President’s Message from”Alumnae News: Final Edition” Spring, 2012
Greetings to everyone. There are so many individuals to thank and acknowledge in bringing this great organization to its final chapter. There is much to celebrate, and words cannot express what gratitude I have to the entire Executive for its very careful planning process. It has been a privilege to have been your president for the past six years.
Where there are endings, there are also beginnings. We will leave a lasting legacy to the Hospital for Sick Children. The Alumnae Association of the School of Nursing Endowment Fund will provide learning opportunities to nurses for many years to come. We will also support the Archives as part of our legacy.
Nurses’ week was held at Sick Kids the week of May 9, 2011. This was the final year to present the Ruth Duncan McCamus Award. This year the award was presented to Tara McKeown. The Maria Gyorossy-Csepreghy Kluge Award will continue to be presented each year and was given to Joanna Peddle.
Many of you attended a class reunion this past year. Some classes took the opportunity during our AGM and Celebration held on November 12, 2011. I congratulate the Class of 1961 who celebrated its 50th anniversary at the hospital on May 16th. Many thanks to Margaret Keatings and her staff for making the occasion such a success each year. We have created a Memorandum of Understanding to ensure the Nursing Office celebrates with the last remaining classes from ’62 to ’75. Each class representative will contact the Nursing Office to arrange the dates.
Our website is now up and running at hscnursingalumnae.org and is part of our legacy. Eleanor Low and Karen Hunter are the creators and keepers of the website for the time being. It is now our new “Connections”. Please send in your stories, your class reunions and other information. Thanks to both for their innovation.
Our class representatives are now the key to staying connected. Thanks to each of you who have taken on this task. Let your class rep know of any changes – they, along with the website, are the key to staying connected.
There is a transition team in place for another year or two. This group will finalize all of the financial commitments and any outstanding business. The team consists of Carolyn Hitchinson, President, Karen Hunter, Treasurer, and the Past President.
The database will eventually be turned over to the Foundation and the archives. Please let us know if you want your address removed from the database. I can be reached at [email protected].
Finally, I wish to thank each of you for the honour of serving as your President. My time with the organization is one of the highlights in my life. I too am very proud to say “I’m a Sick Kids Grad”.
Best regards always from your President.
Julie McLean-Squires, Cl’67