Building Homes. Building Hope. 2015 Annual General Meeting
Building Homes. Building Hope.
2015 Annual General Meeting
Building Homes. Building Hope.
ABOUT US
Habitat for Humanity Camrose builds decent, simple and affordable homes in partnership with families
and the community. Habitat Camrose was founded in 1996, and has built 26 homes to date.
Habitat sells homes at fair market value to hardworking families with low income at a payment they can
afford. We offer a zero interest mortgage which allows families to make the leap from renting to owning.
Families break the cycle of poverty by building equity in their home and build hope for a brighter future.
Habitat Camrose operates a ReStore, a retail outlet selling new and used home building materials,
furniture, and appliances to the public. Revenue generated from these donated products covers our
administrative costs, and ensures that 100% of every dollar donated to Habitat Camrose goes toward
building homes. All profits from ReStore also fund our home construction program.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY PHILOSOPHY
Vision
A world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live.
Mission
To mobilize volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting
homeownership as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Values
Housing for All: We believe that access to safe, decent and affordable housing is a basic human right
that should be available to all.
Human Dignity: We believe in the worth and dignity of every human being. We respect the people we
serve and those that help us in this effort and recognize them as our greatest resource.
Partnership: We believe we can best achieve our mission through meaningful and mutually-beneficial
partnerships with others.
Faith in Action: We believe that faith is lived through action. Building on our Christian foundation, we
serve and work with people of all faith and beliefs in a spirit of justice and compassion.
Diversity & Inclusiveness: We believe there is a role for everyone committed to our vision, mission and
values and we seek to enrich our organization through diversity.
Habitat for Humanity Camrose Board of Directors
2014-2015
Director Position Term
Mark Schneider President 2012 - 2014
Tamara Saby Vice President 2014 - 2016
Margaret Falk Secretary 2014 - 2016
Derek Radchenko Treasurer 2013 – 2015
Charlotte Nesbitt Member 2012 - 2014
Les Hanberg Member 2013 – 2015
Paul Grue Member 2012 - 2014
Alix Baker-Aziz Member 2014 - 2016
John Howard Member 2014 - 2016
Janet Hatch Member 2014 - 2016
Greg Genest Member 2014 - 2016
Lee Foreman Member 2015 - 2017
2014 Donors and Community Partners
Major Donors
National Partners
Local Partners
Osram Sylvania Ltd. Schneider Electric Torlys Inc. Whirlpool Canada Inc.
All Weather Windows Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating CGC Inc. Hunter Douglas
A-1 Rentals A-1 Septic Altario Appraisals Anna A. Harder, CGA Awareness Academy Bank of Montreal Bardo Lutheran Church Battle River Community Foundation Big Lake Sod Farm Boden Sand and Gravel Border Paving Ltd. Bra Necessities Brager Excavating Brent Little Plumbing Business IQ Training Camrose Composite High School Camrose Concrete Camrose Rental Shoppe Cargill City of Camrose Cloud 9 Day Spas Curves DW French Engineering Edberg Crop Management EMCO Corporation Farm Credit Canada (FCC) Fielding and Company LLP From Kicks to Kids Grant Thornton LLP
Fossen Excavating Hagen Surveys Hauser Home Hardware Building Centre Imagine Vintage Wear Interiors on Main JTB Electric Ken's Concrete Knights of Columbus Mark’s Work Wearhouse McSLiquors One Tooth Active Wear OPT Inc. RBC Royal Bank Randy Olson Construction Raymond Olson Drywall Rona Rotary Club of Camrose Daybreak Sandcrest Drywall and Painting Starbucks T&L Insulation Timberline Roofing The Bethany Group University of Alberta Augustana Campus Wideman Carpet One Wideman Paint and Décor Windwood Signs and Graphics Wiseman’s Way Zetsen Master Builders Inc.
