Our new membership policy has resulted in a steady stream of renewals and donations which will allow us to plan expenditures in accordance with monthly income.
Policy issues are being dealt with in a timely manner and complaints are being addressed to the satisfaction of most people. In our "infant stage" most policies were evolving to meet needs as they arose. Now that we are maturing, policies are being drafted to cover a broader range of issues.
The heart of Chebucto is, of course, the information provided by so many community groups. A very strong committee oversees this area and provides guidelines for format to make the information more accessible to users. Members who access Chebucto with graphic browsers from commercial accounts (and many do so) will know that Chebucto pages now have very attractive graphics enhancing the text.
Chebucto continues to provide leadership and participate actively in the community net movement within Nova Scotia and across Canada. A look at the External Relations Report will give some small idea of the extent of participation we have had in this area. This summer we are hosting the national conference of Telecommunities Canada and we hope many Chebucto members will come out to the conference or will help in some way make this another Chebucto success story!
Chebucto Suite, the software that provides the structure our volunteers use to create our community net, is being refined and developed to an even more sophisticated level through David Trueman's leadership. Just this week, a french version was launched!
Many members will know Blaine Murphy only as the friendly, helpful voice at the end of the office phone. Board members know him as the person who cheerfully takes on many tasks and always successfully completes them. We greatly appreciate his competence and friendly manner...he typifies Chebucto.
Many people have helped in many ways during the past year. Their efforts help make Chebucto stronger and we must find better ways to recognize them. There were a number of changes in the Board of Directors during the past year and a number of people have completed their terms or are not re-offering for the board this coming year. I would like to thank them for their contributions on behalf of all members. They are:
Chebucto continues to face many challenges and there is more than enough work to be done. Development of a strong volunteer program is a pressing need in order to adequately meet the challenges of an expanding community net of high quality. It has been a pleasure for me to be involved for the past three years and I look forward to working with many of you in the future. See you on the net...Chebucto, of course!
Respectfully submitted,
Joan Macintosh