Between my two spells as President of the Victoria Centre, I spent more than 15 years occupied in the affairs of the RASC at the national level, including five years as our centre’s national rep, 10 years on the national executive and board of directors, and more recently on the Editorial Board.
Much of that time was difficult for the National society, notably due to the pandemic, which continues to cast its shadow on the RASC. Although much more work remains to fully restore the RASC, good progress is being made today thanks to leadership from our board and from our executive director, Jenna Hinds, who personifies our hopes for the future.
At the time I joined the national executive, the federal government was imposing a major set of changes in the form of the Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act. That law was brought in to deal with problems in other organizations, and it forced the RASC to change its tried-and-true governance structure centred on our National Council. Making the imposed structure work for us has taken more than a decade of effort by several National Councils and Boards of Directors. I’m gratified to see the recent progress made in restoring our tradition of centre involvement in our national governance.
Along with many centres, the national RASC got involved in charitable fundraising. Various initiatives supported by funds raised from contributors and granting agencies were tested by COVID-19, and discipline has been imposed on the use of these funds.
Even before the pandemic, the operation of our publications, especially SkyNews magazine, proved to be challenging due to changes in how magazines are produced and used. COVID delivered the death blow to SkyNews, and complicated the operation of our other publications, first in distribution and more generally in the form of cost inflation. Many tough decisions have had to be made to restore our publications to sustainability.
During my time on the board and as national president, I worked to renew the organization of our General Assemblies. Due to the pandemic, I had to make the obnoxious decision to cancel the 2020 GA in Vancouver. Although we replaced it with a successful Virtual General Assembly and followed it with more virtual GAs and other virtual events, I long for the day when it again becomes possible to hold GAs that bring our members together in person from every part of Canada. Resumption of in-person GAs helps the leaders of our centres make personal connections that help us do a better job. I also consider national RASC meetings to be a small force for Canadian unity.
The face of our country is changing, and so is the composition of our membership. Perhaps our most important work in the RASC involves opening our doors to more women and to people from different backgrounds. We have much more work to do at the national level and in all our centres to make everyone feel at home in our society. Our growing knowledge of the universe is the greatest gift we can give to upcoming generations as part of our participation in the RASC. I look forward to continuing this work in 2025 in Victoria and all over Canada and beyond.