very well received.  We had two 6 ft high Nanaimo banners, and 250 Nanaimo tourist brochures, as well as full information about our conference.   Almost all of the shirts and vests that we brought were sold, there was a great deal of interest in the Nanaimo conference, and about 36 full registrations have already been paid for. 

In this report I shall fill you in on the items that I feel are of most interest to the members of VIND.  There were many other items discussed, which do not affect our district directly. 

Notices of Motion – all of the Motions for which Notice had been given were approved.   There were a few minor editorial wording changes, but the intent was not changed in any.   If anyone wishes the actual wording of the final motions, please let me know and I will send them on to you.   An additional Motion was added to approve the location of Toronto for the conference in 2013. 

Membership – Automatic membership initiatives

As of August 2009

·        Renewals were at 70.9% for all paying members which are down from 77.6% over the same period last year.

·        The renewal rate for Regular members was 81.3%. The renewal rate for second year regular members was 85.9%.

·        The renewal rate for Associate members was 20.2% and the renewal rate for second year

Associate members was 83.8%.  

These figures show that, if we can get Regular members, or even Associate members, to rejoin for their second year, the chances of retaining them increase dramatically.  Awards were given to the Districts with the highest renewals rates.   VIND was not amongst the top three.  We must do better folks!

The following page gives a table which shows the most current membership numbers provided by HQ : 

CPS Members	July 20,  2005	July 6, 2006	July 16, 2007	July 31, 2008		August 31,    2009
New	2638	2857	3815	3337		2096
Renewals	24823	23590	22199	24321		24641
Sub Total	27461	26447	26014	27658		26737
CPS Associates
New	47	76	14	4923		7812
Renewals	659	582	601	1647		2542
Sub Total	706	658	615	6570		10354
Total paying members	28167	27105	26629	34228		37091
Junior Members	45	56	45	46		40
Junior Associates	44	45	28	24		234
Life Members	759	759	759	803		803
Honorary Members			3	2		13
Grand Total	29015	27965	27464	35162		38127
Lady Associates	1217	1204	1186	862		749

 Membership Acquisition Program (MAP2) – the MAP 1 project led to the decision to provide all Boating and PCOC graduates with automatic membership.  The Special Projects committee has followed this up with MAP2, which is aimed at retaining the new members.  This program has changed slightly since I gave you the proposal in June.  It will begin with this fall’s graduates, and provide the following to all new graduates. 

1)    “Fly the Flag” program by which CPS will provide every new Full (not associate) Member their first CPS flag free of charge. They propose a significant new ceremony as part of the graduation where the squadron presents the graduate’s “1st flag” and the emphasis is placed on the flag, not the pledge. The purpose is to encourage new Members to feel pride in flying the flag, which will be a daily reminder of their association to CPS throughout the boating season. 

2)   In addition CPS will now provide every new full Member with a CPS “Passport” in lieu of the traditional certificate.  This will include pockets for a membership card, PCOC, and ROC(M) card, spaces for other course stickers, and room for other courses stickers such a CYA courses.   

3)  This program also includes a personalized welcome letter from the Chief Commander, the Squadron Commander etc, and other suggestions for ways in which to make a new members feel part of the squadron. 

As part of the District “Share Day” on January 10, 2010, the chairman of the National Membership Committee, Past D/C David Peebles, will join us to present the program to us all, so that every squadron has an understanding of its full potential. 

District Trailer – the progress with regard to transferring the District Trailer to CPS ownership, and insuring it under the name of CPS, is moving slowly.  All of the necessary documents have been given to the National Law Officer, and the rest is up to him.   I will keep on his case, to ensure that everything is completed by next spring. 

CPS Recreational Vessel Courtesy Check (RVCC) Program -This program was successful in a few squadrons this year, and it is hoped to expand it next year.   CPS is once again applying to Transport Canada for funding for the program. 

Reminder for STOs - As soon as an STO enters marks into the WBAS system he/she should e-mail HQ (Carole Brown for Boating and Linda Green for other courses) to say the marks have been entered and specify whether the certificates should be sent to the STO or the student.  If no indication is given, then they are automatically sent direct to the student.   Once the marks are entered, temporary certificates can be printed by the STO directly.  STOs are now able to enter PCOC marks, and similar certificates can be printed immediately for PCOC graduates. 

Agreements with other organizations - The National Law Officer has drawn up draft policy guidelines re agreements that squadrons may enter into.  Such things as agreements to renting classrooms or facilities for social functions are not a problem, but more complex agreements which require the signature of an officer of the corporation (with governments, crown corporations, other non-for profits, copyright issues etc) may have to be reviewed by HQ or the Law Officer.  I should receive an electronic copy of the draft shortly, and will forward it to all Squadrons Commanders.   Any comments should be sent to me, and I will forward them to Claude Martin.  They are needed by December 31. 

The National Planning Committee has developed an updated Strategic Plan for the next five years.  It can be accessed on the CPS website.  Go to “Members Moorings”, then “Meetings and reports”, then “Governing Board Meetings, Minutes & Reports”, then “View Reports for October 2009”, the scroll down to “Planning Committee”.  Good luck in getting there!  If you have any comments, please send them to me and I will forward them on.  The final plan will come to Governing Board in March for approval. 

Lighthouse De-staffing – As requested by the District Council, I raised this at the District Commanders’ meeting, and was told that I should bring it to the attention of the Harry Cole who is a member of the National Recreational Boating Advisory Council.   Since then, the Minister of Fisheries has ordered Canadian Coast Guard to stop the de-staffing pending a review of the safety concerns expressed by various parties.   I will still write to Harry reiterating our concerns. 

This year the CPS Safe Boating Week was held in June. A survey indicated that, while it was successful, June was an issue due to boat launching, so it was decided to hold the 2010 CPS Safe Boating week in May 2010. 

You will be pleased to learn that the Guidebook for CPS Officers is now on the website in EBook format. This format makes navigating around the Guidebook much easier, as you just click on the sidebar for the section that you wish to read and the system takes you straight there.  Included in the new version is Appendix H that outlines all the functions Officers need to know to use WBAS. The new EBook is available on Members Moorings.

There were complaints that it is difficult for Membership Officers to keep track of renewals because the renewal date can be any time of the year.  It was suggested that, when the squadron is entering new members on WBAS they could enter the date of membership as the last day of the month, so that renewals would always be due at the end of a month. 

We were asked to remind squadrons that HQ cannot issue a PCOC card for those who took Boating prior to 1999 – unless they already have had a PCOC and lost it. It is possible to do a record search, but prior to 1985 requires a manual search with a search fee of $20, plus a certificate issue fee, so you are better to advise people to just take the PCOC exam.   In addition, some enforcement officers do not recognize old certificates (although they should be accepted) but are much happier to see the PCOC card. 

Sheila Boutcher

D/C VIND