Dear TLC Members,

On behalf of TLC’s Board of Directors, I’m pleased to invite you to our 2024 Annual General Meeting. This year TLC’s AGM will be held on Saturday, September 28, at 1:00 p.m. at the Cordova Bay United Church Hall located at 813 Claremont Avenue in Victoria. I hope you will be able to join us for refreshments and an update on our conservation achievements from this past fiscal year. Please find details including the Board of Directors’ slate of nominees and our election procedures following this letter.

Since our last AGM, TLC’s Board and staff have been drafting a Strategic Plan to guide us over the next five years. Our approach builds upon the organization’s history and achievements to date, our programming today, and our vision for TLC at its best in five years. Our Strategic Plan recognizes the lands of vital importance that we are entrusted with as well as the many partners we collaborate with to achieve successful stewardship. Our goals and objectives reflect areas of concern including our changing climate and the needs of our communities. Further, it considers our internal resources and programming, and how we can expand our network of support and capacity to achieve greater successes in conservation together. You can view the plan by visiting www.conservancy.bc.ca/strategicplan or request a copy by calling 1-877-485-2422 or emailing membership@conservancy.bc.ca. We would love to hear what excites you and where you see yourself supporting or getting involved. We aim to adopt the Strategic Plan with membership at our AGM in the fall.

I hope you will be able to join us in September to review TLC’s programming from the 2023/24 fiscal year. Should you be unable to attend our AGM, TLC’s Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements will be available on our website or in hard copy by request in September. If you have any questions, please reach out via the contact info above. We truly appreciate your continued engagement and support of our conservation projects and programming.

Sincerely,

Jeff Sheldrake
Board Chair

TLC’s 2024 Annual General Meeting
1 p.m. on Saturday, September 28, 2024
Cordova Bay United Church Hall
813 Claremont Ave, Victoria

In keeping with TLC’s bylaws, a Nominations Committee was struck to recruit candidates for the Board of Directors for your consideration. The maximum number of Directors is 13. Directors are elected for a three-year term with a limit of three consecutive terms. There are currently 11 Directors. Seven Directors (whose terms are not ending) will be continuing. They include Tom Cimolai, Penny Crawford, Gina Delimari, Bil Hetherington, Lizzy Mos, Jeff Sheldrake, and Andrew Stewart. There are six positions open to nominations. Paleah Black Moher, Kelly Fretwell, Mel Lehan, and Fran Sloan Sainas have reached the end of their terms and stand for re-election.

Please keep in mind the following election procedures and timetable:

  • Following receipt of this letter, members may nominate other candidates. Further nominations are welcomed and must be received by TLC no later than August 2. They must be signed by five TLC Members and include a written confirmation from the nominee that he/she/they agrees to stand for election. A short biography of the nominee must also be included.
  • If we receive more nominations than vacant positions, an election will be held. If the same number or fewer nominations are received than vacant positions, nominees will be elected by acclamation.
  • Should an election be required, election materials and ballots will be sent to all TLC Members in good standing. Ballots will be sent by email to each member for whom we have a valid email address and by mail to all others.  Ballots will be sent by August 24.  Ballots must be returned in the manner set out in the election materials.  Successful candidates will be announced at the AGM.
  • Please note that to be eligible to vote you must be a member in good standing by August 14.

The Nominations Committee is pleased to announce the following candidate for your consideration:

Paleah Black Moher

Paleah Moher, PhD, RPBio, has over a decade of experience in the field of environmental toxicology and human health risk assessment. She has technical expertise in understanding the potential health impacts of pollution in air, water, land, and food. Paleah is a ministerial appointed scientific advisor for the Federal Government’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency. She has chaired various academic working groups and advisory teams, lectured at various universities, and worked with the UN to develop and implement several successful international occupational health and safety programs on mercury. As someone from the Canadian Arctic with strong familial ties to the Inuit, she has a deep appreciation for the value of Indigenous ways of knowing and true partnership in land conservation.

Kelly Fretwell

Kelly Fretwell has a science communication role with the Hakai Institute, a scientific research organization based in coastal British Columbia. Her initial love of coastal B.C. ecology came from exploring shorelines and forests while growing up on the Saanich Peninsula, followed by inspiring field-based courses focused on biodiversity and restoration during her BSc in biology and environmental studies at the University of Victoria. She also has a Masters of Marine Management from Dalhousie University. Prior to working for Hakai, Kelly’s employment experience was similarly focused on biodiversity and connecting people to nature in non-profit and academic settings, as a citizen science project coordinator with the B.C. Parks Foundation; an ecosystems technician with the Mayne Island Conservancy; and a research assistant with the Starzomski Biodiversity Lab at UVic. This is her second term with TLC.

Mel Lehan

Mel is a long time community activist who is interested in preserving and protecting special places.  Some of his successful projects include; saving a heritage church from being torn down and then turning it into a thriving community space – St. James Community Square; preserving the character neighbourhood of West Kitsilano by getting a bylaw to stop demolition of houses in that area; helping to have part of the Point Grey Foreshore declared a natural foreshore in perpetuity and thus not allowing development in this oasis of urban nature. Mel was also instrumental in bringing a Farmer’s Market to Kitsilano.

Fran Sloan Sainas

Fran is a retired educator and former manager in the hospitality industry. Her relationship with TLC began in 2001 when she was working at the Open Learning Agency and completing her Masters Degree in Leadership and Training at Royal Roads University. TLC sponsored her major project, Building an Educational Strategy for TLC. Since 2001, she has been an active member, TLC Lower Mainland Committee representative, financial supporter of TLC and a member of the Board since 2015. She is invigorated by the positive growth and direction of TLC and wants to continue to be part of the leadership team. TLC has an opportunity to be part of the federal government’s commitment “to protect 30% of our territory by 2030” with TLC’s covenant program and land protection initiatives. TLC is also part of the solution with First Nations reconciliation through projects like SISȻENEM (Halibut Island) with the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council. Finally, linked to her Masters degree, TLC has become a leader in naturalists education with TLC’s Deertrails program. She wants to continue to serve on the TLC Board and work with TLC’s devoted and competent staff to ensure that TLC’s future remains sustainable and impactful.