The 57th Ranch Ehrlo Society Annual General Meeting took place virtually on September 20th.
Dr. Louise Greenberg, board chair, started the meeting with the land acknowledgment of Treaty 4 and Treaty 6 territories. Due to technical difficulties, Elder Keith Goulet was unable to join us for an opening prayer and brief reflection. We look forward to hopefully having Keith join us at another meeting in the near future.
Louise, along with Ranch Ehrlo CEO Natalie Huber then addressed the members to give them some highlights from the year. As we moved into post-COVID-19 recovery, Ranch Ehrlo saw the resumption of several in-person activities this past year. This included various events to strengthen cultural connections as we work towards our journey of truth and reconciliation.
Last September we also celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Corman Park campus and the 25th anniversary of the Buckland campus, with festivities at both locations.
“Employees in all areas of the agency were busy throughout the year preparing for two important milestones. The first was the agency applying for CARE certification in June 2023. CARE is a multi-level program model aimed at improving services for children and youth in care. We received word in August that our application was successful. The second milestone is our re-accreditation with the Council on Accreditation. The Ranch has successfully been accredited by the Council on Accreditation since 1977. We expect to hear the results of the re-accreditation process by November 2023,” Louise added.
The agency welcomed two new board members this fiscal year, with Robin Clarke and Jordan Baptiste joining the team.
Louise took the opportunity to thank retiring board members Greg Fieger and Peter Hoffmann for their valuable service. Additionally, a special thank you was given to board member Dave Hedlund who will be stepping down from his role as vice-chair but will remain an active member on the board.
This year’s special guest speaker was Tischa Stefanowski, executive director, Saskatchewan First Nations Family and Community Institute. She explained one of the roles of the institute is to help provide a general awareness and understanding of First Nations culture, tradition, history, and knowledge within child welfare.
Shelley Reddekopp, Ranch Ehrlo’s vice-president of support services, provided a high-level overview of 2022-2023 financial statements. Overall, the 2022-2023 financial results for the agency were positive with the year-end results providing a net surplus of just over $2.1 million. To learn more about Ranch Ehrlo Society’s financial statement for the 2022/2023 year, you can read the full financial statement provided in our annual report below.
The meeting ended with an opportunity for questions and a message of thanks from Natalie.
“Ranch Ehrlo would like to thank the board of directors for their direction and support, particularly to chair Louise Greenberg, and vice-chair Dave Hedlund. Thank you, as always, to the executive team for their continued excellent work. And a special thank you to all the employees and volunteers who time and time again, go above and beyond to provide excellent care to those we serve. Your talent, ingenuity, and commitment continue to amaze,” she concluded.
To access the 2022-2023 Outcomes Report, which is comprised of important statistics and information about how well our programs are serving our participants, click here.
To access the 2022-2023 Annual Report, which highlights the key initiatives in our agency over the course of the year, click here.
