Margaret Anderson elected to lead Acton Seniors Centre

Almost 100 members attended the annual general meeting at the Acton Seniors Centre on Tuesday, Feb. 27. David Dodgson passed on regrets from Recreation and Parks Director Terry Alyman, who was unable to attend, and introduced Halton Hills mayor Rick Bonnette, who brought greetings from the Town and introduced council members Clark Somerville, Mike O'Leary and Jon Hurst (who is our council liaison member). The mayor reminisced about some of the events he had enjoyed participating in at the centre, especially the rocking at the Rock-a-thon with his wife Josey, after coaching the ladies hockey team in the early hours of the morning. He thanked Donna Rowley on behalf of himself and fellow councillors for all her hard work over the many years and Jon Hurst for keeping council members in the loop about events at the centre. Dave thanked Donna for her guidance, even though he caused a laugh by calling her his "tormentor". He said it had been a fantastic year with membership peaking at 325 and we are now "Looking to the Future" as we are outgrowing our space and now have events and programs offered in the evening thanks to the cooperation of the arena staff. Donna Rowley is the co-chair of Looking to the Future, and explained exactly what that meant. She said our facility cannot accommodate everything we would like to hold here and to help defray the cost of expansion, she described the Tree of Hope. Maria Sallay will paint a bare winter tree on the wall and for every donation of 450 or more a leaf will be painted on the tree in your name. You can also make a donation in memory of someone, or just make a plain gift, and you will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Dave presented Marj Allen, Fay Pink, Margaret Dodgson and Donna Rowley with roses as a thank you for all their hard work. I am afraid Bryan Alder didn't receive roses, but instead got a big thank you. Dave also thanked Wendy Krever, our co-ordinator and Sherry Mitchell our administrative assistant for all their hard work. The floor was turned over to Donna Rowley and her committee for the nomination and election of new board of directors members: Jill Tetreault, Pat Frizzell, Dobbie Frizzell, Joanne Bissonnette, Jane McAllister, Betty Green. Margaret Anderson was elected president. The Activan manager Don Clarkson came to answer the many questions we had on who is eligible to use the service. He told us that anyone 65 years of age or older who resides in the Halton Hills area and preregisters is eligible. It is very simple to register, simply call his office, 905-873-2601, ext. 2617, and they will mail you a form. (We do have some forms at the centre.) You will need either a copy of your birth certificate or some other government identification. After that you simply phone in 24 hours before you need the ride with your request. There are 300 seniors registered at the moment, most from Georgetown. It costs $2 each way, and for after hours services (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), it's $3. The winner of the deluxe exercise bike was Pat Allen. Tickets are on sale at the moment for the St. Patrick's Dinner on March 28. It will feature soup, Irish stew and a variety of breads, and trifle. The cutoff date is early! March 13, so get your tickets now. If there aren't enough tickets sold by then Victor will have to cancel the large hall. It is much nicer when we can use the larger hall, especially with the Irish entertainment, but the town needs two weeks notice to cancel.