Svenska Klubben Ottawa

MINUTES OF THE INAGURAL MEETING OF

SVENSKA KLUBBEN I OTTAWA – THE SWEDISH CLUB IN OTTAWA

AT THE OLD FIREHALL, 260 SUNNYSIDE AVENUE, OTTAWA

DECEMBER 2, 2008

Present:

Britt B, Bjarki H, Aranka H, Annika E, Ilein H, Mats L, Annika E-K, Susanna G, Monica R, Ed N, Christina T, Anders T Madeleine J, Mia E, Magnus A, Rikard A, Göran H, Jon L, Ina R, Christina S, Ingela S, Cisela T, Lem W, Peter S

1) The Meeting opened at 7.10 p.m.:

Ingela , the chairperson, opens the meeting and welcomes all.

2) Roles for the evening:

As chosen at last meeting of the Working Group: Chairperson – Ingela, Secretary – Christina, Memberships – Annika E. Vote counter – Ina who volunteered for the evening.

3) Adoption of the Agenda:

Motion by Ina R to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Britt B. Unanimous agreement.

4) Introduction of the Working Group:

The Working Group has met regularly since last February to get the Swedish school up and working. They have simultaneously made plans for starting a Swedish association. They are: Annika E, Bjarki H, Mats L, Anders N, Christina S, Ingela S, Ingrid W. They were thanked with applause for their hard work to bring the group to this point we are at today. The group will be dissolved at this meeting, and their responsibilities will be taken over by the Board to be elected tonight.

5) Background Information (Ingela S):

Ingela and  Christina, has been very determined to teach her grandsons Swedish and have them experience Swedish traditions and culture. She imagined there were others in Ottawa in a similar position. At the Nordic Society’s Lucia 2007 she approached several families to inquire if they were interested in having a Swedish school in Ottawa for their children. 13 families expressed an interest. The first parent meeting took place on February 11, 2008, and now 10 months later we are holding a Meeting to establish a Swedish Association/Club for the Swedish School. The school, which is run in cooperation with Ottawa Carleton District School Board, currently has two teachers/instructors and 19 students. Ilein teaches the 5-8 year olds, 8 students, and Cisela teaches the 9-13 year olds, 11 students. Both teachers were introduced to the meeting. They reported their classes are having a lot of fun while learning Swedish.

Questions From the Floor:

Ed asked if students in the Swedish school must hear Swedish spoken at home as he was told that by School Board. He has 2 granddaughters who would like to attend. He was informed today that there are no restrictions other than that they are 4-14 years old and attend school in Ontario.

Bjarki offered to find out whether we can apply for financial support from the Swedish Ministry of Education for other Nordic citizens than Swedish.

Following item was not on the Agenda as a separate item, but was seen as important and accepted for discussion at this point:

Discussion of the Name for our association/club:

Peter would like to open a discussion about the name of our Association, which so far has been called Svenska Skolan Ottawa. Ingela offered that other Swedish schools abroad known to the Working Group seemed to be called something similar to the “Swedish School in …….”. People felt that that name was a bit misleading, as we, beside supporting the Swedish school, also want to support Swedish traditions and culture for children and adults alike. It did not seem that the current name expressed that very well. Annika E said that her children attended the Swedish school in Montreal that was part of “The Swedish Club in Montreal” and this seemed to work well.

List of Name Suggestions:

a) Svenska Föreningen i Ottawa - The Swedish Association in Ottawa

b) Svenska Klubben i Ottawa - The Swedish Club in Ottawa

c) Svenska Skolan och Klubben i Ottawa - The Swedish School and Club in Ottawa

d) Svenska Sällskapet i Ottawa - The Swedish Society in Ottawa

Discussed were if the word “society” was serious enough, if an accurate description of our group would be “association”, and the importance of having “school” in the name. We made some attempts to determine acronyms in case there was anything offensive that emerged.

Vote taken for suggested names: a) 2 votes, b) 17 votes, c) 0 votes, and d) 1 vote. No abstentions noted.

Therefore, the agreed name is: Svenska Klubben i Ottawa – the Swedish Club in Ottawa.

6) Election of a Board of Directors was moved to item 8) on the agenda.

In spite of earlier having approved the Agenda, the meeting felt we had to change the order of agenda items 6, 7, and 8. Se below.

6) Motion to amend Section 7 and 9 in the Bylaws

Review of Bylaws:

Ingela reviewed the Bylaws and explained that they presently contained several spelling mistakes, typos, and a few grammatical errors. She suggested that these will all be corrected in a very near future. Ingela also presented a motion to amend Section 7 and 9 as follows:

Section 7. Verksamhetsår (Fiscal year)

Present version:

Föreningens verksamhetsår omfattar 1 juli – 30 juni.

(The association’s fiscal year is July 1 – June 30.)

Proposed version:

Föreningens verksamhetsår omfattar 1 januari – 31 december.

