Dear Friends of the Community Hall:
Christmas is on the horizon, so – time for another Hall newsletter!
It is actually my first since being appointed at the Hall’s Annual General Meeting on November 18th. While I have a great deal of trepidation at following in the giant footsteps of Joyce Babula, I am also heartened by the many good people who work hard to make the Hall a real resource for all of Gabriola. And its good to know that Joyce will still be at the Board table. I will try to use this newsletter to let you all know about the Hall’s goings-on.
The Gabriola Agricultural Association Co-operative Christmas Craft Fair will be in the Hall on Saturday 10 am to 3 pm with 30 of your favourite local artists, bakers and crafters. Your best place for last minute Christmas gifts! Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win raffle great prizes. Come for lunch and support the Gabriola Co-operative Preschool.
On Sunday, the Gabriola Island Singers will present their always popular annual Christmas Concert, starting at 2:30 pm.
The recent renovations have shown us, among other things, just how much care and attention such an aging building requires to keep it up to scratch for its users. Windows need to be replaced, gutters installed, parking lots marked out, back-up power, roofs upgraded and so on and so on.
Speaking of Christmas, it is the time of year when some of us try to minimise the tax burden by making donations to our favourite charities. The Hall has benefited greatly during the past year from the generosity of its community – you ! We have been able to maintain a free membership in the Association in order to make our family truly representative of the whole of Gabriola. And we are contemplating setting up a “Renovation Fund” from which donations can be used to match available grants. Please CLICK HERE to donate. Any support you can give will be gratefully received.
One other thing before I end. We have a number of web-based computer systems for memberships, donations, BBQ ticket sales, newsletters, etc. With Richard Strachan leaving our Board, we need a volunteer who is comfortable with spreadsheets, desktop publishing and working online to take over their maintenance. Most of the software is intuitive and less than 10 hours per month is needed. The work is interesting and nearly everything can be done at home with access to the internet. Richard will help with transition. If you are interested, please let us know by writing to info@gabriolacommunityhall.com.
And, yes, here’s wishing you all a peaceful and productive Christmas and New Year. “Lang may yer lums reek!”
Peter Jones
President
Community Hall Association
I know a Community Hall
Where each Gabriolan stands tall.
They have food fairs and singing
And stage shows and binge-ing.
Oh dear – I forgot Pickle Ball.