IMPORTANT REMINDER: SCAA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:
Wednesday, October 4th, 7 PM in Room 104 at South
Our AGM, normally held in early May, was postponed as final preparations were being made for the 100th Anniversary Weekend. Now, as the SCAA gets set to embark on the next 25 years of its existence, we are at a critical point as we face what can only be called “A Changing of the Guard”. Half of the current executive have served more than 10 years on the SCAA and two have served more than 20. While a number of us may have been ready to retire a while ago, we consciously chose to stay on the executive until the 100th was over. Now, however, those retirements have already taken place or soon will.
That’s why the upcoming AGM is such an important one. As we face the future, perhaps the most important questions are “WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? WHAT DO WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO DO AND WHAT DO WE WANT OR NEED TO CHANGE?
So please consider attending the meeting to play a part in establishing this future. You may even wish to volunteer to fill one of the vacant executive positions… (which would be wonderful but not a requirement for admission).
LEGACY GIFT: As indicated in the last E-blast, the SCAA wishes to mark the end of South’s Centennial Year with the purchase of a suitable legacy gift for the school. No decision has been made yet on what that gift will be so we welcome any suggestions that you might have. You can share them with us at the AGM or via email.
FUTURE OF LIONS’ PRIDE: As rewarding as my job of writer/editor/designer of the newsletter has been, after 23 years on the SCAA, 18 of them doing Lions’ Pride, I decided some time ago that I would retire following South’s 100th and that decision remains firm. Given that decision, it’s clear that now is the time to discuss changes that can be made to ensure the newsletter remains a viable and valuable vehicle to keep you informed about school and alumni events and issues. To do that we will be asking for some help from you… (C. Weir)
Here are the main proposals:
· Online Publishing – While we realize that there are still a number of alumni who enjoy getting a hardcopy of the newsletter, given the times and the cost of mailing, we will be shifting to publishing the newsletter, twice a year as in the past, on our website. While we will continue (hopefully) to produce a printed copy of the newsletter, it will be smaller in size, plus far fewer copies will be printed, perhaps 100 instead of 400, for local distribution.
· In Memoriam – This feature will be removed from the newsletter. Instead, a new section will be added to the website and it will be updated on a regular basis as we are informed about new alumni deaths. Once that has been set up, we are hoping we can find one or two alumni interested in keeping that updated.
· School News Here and Now – This feature will also be removed from the newsletter and included as a separate section on our website. Hopefully, with the help of our SCAA staff rep, Stacey Farr, and the co-operation of the South staff in general, we will be able to keep this section regularly updated as well.
· Letters & E-mails – This section would remain in the newsletter but be reduced in size.
· Cover Stories – Here is where we will be looking for alumni volunteers. Do you have an idea for an article you think would be of interest to other alumni? If you enjoy writing, please draft something up, or if you prefer, send in your rough notes so that another alumni volunteer can write it up for you.
· Other Ongoing Features (Multi-Generational Families, Super Seniors, Class Reunions) – These would also remain in the newsletter. Featured alumni would be responsible for submitting the content that they would like to see included, with the final editing done by any alumni volunteers willing to do some editing.
“100 YEARS of LIONS’ PRIDE” PROFILES: As mentioned before, the 150 posters printed on heavy card-stock paper are safely stored in our Archives Room at the school, available for display whenever another suitable venue comes up. As for online display, those of you who check the SCAA Facebook page will know that two profiles – Ethan Hickey (’19) & Rain Bloodworth (’18) – have already been posted with more to be posted soon. As soon as the website can be set up with a special section for the display of the profiles, they will be posted there as well.
FINAL MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS:
· Trivia Questions on Facebook – In addition to the two profiles mentioned above, the five Trivia questions pertaining to alumni who were profiled from the decade 2010-2022 have been posted. Have a look and see if you know any of the answers.
HOPE YOU CAN MAKE THE AGM ON OCTOBER 4!