I am writing to you once again as the president of this fine organization at the beginning of a new year where we hopefully will get to fulfill an important part of our mandate: the gathering of our profession in a relaxed collegial environment to celebrate and promote civility, hopefully without the masks.
You will notice that our executive remains unchanged from last year. Not to air our dirty laundry, but Vice-President Sterchi simply needed another year to mature before he could be trusted at the helm during these stormy seas. In seriousness, the executive felt that it would be prudent to put a pause on everything, including the composition of our board, until things returned to normal. At our AGM we conducted no business and had no fun, but we did pass a motion to freeze everything as we, like all of you, wanted to take a mulligan on 2020.
Please see our membership renewal page. For those of you who purchased a membership in 2020, thank you. We’re sorry the year didn’t live up to expectations. Hold onto your 2020 membership card and exchange it for 4 drink tickets at our next function. This year our worthy causes need your membership funds more than ever, so if you usually buy a membership just for fun, buy it for charity and fun this year and we promise the fun isn’t far off. Tell your managing partners, GC’s and executive directors that this is your bare minimum social responsibility, or better yet get out your wallets and claim a tax write off with our easy online renewal page.
While we did much less socializing, we did manage to continue to give back to the legal community as a result of your 2020 membership purchases in the following ways:
Milvain Chair in Advocacy: In 1979 the Calgary Bar Association helped to establish the first Visiting Chair in Advocacy in conjunction with the U of C Faculty of Law Trial Advocacy program. 42 years later, we proudly continued our contribution to this fine event and enjoyed virtually attending with our friends at the U of C Faculty of Law. This year The Honourable Madam Justice Sheilah Martin returned home from the Supreme Court of Canada and served as the 2021 Milvain Chair. She gave generously of her time along with many members of our bench and bar. She seemed exceptionally excited to receive a genuine limited edition Calgary Bar Association belt buckle, which we expect to see back in action at Stampede ASAP.
Calgary Bar Association Collegiality Bursary: This year a deserving U of C law student received $5600 thanks to the endowment made in our name several years ago which continues to grow and churn out a healthy scholarship every year. If the balance sheet allows we are exploring the expansion of our scholarships in 2021.
Charity Golf Tournament - Calgary Drug Treatment Court: In a year where so many in our community are feeling the effects of the pandemic, we felt that there was no more worthy recipient of the proceeds of our annual charity golf tournament than the Calgary Drug Treatment Court. The CDTC received $11,755 to assist with their ongoing operations. The golf tournament was once again sold out and we managed to get lucky with the timing during some relative COVID calm. We are happy to report that the tournament was conducted safely with some minor adjustments during amazing fall weather at the majestic Banff Springs Golf Course. (See our blog post for results and photos.) Watch for our notices for the 2021 tournament as 2020 sold out almost immediately and those on the waiting list were disappointed.
None of these events or contributions could have happened without the hard work of our executive team consisting of the following dedicated volunteers:
· Gord Sterchi, Vice President
· Jody Sutherland, Treasurer
· Aaron Bickman, Secretary
· Adriano Iovinelli, QC, Senior Member
· Melanie Gaston, Middle Member
· Deven Singhal, Junior Member
We will try once again this fall to send Past President Jerry Patterson, QC, out on the proverbial ice floe. Jerry, thank you for hanging around for an extra year to keep contributing after so many years of dedicated service. We promise this is it!
While “Save the Date” is so 2019, we are also planning to hold the following events in 2021 as soon as it can be done legally (see our Events page for more info):
· 1st Annual Calgary Bar Association Clay Shoot: Mark your calendars for May 14th! As the COVID rules stand right now, this event will proceed! No guns or experience necessary, we will shoot in groups of 5 and can accommodate smaller groups as well. This event will be held at the beautiful Silver Willow Sporting Club on the afternoon of the 14th. Meal and beverages to follow.
· The QC dinner is still a priority for our organization and we are working with our partners at the Westin to pounce on the first realistic date. Please stay tuned. This is always a sell out and tickets will only be available to Calgary Bar Association Members;
· Great Bar Band Battle: We will again be a key sponsor of this packed event. Our friends at the Great Bar Band Battle Society are doing their best to pull this one off soon. This is traditionally a May event expected to be rescheduled. We will help promote this event once cleared. Calgary Bar Association members will get 2 free drink tickets. www.barbandbattle.com
· Stampede Whoop-Up – We know this is a long shot, but we are ready! Go get your vaccines and we can hopefully release some pent up demand at our new location at the Craft on 10th rooftop patio. We have negotiated exclusive use of the whole bar this year and the roof is limited to the first 400. Calgary Bar Association members and guests only.
This year more than ever, we really, really look forward to seeing all of you at our events. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Jay Headrick
President,
Calgary Bar Association