General Meeting Tuesday April 17 2012 : A Call for New Leadership and Viewing of Tableland

PLEASE MARK THE DATE AND TIME (6:30pm) on your calendar

TABLELAND is a culinary expedition in search of the people, place and taste of North American small-scale, sustainable food production. Director Craig Noble argues for the re-localization of North American food systems, and a return to a fresher, healthier way of feeding ourselves. From the orchards of BC, the inner city gardens of Chicago to the Napa Highlands and everywhere in between, TABLELAND showcases the successful production of tasty, local, and seasonal food from field to plate. (Slow Food Canada’s own Mara Jenrigan and Sinclair Phillips are in this film.)

We would love to see you out: Great opportunity to meet new members!

Please indicate below in the comments section if you will be coming to our general meeting in April! We need to show support to our new President and Secretary – and if you believe you have the skills and could commit to the responsibilities of either position, please e-mail [email protected] by March 30, 2012.

This evening will include food, conviviality and an opportunity to vote in new leadership for our Slow Food Edmonton Convivium.

 Slow Food Edmonton General Meeting Tuesday April 17 2012 6:30 to 9pm

Who: All members of Edmonton Slow Food
What:
Slow Food Edmonton General Meeting
When:
Tuesday April 17 2012 6:30 to 9pm
Where:Edmonton Public Library, Idylwylde Branch, 8310 88 Avenue, T6C 1L1
Why: Voting in of Slow Food Edmonton Executive Positions: President and Secretary, as well as the Screening of Tableland (information here)
How: The purpose of this General meeting is to vote in a new President and Secretary for Slow Food Edmonton; we will share in the conviviality of some local treats as we watch the screening of this very special movie after the business of the meeting has concluded

SFE Leader Roles and Responsibilities

PRESIDENT

Is elected at each AGM and shall be in office until the following AGM.

The President shall:

  • devote approximately 90 minutes a week to SFE business, not including meeting time
  • be the sole spokesperson for the SFE
  • preside over all board and  meetings of the members of SFE
  • prepare the meeting agendas
  • ensure all meetings are conducted in an orderly, fair and respectful manner
  • ensure that the organizational business is carried out in accordance with the bylaws of Slow Food Edmonton and the tenets of Slow Food International
  • allow each member to express themselves appropriately
  • ensure the accountability of all projects, initiatives and activities of Slow Food Edmonton
  • convey information from Slow Food Canada and Slow Food International to members at large as well as convey information from Slow Food Edmonton to Slow Food Canada and Slow Food International as necessary

SECRETARY

Is elected at each AGM and shall be in office until the following AGM.

The Secretary shall:

  • devote approximately 90 minutes a month to SFE business, not including meeting time.
  • create and keep all records and archives for SFE
  • record minutes for all board and other meetings
  • find a replacement to record minutes in the event that s/he is unable to attend the meeting
  • assist the president with all responsibilities assigned to or by the president
  • circulate draft minutes to all members in attendance within ten days from the meeting date
  • circulate approved minutes to members at large within ten days of such approval
  • ensure members at large have access to approved meeting minutes
  • maintain a hard copy of all minutes and essential documents of SFE for prosperity and security


Cynthia Fawcett has offered her name up for the position of President
Cynthia Strawson has been a passionate advocate of Alberta’s food, agriculture and nutrition education communities for more than 20 years; growing up on a beef farm in west-central Alberta, as member’s representative on the Federal Agriculture Caucus (1992-93), as an employee of Alberta Agriculture’s Ag In The Classroom program (1993-95), as a member of the Growing Alberta Board of Directors (2005-2008), as provincial agriculture education volunteer with Northlands Park (2001-2007), and as communications manager in the U of A’s Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics (1997-2007).

Since 2002, Cynthia has studied and taught Italian Food Culture and the Mediterranean Diet between Italy and her home province of Alberta, including a lecture on the history, development and implications of the Slow Food movement.

She has been a member of the Slow Food Edmonton convivium for just over a year and an active member of the food social media community, particularly on twitter, facebook and LinkedIn.

Currently, Cynthia is Director of Marketing, Communications and Affinity Relationships at the U of A’s Office of Alumni Affairs.  She is also completing a Master’s of Science in Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Alberta, researching dietary patterns of Alberta’s future dietitians to determine if they’re following Canada’ Food Guide or the Mediterranean Diet and identifying ways Albertans can eat in the same healthy way the people of the Mediterranean traditionally have.

Addie Raghavan has offered his name up for the position of Secretary
Aditya Raghavan is a relatively recent transplant in the Edmonton community.  After completing his PhD in Los Angeles, he moved to Edmonton in the fall of 2009 to pursue further research in Mathematics and Physics.  Over the last couple of years, he’s immersed myself in the local food scene, through connections on twitter and attending social events.  My interests lie in garnering more support for local food sources, grocery stores that support local farms and restaurants that use local sources as best they can.Growing up in India, local food was a given for us.  My mother would go down to the market where she’d buy fresh vegetables, eggs and bread from farmers who would travel from their farm everyday to sell it.  That was the most accessible way of getting produce. When I first moved to North America, I was surprised by how little flavor vegetables in the supermarkets had.  That got me to learn about how most produce came from industrial farms.  Of course, in California, one could get local oranges around the year, so my worries were soon to go away.