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I would like to thank all WI Members for your dedication and support. I am very proud of each and every one of you who have increased our community activities through our Lyme Disease awareness. I am sure each of us know of someone this disease has affected. This will be an ongoing project for us, as much of the public needs informative sessions. In June, we donated over $4,000 to the G. Magnotta Lyme Disease Research Lab at the University of Guelph. Well done, ladies! In conjunction with this project was our Plea for Your Lee. To date, we have received over $8,000 for the preservation of our Erland Lee (Museum) Home. Thank you for this support! I know some will say, "great, the Museum doesn't require any more help". From your annual membership fee, $3.75 goes toward the maintenance of our home. When added up, the amount contributed through membership fees comes close to the amount of our heating bill alone. We diligently look for grants to offset the costs and look for ways to engage the public in workshops, including the newest idea of the archaeological dig. The volunteers also do a tremendous amount of work such as tours, cleaning and addressing maintenance issues. Mr. and Mrs. Hollie & Marlene Archer donated money for the chicken coop, which allowed us to put on a steel roof, reinforce the inside and fix the chimney. This is now a fantastic storage area. We were also given a lawnmower to help with areas needing more care. Thank you for your generosity, donors. We required a home inspection to apply for certain grants and were advised of possible window maintenance or replacement and repainting of our home. I realize many look at the bank balance as reported in the Home & Country and wonder why we don't use these funds. The answer is we do, however, it is better to only use the interest we gain from all funds in order to preserve our organization for future generations. Many thanks to the members of The Friends of the Lee for their many donations to help with projects and costs. I, and many Board Members, were present at several District Annuals this spring. We thank those for their invitations and look forward to meeting you again next spring. We were active at the Ontario Home Economics Association and the Provincial Council of Women of Ontario conferences this year. We are finding that other clubs are reaching out to us as I'm sure they are also contacting Members. Please try to have at least one of them reciprocate a membership with us. We must learn to ask for the support of others as we support them. Margaret Byl and I attended the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada Triennial Convention in Winnipeg. As many of you know, Margaret is our new President-Elect for FWIC. Congratulations! We were also able to have the Presidents from all provinces sign a letter of support in our effort to have February 19th declared Women's Institute Day. The signed document can be sent to your MP or MPP. At the convention, FWIC changed some of its bylaws. This means that provinces will no longer have an Executive Officer but will have a Provincial Representative. The Board believes this will also save us funds. I am currently FWIO's Representative. To assist with our budget, the Board has decided to sell advertising space in the Home & Country, so if you have a business or skill you would like to make known to your fellow Members, please contact Andrea Morrison for more information. The increase in Facebook usage is fantastic and much needed awareness that FWIO Members are still in communities doing great work. Let us also try to support or take part in local parades, fairs, golf tournaments, walks, food banks etc. Yours for Home and Country, Linda Zelem by FWIO President Linda Zelem Voice DEER RIDGE 3