Annual General Meeting Agenda Habitat for Humanity Camrose ReStore
May 5, 2015, 7:00 pm
1. Welcome from President: Mark Schneider
2. Devotion: Signi Bruner, Faith Relations Committee
3. Approval of Agenda
4. Approval of Minutes of 2014 Annual General Meeting
5. Reports
a. President
b. Treasurer
c. Executive Director
d. Construction Manager
e. Family Services Committee Chair
f. ReStore Manager
6. Review of 2014 Financial Statement
a. Grant Burgess - Grant Thornton LLP
7. Appointing of Auditor for 2015
8. Election of Board Members
a. Retiring from the Board
i. Alix Baker-Aziz
ii. John Howard
iii. Les Hanberg
iv. Mark Schneider
v. Leona Calhoun
vi. Charlotte Nesbitt
b. Board Members Continuing to 2015
i. Derek Radchenko
c. Board Members Continuing to 2016
i. Tamara Saby
ii. Margaret Falk
iii. Janet Hatch
iv. Greg Genest
d. Board Members Continuing to 2017
i. Paul Grue
ii. Shay Barker
e. Board Appointed Members to be Elected to 2017
i. Lee Foreman
ii. Jadene Mah
9. Election of President from Among Board Members
10. Recognition of Volunteer of the Year
11. Adjournment
2014 AGM Minutes Habitat for Humanity Camrose
April 28 2014, 5:30pm
ReStore, 5007 – 46 St., Camrose, AB
In Attendance: Ray Leduc, Daisy Leduc, Ed Turner, Dwayne Wohlgemuth, Cheryll Findlay,
Larry Schultz, Les Hanberg, Mary Broen, Tyson Carroll, Mackenzie Carroll, Dallas Johnston,
John Howard, Shirley Connelly, Janet Hatch, Cody McCarroll, Mike Dunnigan, Barry Stotts,
Bill Sears, Tamara Saby, Charlotte Nesbitt, Ron Grue, Paul Grue, Doug Tien, Grant Burgess,
Derek Radchenko, Kenneth Dzus, Courtenay Dzus. (14 members: quorum reached)
1. Paul Grue called the meeting to order at 5:35pm
2. Cody delivered the devotion.
3. Adoption of the Agenda –
a. Motion to adopt the agenda as circulated. - Les, Tamara, carried
4. Minutes from last year’s AGM –
a. Motion to adopt the minutes of the 2013 AGM as presented and circulated. -
Charlotte, Les, carried
5. New Business
a. Board Recommendation to Repeal Existing Bylaws and Approve Revised
Bylaws.
i. Motion to bring to the floor – John, Larry
ii. Special Resolution: Motion - That the existing bylaws of Habitat for
Humanity - Camrose Society be repealed and be replaced with the revised
Bylaws attached to this notice of meeting – John, Tamara, carried.
6. Reports
a. Cody moved to accept the reports as presented, seconded by Ron – carried.
7. Review of 2013 Financial Statement
a. Motion to accept the 2013 Financial Statements as presented. – Ron, Less –
carried
8. Motion to appoint Grant Thorton LLP as accountants for the 2014 year – Larry, Daisy –
carried
9. Election of Board Members
a. Board Members continuing to 2015
i. Les Hanberg
b. Board Members continuing to 2014
i. Charlotte Nesbitt
ii. Mark Schneider
iii. Leona Calhoun
iv. Derek Radchenko
c. Board Retirements
i. Olaf Clausen
ii. Ron Grue
d. Board Members to be elected to 2016
i. Tamara Saby
ii. John Howard
iii. Alix Baker-Aziz
iv. Janet Hatch
v. Motion to adopt the appointment of the new board members recommended
by the board – Charlotte, Ron - carried
10. Election of President from Among Board Members
a. Call for nominations:
i. Paul Grue nominates Mark Schneider
ii. John Howard moves that nominations cease
iii. Motion to elect Mark Schneider as Board President. John, Tamara, carried.
11. Recognition of Volunteer of the Year – Ron Grue
12. Adjournment
a. Motion to adjourn – Cody, Charlotte, carried
b. Meeting ended at 7:05 pm
President’s Report – Mark Schneider
As we approach our 2015 AGM we reflect on what the past year has brought and especially look forward
to the future.
