Highlights of the Annual General Meeting of the 97th Annual INLNA Convention
Saturday, April 30, 2016, River Rock Casino Resort, Vancouver, BC
President Claire Eckley expressed her thanks for the opportunity to serve as President for the past two years and thanked the board members and volunteers. Claire’s past year was a busy one working with various committees and working to keep the INLNA visible within the various chapters. Some of the events Claire participated in took her to Iceland, Utah, Minneota, and Winnipeg.
Sunna Furstenau, 1st Vice President, thanked the various committees and their members for contributing their time to INLNA projects. Sunna will be hosting a meeting after the AGM to introduce Zoom Conferencing which will be used in future INLNA Conference calls. Sunna also highlighted two upcoming events, the 2016 Scandinavian Hjemkomst and Viking Festival, June 24- 25, 2016 in Moorhead, MN and the 2017 INLNA convention, May 4-7, 2017, in Grand Forks, ND.
Brad Hirst, 2nd Vice President, has been working on fundraising ideas, the Gimli portion of the 2016 Snorri West program, and discussions to help strengthen the ties between the INLNA and the INL of Iceland and the Snorri program, in addition to looking at ways to encourage new members and younger members to join the INLNA.
Treasurer, Candice Murphy, presented and discussed the 2015 financial reports which were accepted as presented. A discussion regarding the Donald K. Johnson Icelandic Film Series concluded that chapter clubs enjoy the film series and Gail Einarson-McCleery will continue to source films and financial backing will be pursued.
Ron Goodman advised that he is still pursuing Charitable Status for the INLNA and the recent change in the Canadian government is hindering this process.Ron Goodman presented the Nomination Slate for 2016 - 2017 and as there were no further nominations from the floor, the following individuals were declared as nominated:
Executive Officers:
President - Sunna Furstenau / Fargo, ND
Past President - Claire Eckley/ Inver Grove Heights / MN
1st Vice President - Brad Hirst / Selkirk, MB
2nd Vice President - Beverly Arason-Gaudet / Edmonton, AB
Treasurer - Candice Murphy / Gimli, MB
Executive Secretary - Gwen Grattan / Gimli, MB
Board of Directors:
Convention Coordinator -- David Johnson / Seattle, WA
Cultural and Youth -- Jody Arman-Jones / Farmington, MN
International Visits -- Alicyn Goodman / Winnipeg, MB
Marketing / Promotions -- Angel Johnson-Nelson / Spanish Fork, UT
Membership -- Erna Hakonardottir Pomrenke / Manassas, VA
Snorri West -- Gail Einarson-McCleery / Toronto, ON Web/Communications -- Holly Ralph / Ancaster, ON
Directors at Large:
-- Maria Bear / Selkirk, MB
-- Ashley Thorvaldson / Ottawa, ON
-- Joni Shaw / Sugar Grove, IL
-- John Hofteig / Glenview,IL
-- Cole Andrew Johnson / Asheville, NC
-- Dennis Oleson / Brandon, MB
-- Jolene Halldorson / Park River, ND
To conclude the meeting, President Sunna Furstenau, expressed her thanks for this opportunity and explained that the words on our INLNA Crest, RÖMM ER SÚ TAUG, mean Strong is the Bond, and she feels that Icelanders have a special bond so when we work as a team, this strong community reaches across our nations and Iceland.
Submitted by Bev Arason-Gaudet
SNORRI WEST VISITS CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA
This is the fifth year that INL NA has been organizing the Snorri West program, and having visited all four corridors in North America, the program returns to the centre of the country this year…the program will visit Minnesota, North Dakota, Winnipeg, Brandon, Gimli and the Interlake in 2016, taking in the Deuce of August, Icelandic Camp and Íslendingadagurinn. Dates are July 7 to August 4. They will be in the Interlake area Thursday July 21 to Tuesday August 2. They are very interested in the settlement story and seeing how Icelanders live in the area today. They will be visiting Gimli, Lundar, Riverton, Arborg and Hecla Island.
The four participants are all from Reykjavik or nearby and range in age from 24 to 29 They are -
Tómas Helgi Thomasson (taking a carpentry course), Vala Margret Jóhannsdóttir(will graduate in the Spring of 2016 with her M.Ed. in Sport and Health Science from the University of Iceland)
Sesselía Olafsdóttir, actor and writer, and Gunnlaug Birta Þorgrímsdóttir (taking arts at University of Iceland)
Submitted by Gail Einarson-McCleery
INLNA Board 2016/2017