Dear Friends,

It is an honour to be writing to you for the first time as Chair of the London Goodenough Association of Canada. Having been involved with the organization for a number of years as a Board member, I have enjoyed being part of an exciting period of growth and expansion for the LGAC, and have had the pleasure of working with, and meeting, a truly outstanding group of Canadians. It has also been extremely rewarding meeting some of our Scholarship winners from the past several years, and learning of their successes at Goodenough College, and beyond. I look forward to seeing more alumni at LGAC events, and to working with our very enthusiastic Board members throughout my term as Chair.

I must begin by thanking my predecessor, Kate McCrone, who chaired the LGAC Board, so ably and enthusiastically over the past three years. Kate has been an avid supporter of this association, and fortunately for us, will continue to play an active role with the LGAC. And, I wish to thank Rob Douglas who helps keep the LGAC running smoothly, and successfully, as it becomes more active in a wider number of areas.

I would also like to express my gratitude to retiring Board members: Dr. Richard Helmstadter, Past Chair and Treasurer, and a keen supporter of the LGAC, Rachel Pulfer, who worked enthusiastically on our website and newsletter, and Halifax Director and LGAC supporter, Dr. Jerry Bannister. And I warmly welcome our new Toronto Directors, Kristine Alexander, (LGAC scholarship winner 2006-2007), Charles Finlay, and Lucia Liscio, along with new Montreal Director, Andrew Hammond.

Since last spring, the Board members have been busy with many activities. A most exciting week of events took place in June, when Major General Andrew Ritchie, and his wife Camilla, visited Canada.

Andrew and Camilla enjoyed a variety of events in Toronto, most notably the June 11th AGM and Reception at Massey College. The evening was a great occasion for the LGAC, with over 50 members attending from the Toronto area, including four of this year’s scholarship winners. Earlier that same day, Andrew also had the opportunity to have lunch with several Board members, and some of our more recent LGAC alumni, thanks to Robert Black who hosted the event at his law office. I must also thank Michael Graham, and Rob Douglas, who financially supported this event.

On June 12th, Andrew flew to Ottawa for another few days full of LGAC events. Upon his arrival, Andrew was welcomed by Ottawa members at a reception held in the Rideau Club. On the next day, Andrew and several Board members, along with Ottawa-area donors and LGAC supporters, were treated to lunch at Earnscliffe, the British High Commissioner’s residence. Anthony Cary, and his wife Claire, were gracious hosts and invited Andrew back to stay the next time he was in Ottawa – needless to say, this luncheon further underlined the strong ties the LGAC enjoys with representatives of the British Government here in Canada.

The day continued with Andrew having a private tour of Parliament, given by alumnus and MP Paul Zed. Paul then hosted dinner in the Parliamentary Dining Room, where Andrew was joined by alumnus and MP David McGuinty, and a dozen LGAC Directors and members. Before having to return to London, Andrew also enjoyed a private tour of the National War Museum, given by the Museum’s Director of Research, Dr. Dean Oliver, and kindly arranged by Ottawa Board member, Dr. Norman Hillmer.

The week of events with Andrew Ritchie was a great experience for all LGAC members involved, and Andrew was continuously impressed with the enthusiasm among supporters of the LGAC. My sincere gratitude goes out to all the Directors for their work in helping arrange an outstanding agenda during Andrew’s visit with the LGAC: Kate McCrone and Rob Douglas for their leadership in organizing the week; and to Ottawa Directors Chris Wilkie, Norman Hillmer, Phillippe Hall and Yohanna Loucheur; and Toronto Directors Robert Black, Graham King, Elder Marques, and Sylvia Bethlenfalvy. I would also like to thank our Administrator, Brian Cardie, for his great help in organizing invitations and announcements of events, and for the most important job of communicating with our members.

And, speaking of significant occasions, I must refer here to the work of the LGAC Scholarship Committee. The Committee has been extremely busy since springtime, awarding 12 scholarships in total for the current academic year. You will see in this newsletter that the LGAC has awarded four honour-only scholarships this year, and eight funded awards. The LGAC has now sent over 100 scholarship winners to Goodenough College, paying over $650,000 since the program’s inception in the late 1980s.

Finally, the LGAC has already had one social event this fall – the Montreal British Consul General, Anne Jarrett, hosted a lovely reception at her home in late September. The reception attracted a lot of younger alumni, many of whom continued the evening with a late dinner together with Board members. One of our current scholarship winners, Jean-Francois Champoux-Lemay, an architect, was also able to attend the reception, and was very excited about leaving for Goodenough College two days after the reception. It is exciting to see the Montreal and Ottawa chapters of the LGAC become very active over the past several years, along with the Toronto group. I do hope that LGAC members in other areas across the country, both on the west and east coasts, will gather soon for similar events. If you are interested in organizing an event for LGAC members in any city or town, the LGAC has a small budget set aside for this, and can offer organizational assistance as well – these events are an important means of keeping the association vibrant. Please contact me if you can help organize members or events in your region.

I hope to see many of you at the annual British Universities Holiday Party on November 29th, 2007, in Toronto.
Thank you for your continued support of the LGAC. Please contact me if you have any questions, comments, or perhaps wish to become more involved with the association.

Best wishes for a happy fall.

Katia
Catherine (Katia) Antonoff
Chair, LGAC