The November 12 branch meeting at BC Hydro Edmonds was fun and educational.

Guest speaker, Meredith Areskoug from the Pacific Assistance Dog Society (PADS), with trainee assistance dog, Stellar, gave an interesting presentation on the work of the society, followed by a question and answer period. Stellar demonstrated the qualities of the dedicated assistance dog, being relaxed, responsive and well behaved. John Davies presented a branch donation of $200 for PADS to Meredith, along with a package of treats for Stellar.

PADS is always looking for volunteer puppy-raisers and puppy-sitters. Check out their website.

Branch elections – the four executive positions were confirmed by acclamation:

President – John Davies

Vice President – Barbara Conrad

Treasurer – Jashoda Patel

Secretary – Jenny Pedersen

Barbara Conrad gave a recap of some items from the recent provincial Annual General Meeting of the branch presidents and project chairs.

• Volunteer hours: at year-end, each person who submits volunteer hours will earn $20 for our branch, to be donated to local charities, regardless of the number of hours submitted. A survey will be coming with a link to report your volunteer hours. This year our donations will go to local food banks. The volunteer hours total is an important statement to BC Hydro to show how the Power Pioneers add value in the community.
• An updated re-issue of our Gaslights to Gigawatts history book is in the works, to cover the period from 1990 on.
• Reminder to update your profile on the website if your email address changes, to keep receiving newsletters.

Barbara gave an update on Caring Crafts: a recent windfall yarn donation was shared among eight participating branches. The annual donation of hand-made items from the Lower Mainland branches will be delivered to BC Children’s Hospital next week.

Elly Tower collected payments for the Fairmont Christmas luncheon and annual membership renewals.

The meeting ended with prize draws for lucky winners.