Happy City St. John’s is excited to announce that we will be holding our Annual General Meeting on September 18th at 7 PM. This will be a hybrid event, so you may join us in person at The Lantern at 35 Barnes Road or online through Zoom (link to follow). We’ll be doing a few things at this event:

REFLECTING ON THE CITY AND ON OUR WORK IN 2024
The board of Happy City will give an overview of recent issues the city has been facing this year, and of the events we’ve held and initiatives we’ve worked on in 2024.

OUR UPDATED VALUES AND BELIEFS

The city continues to face new challenges and the landscape for the media and for community organizations like ours is changing fast. To help us plan for the years to come we spent the summer thinking about what Happy City St John’s stands for. We will unveil our new statement of values and beliefs which will be the foundation for the next board’s planning. We hope it will help you and others better understand what we are trying to do and why, and we would like to hear if there’s anything we should add or change.

2025 – A BUSY AND IMPORTANT YEAR TO COME

Just a year from the AGM, the St John’s City Council will have its next election, and as we have done in past years we will be doing what we can to help the public understand what is at stake in the election, learn more about the issues, and hear the candidates explain and defend what they stand for.

ELECTING NEW DIRECTORS TO OUR BOARD

If you’re passionate about civic engagement and making your city a better place, or if you know someone who could help us steer Happy City through this crucial upcoming year, there will be a number of open positions on the board. It’s easy to apply and you can nominate yourself. All the information you need can be found here. Admission is free, the venue is fully accessible, and light refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you, in person or virtually. The chance to meet new civic-minded residents is one of the best parts of these events!

If you’re passionate about civic engagement and making your city a better place, or if you know someone who could help us steer Happy City through this crucial upcoming year, joining our board could be a great opportunity to develop new skills, share your experience, meet other civic-minded people, and of course help make St. John’s a better place. Consideration of new potential board members will take place at our upcoming Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 18th September, so if you are interested, please let us know before then.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Happy City St. John’s has an active volunteer board, and members should expect to spend at least 10-15 hours per month working with colleagues, volunteers and partners on our events and long term projects. We encourage all members to bring their own ideas for projects and partnerships, and we help each other to develop and deliver new initiatives.
WHO SHOULD APPLY
We are seeking board members with a variety of skill sets, including but not limited to policy, advocacy, communications, and fundraising and financial management. Happy City St. John’s believes all citizens’ experiences must be at the centre of the work we do and therefore we strongly encourage nominations from people of diverse backgrounds and different lived experiences. If you are passionate about making your community a better place, we’d love to hear from you.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Individuals can simply nominate themselves by completing this online form. Anyone can stand for election, except current elected government officials or candidates. You will be asked to provide a brief bio which will be shared on the website and via email in advance of the general meeting to inform members who are planning on attending and voting. You will also be asked to share a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in a board role during the AGM.

The election of new board members takes place at the AGM. Members will vote following the introduction of all candidates (this can also be done by those watching online), and the newly-elected board will decide which members will be on the executive at the following board meeting.

If you have any questions about the whole process, please contact Elizabeth Oliver, our Secretary, at secretary@happycity.ca