In the past year our community, supported by our own affiliate staff, constructed beautiful homes for two
families. The key presentation ceremony, in which the families are welcomed to their new homes and
their homes are blessed for their use, was very touching and reminded us again that our work together is
about families – providing parents and children with a chance to begin new experiences and memories in
their own homes. Our organization is so very fortunate to have many volunteers that understand this
feeling and who help us make these dreams a reality. We are also very blessed to have great partners that
share our vision and are willing to work with us to ensure that we are providing affordable home
ownership in Camrose.
I cannot say enough about our volunteers!! We are an organization that grows based on the generosity of
this community!! I can honestly say that this community has re-acquainted itself with Habitat for
Humanity and we are excited about our numbers of volunteers!! We can see that all who come are truly
excited about being part of the “hand up” we are providing, as they are tired of just giving a “hand out”!! I
see the passion and hear the stories of the families and in some cases it is heart wrenching and yet here
they are, standing tall telling their stories, sharing the hope that HFH Camrose (which is everyone of you
reading this) has given them and it is very inspiration to all. And this is why people get involved, it is to
bring hope……. to change someone’s life for the better……… to make a difference. We are making a
difference, not only in the lives of the Partner Families; we are making a difference in every volunteer’s
life. Now we must tell those stories as well, people must know how we are blessed because we give of
ourselves to make a difference in someone else’s life.
As I think of what we are doing when we volunteer, I think of 1 Corinthians 13. We get so busy in our
lives that we pass right by people in our effort to get things done and often we are more concerned with
producing results than with caring for people and even the most “spiritual” activities are pointless without
love!! This is where 1 Corinthians 13 comes in, I see people changing their “daily lives” and volunteering
because they want to make a difference, they want to show their love for others!! An article I read
recently challenged the readers to re-write 1 Corinthians 13 in their own words using specific references
to their own situation. For example, a parent may write, “Though my family has all the food they can eat,
if I don’t give them love, they will starve.” With this in mind I want to say Thank You to all our
volunteers for sharing your love with us and I ask that you share your stories of your experiences and how
you have shared your love. How has that benefited the Partner Families, how has it benefited you and
how has it benefited the community? We are told to share our love and I ask that you share yours now!!
Share it by continuing to volunteer or by starting to volunteer
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Staff. Over the past year our visibility in the community
has been elevated and this is largely due to the continued passion and hard work of our staff. From the top
down, each one works as though they owned the business and the result is where we are today, excelling
in all areas. Thank you for your passion and dedication to ensuring that we can continue to give a hand up
to families in need!!! You, along with all our volunteers and partners are writing our future, with Love,
one family at a time!!
Treasurer’s Report – Derek Radchenko
Highlights Noted From the Calendar Year Ended December 31, 2014:
- The 2014 build of a duplex was completed in July 2014 in which the homes were
dedicated shortly after completion. It was a wonderful occasion to attend to see how
excited the families were to be in a new home.
- ReStore was a huge success in 2014 and was a main part in the growth for the
organization as the net profit is used to finance all operating expenses as well as help with
the build costs
- Volunteer support in the ReStore was amazing in 2014 and we cannot express our
gratitude for all those people who share our passion in the effort to provide low income
families with better options in life and improved support for home ownership
- Cash at December 31, 2014 was $161,000 compared to $92,000 at December 31, 2013.
This improvement in cash position is large in part to a significant grant from the City of
Camrose which has brightened the future of our organization and also gives so much
more financial opportunity such as building up the land bank for future builds.
- Two more new partner families in 2014 means higher mortgage revenue for 2015 and as
time goes on the revenue essentially keeps growing which in part will continue to help
fund Habitat for Humanity builds and keep our organization strong for many years to
come
Executive Director’s Report - Cody McCarroll
Summary
Habitat Camrose constructed two homes in 2014 for hardworking families, and built its capacity in the
areas of governance, fundraising, staffing, marketing and communications, and family services.
Governance
HFH Camrose improved its high-level leadership and its management. The Board approved a budget for
2014 along with HFH Camrose’s first ever operational plan. The operational plan and budget align with
the goals set out in our strategic plan. This level of planning enabled the Board to approve the purchase of
our first land bank, upon which 6 homes can be built. We have clear title to these properties. With a
revised set of bylaws in place, the Board is in the process of approving a 140 page policy manual which
formalizes our governance policies and operational procedures.
