A Time for Reflection and Celebration
Highlights from our 2022 Annual General Meeting.
The President of our Board of Directors, Dan Kohl, with our CEO, Joanne Bracken, and Past President, Charlene Callander.
Our Board members and Senior Leadership team, along with representatives from our staff, membership, and the community attended our Annual General Meeting this past Saturday.
The meeting was an opportunity to review the Alzheimer Society's impact throughout the 2021-2022 fiscal year, and to recognize the outstanding contributions that our volunteers and donors have made to our organization and to the community of people affected by dementia in Saskatchewan.
To learn more about our 2022-2023 Board of Directors, please follow this link.
Award Recipients from our 2022 Annual General Meeting:
Honourary Lifetime Award:
Ruth Lea was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2005. Ruth served three terms on the board, dedicating six years to providing vision and leadership to the work of the Society. During her tenure with the Society, Ruth also chaired and served on the Finance and Audit Committee. In total, Ruth has dedicated eight years in governance on our Board.
In addition to serving on the Board, Ruth regularly volunteers for the IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s, the Gala, and she assists with public forums and other educational events. Ruth is a Dementia Friend, monthly donor, and she is very committed to helping the Society improve the lives of people living with dementia across Saskatchewan. Like so many others, she has family members and friends affected by dementia and has committed to giving back by volunteering and financially supporting the work of the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan.
Corporate Leadership:
Ken Lee has been a dedicated supporter of the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan and dementia research. Ken’s support of the Alzheimer Society started in 2014. Ken supported his wife, Marlene, who had dementia and passed in 2016. Since then, he has contributed over $400,000 to dementia research.
Recently, Ken has pledged an additional $600,000 over the next five years to fund proof of concept grants through the Alzheimer Society Research Program. Upon speaking to Ken, his passion for dementia research is evident. An educated and thoughtful donor, Ken always has questions to ask and is determined to fund research to get the answers needed.
Philanthropic Leadership:
Gord Mertler has been an engaged supporter of the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan for several years and has been especially invested and involved over the previous 5 years. Through participation in our programs, Gord has also demonstrated enthusiasm to the work we do through gala attendance, a major gift in 2020, and a $50,000 matching gift to the 2021 Annual Giving campaign, which was accompanied by his family's personal story and connection to dementia. The story included encouragement to our community to donate and offered hope about the services the Alzheimer Society can help provide to families affected by dementia.
Gord’s generous donations, partnered with his heartfelt enthusiasm of our services and programs has provided the space for: new donors to come forward in support, existing donors to contribute more and share experiences, and has also allowed us at the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan to provide programming, resources, and support to more individuals and families across our province. As a dedicated advocate and partner of the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan, Gord Mertler is an amazing community philanthropist.
Volunteerism Award:
Garth and Rhondda Halkyard have been volunteering with the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan since 2014. They have participated in annual fundraising events including the Night to Remember Fall Gala and the IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s. Garth has done a wide variety of volunteering including setup and teardown of events, photography services, and day-of event volunteering.
Rhondda started as an event volunteer but has taken a more active role with the Alzheimer Society, serving on the Regina walk planning committee for five years.
Both Garth and Rhondda have also helped with annual mailout packaging, as well as assisting with a variety of donor stewardship initiatives. Garth and Rhondda have been supporters we can depend on and are always there to help in any way needed. They are very deserving of the Volunteer Leadership Award.
