A Message from National President CJ MacMullin

First of all, I would like to wish all fellow Progressians a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

Since my last message, I have visited CPC St. John's for a special night honouring one of their members and a long-time supporter of Progress in Newfoundland, Paul Lannon.  At the request of the St. John's club, I was pleased to present Paul with a well-deserved "Friend of Progress" certificate.  A Newfoundland rabbit dinner, a "roast" of Paul, and a nip or two made it a very special, and fun, evening.  The only down part of the trip was missing the CPC Quidi Vidi meeting due to the first big snow storm of the year.

The following week, I was able to get to Toronto for another snow storm.  I made it on time, thanks to Juanita and Ted Soutar, for the Brampton Christmas parade with CPC Brampton.  We were warmly received by President John Holman and various members of the club.  On a beautiful snowy night, the Chuckwagon Food Drive during the parade was a tremendous success, and it was a real privilege to be part of it.  Although a storm forced the cancellation of a Regional meeting, I was able to to attend an excellent meeting with the Toronto Downtown Club on Monday, followed on Wednesday by the Pickering-Ajax Festival of Trees.  This event is a big focus of the Durham Region Women, and President Eleanor Down hosted me to dinner with mayor Wayne Arthurs, a very enjoyable and impressive evening.

A sincere thank you to Alan Bone and Mary Kutarna, and their family, for looking after me during my whole stay in Toronto.  They are marvelous hosts and very considerate.

And what a way to start the New Year!  First, Arlene and I attended the 1st Annual CPC Classic New Year's Party hosted by both the Halifax and Halifax-Cornwallis Clubs.  This was an idea that originated in Calgary, and was an outstanding success in Halifax.  It was a complete sell-out and all the monies are being donated to Bryony House, a shelter for battered women and children.  I am anxious to hear how Calgary did this year, as I believe we could make this into a national party.  The boys in Newfoundland say they are up to the challenge of staying up to ring in the New Year in British Columbia.

The dream of every National President is to preside at the charter of a new club.  Mine was fulfilled on Friday night, January 17th, when the new CPC Greater Moncton Women's Club was inaugurated.  This was a momentous occasion with representatives from all Maritime Clubs attending, including every Club President, our National VP and Zone Governor, plus representatives from the city councils.  A great night in which support was pledged by all for their success.

Your Board members have been hard at work behind the scenes working for positive change throughout Progress.  On February 8th, the National Board will be getting together to start implementing these changes and we will be reporting to you through the Progression On-Line.

The one commitment I have not made as yet was a visit to CPC Sherbrooke.  This I had to cancel because of an illness in the family, but I am going to do my very best to get to Sherbrooke prior to the National Board meeting.

I will also be participating in the CPCF Board meeting in early March and I am confident that we will see a very positive response to the questionnaire.  At that time, I hope to be able to visit other clubs in the Central Region.  Plans are in place to visit Edmonton while I'm in Alberta in February, and over the next several weeks, I hope to have a tentative travel schedule in place for the balance of the year.  As I indicated in my last two messages, I want to visit as many clubs as possible during my tenure.  I am open to any, and all, suggestions.  Please feel free to contact me at: cjm@ns.sympatico.ca. 

Yours for Progress,

CJ MacMullin