At the October 29, 2016, Old Grace Housing Co-operative (OGHC) Annual General Meeting (AGM) members will have the opportunity to elect up to eight members of the OGHC Board of Directors
OGHC’s Articles of Incorporation permit a maximum of 12 Directors. The Directors are elected for two-year terms, with a portion of the Board being elected each year.
Gordon Clark, Sandra Hardy, Suzanne Hudson and Laura Rempel were elected at the 2015 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and will complete their terms in 2017.
Two Directors elected in 2015 (Lynn McLean and Diane Young) are not completing their terms.
As a result, the members can elect six directors to two-year terms and two directors to fill the remaining year of the members who are not filling their terms.
Members have the right to nominate other members or themselves to stand for election at the AGM
The following individuals have indicated their willingness to serve on the Board.
Denis Bracken
Denis has worked at the University of Manitoba since 1979. He currently is Associate Dean in the Faculty of Social Work. He joined Old Grace Housing Co-op in the autumn of 2014. He has community board experience and is currently the Vice-President of Rossbrook House and a board member of the Legal Help Centre. Past board experience includes the John Howard Society of Manitoba, the John Howard Society of Canada, the Manitoba Brain Injuries Association and the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work. He has lived in housing co-ops in Winnipeg (Oikos Housing Co-op) and Toronto (Campus Co-op Residences Inc.). Originally from New Jersey, he made his way to Winnipeg via Massachusetts, Toronto and London, UK.
Gerard Bzdel
Prior to becoming a member of OGHC in 2015, Gerard served as Campus Minister and classroom teacher at St. Mary’s Academy and St. Paul’s High School. He continues to function within Winnipeg as a counsellor and retreat/seminar facilitator and speaker. Additionally, he has served for numerous years on the board of the Prairie Jubilee Program through the U of W. Gerard also ran and managed his own landscaping and gardening company for 12 years and is passionate about the environment and sustainable living. He has been on the Site Committee for OGHC since 2015.
Victor Dobchuk
Victor was president of the media production company Malanka Productions, and served as a Producer with the social marketing firm NOW Communications. He has worked as a Locations Manager in the feature film industry and as a department supervisor for a local TV News station. Past employment included social and economic development roles with Manitoba Agriculture and Manitoba College and Universities, and program co-ordination with Canada World Youth in Costa Rica. His community involvement included board positions in a variety of organizations including Manitoba Film and Music and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Victor has been actively involved with the Old Grace Co-op Housing project since its inception.
Laura Sevenhuysen
Laura’s experience lies in the field of adult education. Trained as a clinical dietitian in England, she worked for Manitoba Health as a public health nutritionist, and then at Health Sciences Centre as a dietitian-educator, and was Coordinator of the HSC post-graduate dietetic training program until 2004. In her second life, she qualified as an ESL teacher and worked in China for a total of 6 years, teaching English to university students and other adults. Since retiring, Laura continues to teach English, as a volunteer with several newcomer programs.
Laura has been a member of Old Grace Housing Co-op since April 2012. She was a member representative on the Steering Committee from May/12 to Nov/13 and served as the group’s recording secretary. Laura was a member of the co-op’s Governance Committee from 2012 to 2014 and was involved in developing the co-op’s foundational documents and Organizational Bylaws. After a 1-year break in China, Laura rejoined the Governance Committee in 2015 and is actively involved in policy development. In summer 2015, Laura was appointed by the Board to fill an existing vacancy. As a result, her term expires in October 2016.
Laura would like to continue her involvement with the OGHC Board of Directors, and is interested in serving for a two-year term.
Carlos Sosa
Carlos is an urban inner-city studies student at the University of Winnipeg. He has been a member for close to two years and is currently a member of the marketing and community relations committee and has had previous involvement with the governance committee. He also brings a wealth of experience serving on community boards including the Canadian Federation of Students-Manitoba Component, Elmwood Community Resource Centre, Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities.
Randa Stewart
Randa has been involved with OGHC since retiring from her marketing career in 2014. For nearly 20 years, she was the Vice-President of Marketing & Communication at Assiniboine Credit Union. As a member of the senior management team, her role involved strategy, planning and budget; managing the credit union’s marketing programs; internal and external communication; advertising; brand management; media relations; and corporate giving. Randa is currently chairing the Marketing and Communications Committee. Randa’s most recent board position was with West End Cultural Centre. During her tenure, she participated in the major project that resulted in the construction of the new venue.