Worst. AGM. Ever.

The Editor,

I attended the Centre Wakefield-La Pêche [CWLP] AGM on Sept. 21, and I am sad to say it was the worst AGM I have ever attended. As a former board member with a tenure of three years – two as treasurer and one as secretary – I was disappointed with the lack of information, transparency and accountability. I fully appreciate that a board member position is voluntary and the time commitment it involves. My favourite comment of the evening from a co-op member was: “We have listened to you, and now you can listen to us.”

In my humble opinion, what the 22/23 board lacked is strong leadership. Previous board administrations have struggled with recovering from a deficit and the COVID years. While not everyone may appreciate Sally Swan’s or Irene Richardson’s reign as chairs, I most certainly do. These two incredible women went above and beyond. Ms. Carlan’s presentation was elusive at best and intentionally misleading at worst. At one point, she admitted that this board “sucked at finances” and that they were unable to recruit a CPA [chartered professional accountant] to join the board. In my three years on the board, we managed to have one to two CPAs on the board at all times. Ms. Carlan also failed to mention that the 22/23 board had a CPA at their disposal until Dec. 22; perhaps they had trouble recruiting another based on the treatment of the one they had — just saying.

Carolyn Nolan

Wakefield, QC