Convention 2017

The purpose of this page is to document plans a decisions regarding the Convention.

Date

November 4, 2017, tentatively agreed to in March and April Executive Committee Meetings. Agreed to at the May meeting.

Location

Wojo suggested his "Barn" (being prepared as a banquet/reception hall) as a possible location. However, it may not be ready on time. General agreement that the Monte Carlo Inn, 8900 Woodbine Ave., (the location of last year's AGM) was a good location.

On July 7 Jim confirmed our reservation with the Inn. They will provide a discounted price for anyone who wants to stay overnight; $99 instead of $109. Use code OLP17.

Pre-Meeting Preparations

George Dance has agreed to be "Convention Chairman" as defined in the Party Constitution.

• He recruited Nunzio Venuto as Constitution & Bylaws Co-ordinator, to receive and collect amendments from members, and Jim McIntosh to distribute them (at least electronically) to members within the 30-day notice period. (If we mail out proxy forms, we should include these with them.) My job will be to send out 2 notices, on August 1 and September 1, on the Ontario LP facebook lists, asking members to send their amendments to Nunzio by September 25. (If you can copy them to the electronic mailing list, Jim, great!) He will assemble the amendments and send them all to me by Sept. 29, and I will forward them to Jim for distribution by Sept. 30.
• He is looking for 6 members minimum for the Credentials Committee to hand out, collect, and count ballots. We have 2 members presently: Jekiah Urban Dunavant, who volunteered at the BBQ; and Mark Snow, who volunteered after I put out an appeal on the Members Only Facebook page.

Convention 2014 has a list of preparation activities and who was assigned. Need to prepare a similar list for this event.

• Key activity - Identify potential candidates for executive positions.

Menu

Monte Carlo Inn

Jim obtained the menu offerings from the Inn. Marsha Haynes reviewed the menu options and suggest the President's Package with the Chicken Lovers' lunch ($53.99 + 15% + HST = $70.16/person, including room), depending on the budget. The alternative all day meeting package, The Executive ($44.99 --> %58.47/person) includes a lunch of assorted cold cut sandwiches and wraps instead of Rosemary or lemon chicken.

Last year we paid separately for the room ($375 + HST) and food. 35 people attended. The average cost per person was $51.16. We received several complaints about the food.

Mark (Wojo) called Dean Mavrakakis and obtained an alternative quote, $3,197.26 ($63.95/person). It includes the Full Monte Breakfast (Juice, pastries, Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, home fries, fruit tray, coffee), 3-course Rimini lunch (salad, chicken or pork loin or roast beef), cheesecake, coffee).

Rob suggested we focus on the Convention as a business meeting and not provide lunch. Instead, during lunch break, attendees can go to a restaurant. Jim suggested we include the Continental Breakfast ($8.25/person) and an afternoon break (Assorted Cookies, Freshly Brewed Coffee & Tea, Soft Drinks & Chilled Juices, $7.50/person). For 50 people, with Gratuity and HST it will be $1,023 for food and beverages, plus $424 (no gratuity) for the room, or $1,447 total.

With that in mind, Jim decided to price out having the meeting downtown, closer to a few restaurants.

Best Western Roehampton Hotel & Suites

The Roehampton is on Mt. Pleasant just north of Eglinton and the Granite Brewery. Lorna Ramos (Sales and Catering Coordinator, Direct: 416-642-3425) provided a quote; $1,782.58 ($35.65/person) for room ($678), Continental Breakfast and afternoon coffee and soft drinks.

The room is about $254 more than Monte Carlo Inns, but the location could attract more attendees. The room is larger and will accommodate 60 people in classroom layout (i.e. seated at tables).

Decision

At the July 17 Executive Meeting we decided that we should include lunch.

Registration Fee

At the May Executive Meeting we agreed on the same Registration Fees as last year; $25 for students, $60 at the door, $50 if paid prior to November 1/17. $5 for Proxy. The 75% tax credit helped sell the event.

It appears that as a result of the changes to the legislation we will not be able to treat the Registration Fee as a donation. We have two options;

1. Charge the proposed fees and let everyone know this will not be treated as a donation. This could reduce attendance.
2. Charge a nominal fee ($10 in advance, $20 or $30 at the door?) and treat it as a fundraising event; ask everyone to bring their cheque book or credit card and make a donation.

If 50 people attend, the hotel costs would be $3,508.00. Registration Fees would be $500-$700, for a net cost of $2,800 - $3,000. Can we reasonably expect an average donation of $60 from 50 attendees? (E.g. half donate an average of $100 and half donate on average $20 = $3,000)

At the July 17 Executive Meeting we decided that the Registration Fee should be $25 in advance and $40 at the door. If 45 pay in advance and 5 pay at the door, we will receive $1,325 in fees, for a net cost of $2,183.

Speakers

At the May meeting, it was suggested we could have two speakers. However, given the time required for electing the complete Executive Committee and the possibility of amendments to the Constitution and bylaws, the afternoon should be devoted to Party Business.

Anthony Furey has accepted Allen's invitation and will be our speaker. He has recently published Pulse Attack: The Real Story Behind The Secret Weapon That Can Destroy North America and will talk about it as well a politics in Ontario.

Agenda

The following is adapted from last year’s agenda.

 9:30 AM – Registration and Continental Breakfast
10:00 AM – Welcome, approval of 2016 Annual General Meeting Minutes, and Reports of Officers
11:00 AM – Speaker – Anthony Furey,  Author of Pulse Attack: The Secret Weapon That Can Destroy North America
12:00 PM – Lunch  
 1:00 PM – Election of members of Executive and Ethics Committees. 
 2:00 PM – Party Business, Amendments to Constitution and By-laws 
 3:30 PM – Campaign Director’s report on Election Preparations
 4:30 PM – Wrap Up and Adjournment

Given Allen and Jim will likely be the only Officers to give a report, they may not need an hour. It's difficult to predict how long the Party Business and Elections will take, so Rob may have more or less than an hour to present his plans.

Elections

Ethics Committee

According to Article 8, Item 2, "The four members of the immediately preceding Committee with the shortest length of service shall be appointed to the Committee." At the last AGM the Committee consisted of the following;

• Wendy Kadonoff and Neal Donnelly (elected in 2016)
• Jean-Serge Brisson (elected in 2015) (Ron White was also elected but subsequently resigned to take the Office of Secretary vacated by Wojo. Sam Apelbaum agreed to fill the position until the 2016 AGM.)
• John Shaw (elected in 2014)
• Chester Brown and George Dance (elected in 2013)

Accordingly, Wendy, Neal, Jean-Serge, and John are the members with the shortest terms of office and are appointed to the Committee. We should confirm that they are all willing to continue. Chester Brown and George Dance should be asked if they would stand for election.