(The association’s fiscal year is January 1 – December 31.)

Section 9. Årsmöte (Annual General Meeting)

Present version:

Årsmöte hålls senast under maj månad. Kallelse och dagordning utsänds via e-mail minst två (2) veckor i förväg. Motioner till årsmötet skall skriftligen tillställas styrelsen senast en (1) vecka före den dag då årsmöte skall hållas.

(The annual general meeting will be held in May. Notice to attend and agenda will be sent out via e-mail at least two (2) weeks ahead. Motions to be discussed at the annual general meeting must be sent to the board in writing at least one (1) week ahead of the set date for the meeting.)

Proposed version:

Årsmöte hålls innan den siste februari. Kallelse och dagordning utsänds via e-mail minst två (2) veckor i förväg. Motioner till årsmötet skall skriftligen tillställas styrelsen senast en (1) vecka före den dag då årsmöte skall hållas.

(The annual general meeting will be held before the end of February. Notice to attend and agenda will be sent out via e-mail at least two (2) weeks ahead. Motions to be discussed at the annual general meeting must be sent to the board in writing at least one (1) week ahead of the set date for the meeting.)

Ingela explained the difficulties of having the fiscal year from July 1-June 30 and the AGM in the end of May, i.e. BEFORE the fiscal year has ended. The practice is that an AGM has to take place shortly after the fiscal year has ended. Also, after Ingela had spoken to Ulrika J, the President of “Svenska Skolan i Toronto”, she learned that they had recently changed their fiscal year to follow the calendar year instead of the school year as they found it very difficult to get parents to attend the AGM if it was held in June or July. They couldn’t make decisions as they did not get a quorum. Ulrika also mentioned that Skolstyrelsen in Sweden, the body which assists them financially, and which we will be applying for grants from, follows the calendar year. It would simplify our dealings with them if we have the same calendar year.

Bjarki suggested that we vote to accept the bylaws before we deal with amending them. Peter seconded. Unanimous agreement.

7) Motion to adopt the Bylaws:

Bjarki motioned to accept the Bylaws with the proposed amendments, including correction of our new name, typos, etc., and with any logical changes that must follow such new wording. Seconded by Annika E-K.

The Election of a Board of Directors was subsequently moved to become item 8.

8) Election of the Board of directors.

Ed suggested we should have the President come from the old Working Group as they have the background knowledge. Ina nominated Ingela, who accepted the nomination. Bjarki nominated Mats for President. Mats declined. Ingela nominated Bjarki, who declined as he will be on a sabbatical leave next fall. Someone wanted to nominate Anders but the Bylaws state that all nominees must be present at the meeting.

Ed  moved to close the nominations. Mia seconded. Unanimous agreement.

Announcement that Ingela  is the President by acclamation.

Ingela  gave an impromptu speech of thanks.

Nominees to Board of Directors:

Mats

Christina

Annika E

Lem

Bjarki

Peter

Jon suggested that all nominees leave the room in order to allow for open discussion and vote.

Ed  suggested we accept all the nominees as a new Board of Directors will benefit from having several people sharing the work load. The meeting accepted this suggestion.

Upon their return they were informed that a decision was made to accept all nominees to the Board of Directors as The Swedish Club in Ottawa can only benefit from harnessing the contributions of all the interested individuals the first year of its inception.

Ilein wondered when the new Board of Directors would actually start as the old, and perhaps the new, by-laws state that the newly elected Board of Directors “they assume their position at the beginning of the association’s fiscal year”.

Jon read aloud the old by-laws and the membership agreed that wording of by-laws will need to be changed to be in accordance with the previous amendments accepted by motions. See above under: 7) Motion to adopt the Bylaws.

9) Suggestions for Future Activities

Annika E-K suggested we have a Social Committee rather than a committee for each event. The membership voiced a general agreement with this suggestion.

Suggestions:

* Midsummer Party

* Book Club

* Library – books and movies

* Kräftskiva – Crayfish Party

* School Material

* Adult Smörgåsbord and Snaps Party

* Adult Christmas Party

* Website

* Newsletter

* Places to hold events

10) Other Business

Bjarki suggested we write a press release about the Swedish Club in Ottawa to be distributed to The Citizen, CBC, Swedish Press, etc. Peter suggested that we wait until we have a website. He is willing to find out information for us. His wife is a web designer and can also contribute. Accepted.

Ilein asked where she could direct additional parents and those unable to attend this meeting for more information. She was advised to direct phone calls to Ingela <hidden> or e-mail <hidden> , and that all parents and members will be informed through the newsgroup.

11) Adjournment at 8.50 p.m.

Ed moved to adjourn the meeting. Jon seconded. Unanimous agreement.

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Date: December 3, 2008.

Secretary: Christina

Senast uppdaterad söndag, 18 mars 2018 11:08