Fundraising
We continue to receive funds from the City of Camrose Municipal Block Funding program. This funding
was instrumental in maintaining our building capacity of two homes per year. Our Adopt-A-Day program
grew from partnerships with businesses and schools; in 2015, there is a waiting list for groups to
volunteer at the building site. The Battle River Community Foundation also provided funding.
We had a successful second annual “Building Hope” fundraiser in partnership with FCC and UFA. We
also successfully partnered with the University of Alberta Augustana campus on a door-to-door
fundraising drive. A direct mail fundraising campaign concluded the year. Growing ReStore profits and
our “Fund for Humanity” provide increasing internal sources of revenue.
Staffing
The part-time Project Coordinator to assist with fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and volunteer support
has been instrumental in exponentially increasing our number of volunteers and raising our fundraising
capacity. Existing ReStore staff admirably handled the increased volume of donations and sales. ReStore
staff and volunteers, as well as the Project Coordinator, continue to be key drivers of growth.
Construction Manager Larry Schultz is to be commended for his expertise for once again bringing the
construction project to completion on time and under budget.
Marketing and Communications
We achieved marked increases in local media coverage and social media exposure. We were in the
newspaper over 30 times, including 3 cover stories. Spinoff effects of our increased profile has been a rise
in unsolicited partner family applications and a rise in the number of volunteers.
Family Services
The committee has done excellent work in selecting and supporting families. The Dzus and Carroll
families moved in to their homes in July 2014. We began our partnership with the Davidson and Garcia
families, whose homes will be completed in July 2015. The Wetzstein family has recently been approved
for a home to be built in 2016. It is a privilege to work with the committee and these families.
Construction Manager’s Report - Larry Schultz
Habitat for Humanity Camrose undertook and completed a duplex project in 2014. The project
was located at 5202 & 5204 41 Street.. The building is a 2 bedroom bi level design with 920
square feet on the main floor. The basements were fully completed for both of the units to
provide the additional bedrooms required for their children.
The excavation for the project was started on March 17, 2014 with the project completed on July
24, 2014. We used both subcontractors for various parts of the project and volunteers to
complete the 2014 build. We were fortunate to have both individuals and some small/mid-size
groups to help with different aspects of the building project. Thanks to the volunteers the
families were able to move into their new homes during the week of Aug 1, 2014.
The construction for the 2015 project is current in construction phase. We were able to start the
excavation for the project on March 10, 2015. The project consists of a duplex unit with the
same floor plan as the 2014 projects. The location for the 2015 build is 7014 & 7016 50 Street
and is adjacent to the 2 previous duplexes built in the Cascades subdivision. The framing for the
building has been completed, shingles installed, insulation installed, electrical, plumbing and
heating rough in completed and the siding is 90% completed. The drywall installation should be
completed by May 5th as well as the exterior siding, soffits and fascia.
Subcontractors were engaged to complete the framing, shingling, electrical, plumbing, concrete
basement floor, heating and drywall installation similar to the 2013 and 2014 projects.
Thanks to Brenda Murdock’s efforts we have many groups of volunteers who have worked on
various aspects of the project and are committed to completing upcoming work at the site. Nearly
70 different people have volunteered on the 2015 build site with another with an further 60 – 70
expected for future aspects of this year’s build. Special thanks to the 7 experienced individuals
who have assisted with the supervision of the groups or have committed to an upcoming group
activity. Groups that have committed to the 2015 build are as follows:
Golden Valley Lutheran Church – Viking Camrose Police
Starbucks OLMP Students
CCHS Students Curves
Superstore Camrose Women’s Shelter
Stockman’s Chophouse Kiwanis
Scotia Bank Augustana Alumni
CIBC Pensioners Alberta Treasury Branches
Farm Credit Corporation Bethany
RBC Cargill
TransCanada Pipelines
Larry Schultz is acting as construction manager for the 2015 build and looks forward to working
with our various volunteers to provide a hand up for 2 more families in Camrose.
Family Services Committee Report – Pat Johnston
This committee has had a busy year. We have seen more turn over in membership this year and
are at this time a committee of seven. We would welcome more members and are actively trying
to recruit at this time.
