Announcement Following the 2018 Vanouver Poetry House AGM

The Vancouver Poetry House 2018 AGM was held at The Lore Krill Co-op, on July 15th. Here is an update for the community regarding the events and outcomes of that meeting.

It was announced early in the meeting that there would not be any current board members running for re-election this year. We’d like to give a big thanks to the outgoing board members, who have worked very hard in support of our community. Thank you!

When it came time to elect new board members, all those who had previously expressed a wish to be in the election withdrew their candidacy. In order to keep the organization in compliance with its bylaws and The BC Societies Act, Andrew Sutherland, Sho Wiley, and Lucia Misch were nominated from the floor and voted in as an interim board. Their election came with the understanding that they will call, as soon as is feasible, an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at which a more permanent board will be elected.

During the meeting, several VPH members pointed out the need for better access to the society’s bylaws and constitution. To address this, the VPH Mission Statement, Bylaws and Constitution have been reposted on the VPH website. Those documents can be found here.

The interim board’s next task will be to schedule the EGM, as mentioned above. We will be letting the community know when and where this meeting will occur at least 14—and no more than 60—days before its date. That information will be posted on the VPH website, as well as here on the VanSlam Facebook page.

If you have enthusiasm and want to build your arts community skills (grant writing, paying artists, running meetings, visioning and proposing policies), this is a great way to contribute. Board members are the foundation of support for our poetry community, for Wordplay, Hullabaloo, Vanslam, the Verses festival and CIPS. Contact us if you’d like to chat more about the role.

Thank you and stay tuned!
-Andrew, Lucia, and Sho