The previous Board (July 2014 to April 2016) established the mission statement: "Have Fun and Serve Our Community". This statement is the top level of CARA’s Renaissance. The amateur radio hobby continues to evolve rapidly. Change is driven by technology, but also by the changing interests and needs of its community of members.

Mission statements are short and broad and intended to provide general direction. CARA 's current Board thinks the mission statement aptly captured the club's value proposition for current and future members.

Have Fun and Serve Our Community.

The last word, Community, is perhaps the most significant: a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals. The sharing elements are powerful motivators for participation.

I think it is safe to say that the interests and personal goals of individual members in the amateur radio community are very broad. Yet they can be identified, aggregated and explored within the club experience. Attitudes, perhaps not so much, but they have to be acknowledged and when necessary, dealt with.

The current Board focused energy, time and debate in the last 14 months to establish a set of goals. The goals, presented below, are not fully crafted nor set in stone. They are however, formed to a point where they can be set before the membership for consideration within the context of "having fun and serving our community".

The Goals

1. The attraction/retention of new members to grow/sustain the future of CARA and the hobby of amateur radio;
2. Examination of the suitability, sustainability and alignment of the club's current facilities and service offerings with existing and emerging interests in amateur radio;
3. Collaboration with other established amateur radio organizations to identify opportunities to grow interest in the hobby and explore the possibilities of shared goals, assets and talents within the greater Calgary and regional organizations.

The above brought focus to the Board's collective efforts toward engagement of more of its current members in shaping the club's future.

The Strategy

The motions presented at the CARA Annual Meeting on Oct 24 established a process by which a greater number of CARA members can actively participate and make a personal contribution to the practical implementation of the club's efforts to ‘Have Fun and Serve Our Community. Regrettably, the loss of Quorum of Executive members present prior to the votes on motions 2 and 3 will require a second presentation of these motions for ratification at the next General Meeting later this month.

In closing, I have officially tended my resignation as President of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association. This is in response to my offer at the August 28^th Board meeting to do so. The offer was made in my recognition that my leadership effectiveness was essentially spent. At the Board meeting Nov 8^th, convened to accept that offer, it was suggested that I should also resign from the Board. I tender here my resignation from the CARA Board of Directors as well, but with the intention of remaining an active club member.

My final statement as Club President is to express my gratitude to all the members who actively supported the club through participation in club meetings, events and activities over the past 14 months. You are the backbone of the club. You are the members who are having fun and serving our community in a selfless manner. You are the ones who will move the club forward as it realistically faces the challenges of repositioning its human and physical resources towards the interests and needs of its next generation of members. Please continue to do so and stay the course.

Change is hard. Its hard to accept the need and hard to accomplish. In the last 14 months progress has been made in understanding the need for change. With the continued participation and voices of members supporting that need, accomplishment will follow.

73 de VE6TI

Gordon Hungerford