Notes from ELLA’s September Business Meeting

At ELLA’s business meeting on September 20, 2018, there were some new faces, so we started with a round of introductions from everyone there. Julie Rainey (ELLA co-chair) followed this by reading the blog post about Shaunna Mireau who was awarded an honorary lifetime membership at our AGM in June.

After recently amending the bylaws to allow all levels of ELLA membership to participate equally in the association, it was determined that it was time to conduct an overall review of the bylaws. If you would like to volunteer to assist the executive on this, please contact either Julie Rainey or Anke Eastwood.

Shane Allan (Secretary/Treasurer) reported that ELLA is doing well financially. Jane Symons will be conducting an audit in the near future.

The U of A has shown some interest in hosting Headstart in the future, and we are looking for volunteers for the committee. The program will be redesigned to meet the current needs of the articling students. It was agreed that it is important to continue on with the HeadStart program.

Josette McEachern and Megan Siu provided an update regarding the CALL Conference to be held in Edmonton on May 26-29, 2019. A call for proposals has recently been sent out to various groups. (Also see the post in ELLA’s blog!)

The remainder of the meeting was spent brainstorming about ideas for future meetings. Some of ideas discussed include: circle sentencing in Fort Saskatchewan; vendors forum (possibly a joint one with CLLG); government policy and procedure around the legalization of cannabis; bylaws and records management at the city clerk’s office; and information about the various offices in Edmonton that provide free legal information and/or advice. Please contact anyone on the ELLA executive if you have any other ideas.

The winners of our door prizes were Megan Siu, Sara Tokay and Lyla Reid. We hope to see you at our next meeting. Watch this blog and your email for an invitation.