We, the Board of Directors of The Prairie Gleaners, hope this newsletter finds you all safe and healthy. These are extremely trying times, with self-isolating and practicing social distancing in order to keep ourselves and our loved ones as safe as we possibly can.
Due to Alberta Health regulations regarding meeting in groups larger than 50 at that time, Hillcrest Church had to close for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) which would have also included the usual meal. We needed to have this meeting due to Government regulations, so we moved the meeting to the plant instead, but without the meal. At the AGM we held the election of officers, which involved half of the board needing to be elected every year. This year, due to three people leaving the board, we needed an election to replace them.
Our new board consists of the following people:
- Ed Codding – President
- Steve Mowers – Vice-President
- Jack Reddekopp – Secretary
- Jim Grossman – Treasurer
- Maintenance – Laverne Stehr
- Safety Coordinator – Clarence Dyck
- Fund Raising/Donor Info – Roy Hjelte
As you are probably aware, we have close the plant at least until the end of April due to the Covid19 pandemic. We want to keep our volunteers, and staff as safe as possible. We will be re-evaluating this at the end of the month, but will continue to follow the directions of Alberta Health Services, and Health Canada.
We have taken some steps to help our Local and Provincial communities deal with the pandemic. We have given some of our soup mix to the local Food Bank for use should they find themselves in a critical situation regarding food availability. We have contacted our local MLA, Drew Barnes, to ensure he is aware of us and affirm that we have soup mix available and are able to provide it at a moments notice. We have also joined a Provincial registry for organizations who are able, and willing, to provide support. In this case offering food through our soup mix. To date, we have not received a request from the Provincial Government, but the offer is there.
New Face Book Page
Find us on Facebook at Prairie Gleaners Society, like us, tell your friends about us. We will be posting info about open/close dates, etc. both on this page as well as on our website.
One of the evaporators on the cooling system developed a leak and had to be replaced as the cooler was not working. All is up and running properly.
Even though the plant is temporarily closed, we still have ongoing expenses such as utilities, taxes etc. You can still make a donation online or by sending a cheque to the plant at: P.O. Box 656, Medicine Hat, AB T1A 7G6