The Family Partnering and Selection Manual is now complete and loaded online for access to all
members. This was accomplished with much help from Cody McCarroll and Leona Calhoun.
Our new process for managing applicants has helped to streamline the selection process and we
are meeting our guidelines to respond within 7 days for new short form applicants. A member is
assigned to the applicant and makes contact with them. After a telephone conversation a decision
about meeting to provide the long form application is made. Once the long form is returned the
member reviews it and brings the information to the committee for a decision on acceptance,
deferral or rejection.
2014-15 Stats on Applications:
Total Short Form Applications received Jan 2014 to Dec 2014: 23
Long form applications given out in this period: 10
2015 Year to date short form applicants: 8
Year to date Long form applications given out: 4
Family Davidson was selected as our second 2015 partner family.
We are still seeing significant numbers of applicants with an income too low to qualify, while
some others exceed the CNIT significantly. The committee members are following up with the
applicants with outstanding long forms and also with previous applicants to see if their financial
status, residency or other limiting factors have been resolved. Several of the applicants with long
form applications now are waiting for their income tax to be calculated to complete the
paperwork.
The Family Selection and Partnering Committee has begun a more interactive role with our
Partner Families. We held the first Partner Family Pot Luck Supper at the Restore in March. We
had four partner families participate including one of the earliest Habitat families. We hope to
hold another in the early summer and one of our partner families has generously offered to host
an event at their home during the summer season. Our hope is that we will remain in closer
contact with our families after they have moved into their homes. All who attended the first
event enjoyed themselves and we will try to hold the next event on a weekend day to encourage a
larger participation. We have polled the families to see if they are interested in a presentation
(perhaps a home repair workshop) to be held in conjunction with the pot luck and will work on
changing up the Agendas for future events.
Committee Members are: Leona Calhoun; Vice Chair, Cheryll Findlay; Secretary, Michele Ball;
Treasurer, Ruth Ford, Usha Manaloor and Jeff Trumpour.
ReStore Manager’s Report – Peter Blais
2014 was another successful year for the ReStore with a year over year increase in sales of
19.76%. Sales in 2014 were $429,628 compared to $358,727 in 2013. Profit in 2014 was
$261,203 or 60.77% as compared to $235,289 or 65.45% in 2013.
The sales success is attributable to several factors. Donations from the private individuals
decreased from 2005 donations to 1694 in 2014, a decrease of 16%, however the average value
of donations increased from $179 to $254 or a 41.9% increase. In addition we received a
shipment of windows and doors from All Weather Windows of which half of the shipment sold
immediately. The larger windows are still selling but at a much slower rate due to smaller
demand for these sizes. A truckload of goods from the Brampton was also organized. This GIK
donation which has procurement and shipping costs associated with the order also sold
reasonably well. Finally, a onetime National donation from Home Depot for lighting fixtures was
well received by the ReStore clientele and 80% sold out by year end.
The store continued to raise awareness in the community by participating in several events. A do-
it-yourself event was organized where ReStore clients borrowed materials from the store and
refurbished the product in a creative way. The refurbished products were displayed at the CRE
trade show and sold at a better value than the original material would have sold for. The ReStore
also participated in the Camrose Parade as well as continued to advertise in the local papers. We
feel these efforts have increased awareness of the ReStore which in turn increased our sales
significantly in 2014.
The addition of Dwayne as a full time associate has allowed us to improve our level of customer
service in the store. Dwayne has proved to be a valuable asset in picking up donations as he is
very adept at handling the physical demands of the task and also has a very friendly manner with
the donors. Dwayne has also demonstrated good judgement in what should be accepted or
rejected as a donation which has helped with the quality of the product we are selling.
A pre-Christmas sales event did not fare well and will be re-evaluated in 2015. 10% Tuesdays
seems to have lost its attraction with our clientele in the latter half of 2014 and will also be re-
evaluated in 2015.
Our top selling products are in the categories of furniture, appliances, windows and doors in that
order. Square foot allocation is being evaluated to maximize effectiveness for each of these
categories and adjustments will be made accordingly.
We are looking forward to a successful 2015, building on what was learned in 2014.
Peter Blais
ReStore Manger
In collaboration with
Ed Turner