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The 2017 Annual General Meeting of the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario was held in Kingston at the Ambassador Hotel on November 30th and December 1st. It was a time to reconnect with old friends, celebrate recent accomplishments and elect Provincial Officers who will serve FWIO in the coming year. FWIO is excited to welcome both new and familiar faces to the Provincial Board. Congratulations to our new President, Linda Zelem of Brantford (Hamilton Area) and President- Elect, Mary Shortt of Codrington (Trent Valley Area). Joining Linda and Mary on the Board are Nancy Plummer- McDermott (Northern, North Central and Cochrane- Temiskaming Areas), Susan Morrison (Hamilton Area) and Cheryl Sullivan (Eastern Area). Cheryl was appointed at the January 2018 Board Meeting. Continuing on the Board are Glenna Smith (Guelph/Central Areas); Twyla Banbury- Campbell (Simcoe/Grey-Bruce Areas); Rie Van Steeg (Southern Area); Sue Cushing (Trent Valley/Kingston Areas); and Elizabeth Sutton (Northwestern Area). Congratulations to Faye Michaud, who was elected as FWIO's Public Relations Officer. Eleanor Williams (Tweedsmuir Coordinator) and Elsie Stephenson (International Officer) were both elected to their respective positions after having been appointed for one year. Margaret Byl was elected FWIO Executive Officer to FWIC, but has since been nominated for the position of President-Elect. Elections will take place at the FWIC Triennial Convention in July 2018. Evelyn Peck's term as Executive Officer continues until that time. We are happy to announce that Linda Mitchell accepted an appointment as Digitizing Coordinator in February 2018. Linda's focus will be on coordinating the pickup arrangements for the digitizing project. We also thank Linda for volunteering as our Secretary for the AGM and November 2017 Board Meeting. Thank you to FWIO Past President, Joy Trimble who served as our AGM Elections Officer. The AGM was also a time to express appreciation to FWIO's outgoing Provincial Officers for their dedicated service. We are grateful to Margaret Byl for the knowledge and dedication she brought to the role of FWIO President for the past three years. Much thanks is given to Sandy Marshall, Lynda Brooker and Mary Inglis for their years of service on the FWIO Board. The Board benefited from their individual strengths and expertise and we wish them the very best in their next adventures. Our deep appreciation is extended to Irene Robillard (Digitizing Coordinator), Hania White (Advocacy Coordinator), Debbie Bauer (Membership Coordinator) and Mary Shortt (Public Relations Officer) for their service. They have done exceptional work on behalf of FWIO and celebrated many successes throughout their terms. Thank you to the Area Voting Delegates who completed their terms in 2017: Sheila Minogue-Calver, Lorraine Goit, Debbie Findlay, Barbara Dutton, Joyce Cockle, Donna Jebb and Martha Gammage. We also enjoyed the opportunity to welcome the new Area Voting Delegates who were elected at their Area Conventions in the fall: Beth Harris (Northern), Eleanor Wiersema (Northwestern), Ruth Fountain (Simcoe), Valerie Smith (Kingston), Barbara Stones (Hamilton) and Marg Ogar (Southern). Many thanks to all Area Voting Delegates for representing their Members at the AGM, including Guelph Alternate AVD, Ruth Jones. In January 2018, we were pleased to welcome Cheryl Bunda as Eastern AVD. Last but not least, FWIO is very grateful to the incredible women of Kingston Area who took on the challenge of hosting the 2017 AGM. The committee included Linda Bates (Chair), Sue Cushing, Jane Adamson, Anne Levac, Nan Keyes, Valerie Smith and Angie Cowan. Your hard work throughout all of 2017 truly gave us an AGM to remember, with fantastic workshops, entertainment and many special touches throughout. Thanks to each and every one of you for your outstanding volunteerism. Thank you to everyone who attended the Annual General Meeting. The next AGM is scheduled for January 2019. Stay tuned for additional details! FWIO Annual General Meeting Pictured (L-R): Linda Zelem, FWIO President and Mary Shortt, FWIO President-Elect. Pictured (L-R) are members of the Kingston AGM Committee: Anne Levac, Nan Keyes, Angie Cowan, Valerie Smith, Sue Cushing and Linda Bates. Not pictured: Jane Adamson. 4