This year’s Annual General Meeting came with much to celebrate. Held on November 23 at the Hilton Lac Leamy in Gatineau, the annual gathering highlighted achievements of the year, particularly the launch of the Joint Career Development Program (JCDP), and gave members the opportunity to ask questions of the ACFO leadership.

ACFO President Dany Richard reviewed the 2017 annual report, highlighting major progress on important issues such as the embattled Phoenix pay system, collective bargaining and employee wellness, professional development, pay equity and a range of workforce issues. More than 100 members attended the AGM.

For the second time, the AGM also included an announcement of the ACFO Scholarships Program winners. This year, the winners of the Merdon Hosking Youth Scholarship were Alexandra Eva Machicado-McGee (daughter of Anne McGee at Canadian Heritage) and Grant Wolters (son of Melinda Wolters at Veteran Affairs in PEI). The FI Community Professional Scholarship went to Courtney Miller and Yiwen (Maria) Shao.

Results of the votes for three ACFO board member positions and several resolutions were announced at the AGM as well. All three incumbents (Louise Amyot, Nicole Bishop-Tempke and Tony Bourque) were re-elected. The full results are as follows:

Full election results

Director:

Tony Bourque 346
Nicole Bishop-Tempke 336
Louise Amyot 354
Vincent Harris 191
Alain Toni Jalkh 87
Nathan A. Thompson 148

Resolutions:

Resolution #1
Approval of the 2016 AGM minutes
547 yes, 2 no, 119 abstentions
Resolution #2
Approval of the audited financial statements
548 yes, 4 no, 117 abstentions
Resolution #3
Approval of the 2018 budget
527 yes, 18 no, 125 abstentions
Resolution #4
Appointment of auditors for the 2017 financial year
561 yes, 16 no, 92 abstentions
Resolution #5
Bylaw amendment to create tie-breaking mechanism in director elections
590 yes, 11 no, 69 abstentions
FI Community Professional Scholarship winners Yiwen Shao (left) and Courtney Miller (right) pose with ACFO president Dany Richard.
ACFO president Dany Richard poses with Alexandra Eva Machicado-McGee, one of the recipients of the Merdon Hosking Youth Scholarship.
ACFO member Anne McGee (left) with her daughter Alexandra Eva Machicado-McGee, winner of the Merdon Hosking Youth Scholarship.