Wrap up of Week 4: Matthew Petre

It's Friday, Blog Day. Man is it ever hot here in St. Catharines 34C + humidity. I'm back here to move my things from the house I was living in, into storage as well as meet with key individuals from the Faculty of Business regarding MYDAS and I am glad to report that I had a productive week.

• Met with Wanda Smith, Arimathea Funeral Co-op and was able to accomplish a great deal of research for the Funeral Co-op Guide, which I am able to use as examples in the guide...and got lost in Stewiacke Valley
• Met with Professors Barry Wright and Herb Mackenzie regarding MYDAS and received some valuable contacts they have worked with at St F X, SMU and Acadia.
• Met with Kristen MacNaughton from the BCDO Office regarding recruitment for MYDAS for next year
• Met with the Dean of Business regarding my academic research credit and to discuss the MYDAS program
• Contacted several media outlets (daily newspapers) to follow up on the media release in the central NS region, no interviews or features yet, but I am still working at it
• Met with Fred Pierce regarding a meeting we will both be attending with a Funeral Co-op just outside of Shediac, NB next week
• Have not heard back from Bruce Cowie at CCU yet but I will contact him again on Monday
• Completed the intro of the funeral co-op guide

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Cheers,
Matt

Wrap up of Week 4: Stephanie Hobbs

First I would like to welcome all the new interns; I hope I get a chance to meet you all.

This week was a busy one for Dan and I was quite busy with the Indian Head Co-op. We prepared for the Indian Head Co-op AGM on Tuesday night, we were going to give a preview of the 5 year plan and say a few words about MYDAS. When we attended the meeting, the Indian Head Co-op did not meet quorum, so sadly the meeting did not go ahead. Dan and I still managed to get some words in with the people that were there and planed a few meeting for the upcoming weeks. We met with Paul King, a co-op Atlantic marketing specialist, and plan to meet with him again to look over the plan and give us some input.

Dan, as he may have said in his blog went to Codroy to check out a place for the ACYL camp and do a few things for ACYL, while I stayed in the office and worked on the 5 year plan.

We also heard back from Ramea today, they were out of town for a while and will send us a picture of the board for the Newsletter. Finally we'll get that out of the way. We shall talk more with Ramea on Monday.


Have a great weekend.

Wrap up of Week 4: Dan Meades

Hello All,

This week the NL work got to be too much for Steph and I to stay working on the same projects so we had to divide and conquer. We had to prepare for the Indian Head Co-op AGM which was help on Tuesday night, sadly the meeting did not achieve quorum so it has been postponed for two weeks. At the preparatory meetings for the AGM we met Paul King, a co-op Atlantic consumer co-op specialist; he is proving to be a great resource for us.
Wednesday is when the divide and conquer tactic kicked in; Steph stayed in the office and worked on a five-year strategic plan for the Indian Head CO-op and I traveled to the codroy valley to scope out possible locations for this years ACLY seminar. I am currently working on a girl-guide camp as the location but I will need today to straighten out those details.

Welcome to all the new interns!!!
Have a good weekend,
Dan

Wrap up of Week 4: Erin Hancock

Week 4: Networking and odds and ends

I spent most of this week at the SeaChange conference in Saint John or at home doing work on my own. At the conference, I was able to talk to over 30 people about the MYDAS program and how co-ops are an excellent choice for community change here in NB. I hope to connect with people working in enterprise development stations across the province that I met there so they are enabled to offer the co-op solution as part of their advising.
I have put together the first draft of the pamphlet for the VAC about preferred shares. I hope to meet with them again this weekend.
I have put together a package for people wishing to understand co-ops better…although I’d like to add a bit to it before sending it out.
I have also been emailing back and forth and doing research for the people of the VAC. I really love working with them and things are moving quickly with them.
Today I will continue research and also make sure my tracking sheets are organized.
I look forward to meeting with or contacting Diedre in the very near future. Welcome aboard to both new interns!
Cheers,
Erin

Wrap up of Week 4: Kristi Kelly

Good morning everyone!

It's been a pretty administrative week on our side, I have to admit.

• We have worked on our press release and have it already send/received by the CBC here on the island. Today we are going to get the rest faxed to the other media outlets around
• We did a lot of follow up with groups this week, seeing how they are progressing, etc - which everything seems to moving along nicely and we may actually have a follow up meeting this evening with the Africian Heritiage group.
• Payroll... oh the joy, completed that okay (hope you all got your cheques!) and Neal and I are finally getting the hang of all this! We even had a book keeping tutorial midweek for accounting - and that was pretty interesting
• We finally have a meeting with our Minister of Environment and Technology set up - this has to do with the new wind mills in eastern PEI - progress at last!

So that's is that! Nice weather this week has left me slightly distracted, but Neal will occassionally poke me with a twig to knock me out of it. Congrats to the newest interns and have a wonderful weekend folks!

Self Assessment Questionnaire

Both old and interns alike, please have the self assessment questionnaire completed by Monday, Jun 27th, 2005. They should be faxed to David's office. The self-assessment questionnaire is section 7 (pages 16-24) of the PDF document that can be found at:

http://www.canadianworker.coop/documents/e/WCDN_App.pdf

Welcome Katie and Diedre!

Welcome to our newest two interns Katie (from PEI) and Diedre (from NB)! Keep your eyes open for their introductory postings!

Expense Claim Forms

Don't forget to email off your expense claim forms folks! The form can be downloaded on the sidebar of the blog. Thank you!

MYDAS and ACYL

As a corollary to my previous blog:

This week Steph and I will be traveling to Doyles NL to assess the potential site for this years ACLY seminar. It is about an hour away and there are a couple sites to check out so that may take the better part of the day tomorrow.

Thanks,
Dan

Tracking Sheet

There is now a MYDAS Tracking sheet located on the side bar for download. When you attend a meeting, please bring a copy of this sheet with you, pass it around to your participants and have them fill it out. On friday, please fax this sheet to the main office. This will happen weekly.

WEEK 4: Kristi Kelly

Hey folks!

Hope you all received my email today!! Well, it was a pretty great start to the week, the weather was beautiful and Neal and myself had the priviledge of attending lunch at the lovely home of the lieutenat governor. Before his days in the house, he was heavily involved with the cooperative movement in Wellington PEI, so once he found out about what we were doing, he wanted to learn more. It truly was a great afternoon.

As for our weekly goals:

• This week we will get our press release out to hopefully all of our MP's and some of the MLA's within our province. We also plan on targeting our local CBC and radio stations.
• We had alot of great meetings already, so Neal and I can hopefully make some follow-up calls to see how the progress is going
• PAYROLL! And hey! Look for a surprise with your cheque this week... what can it be?! We'll be working away at that this week as well.
• There is a Chamber of Commerce meeting on Thursday night, which may be a great place to pass out some business cards.
• Continue adding resources to the blog, for all you fine folks to enjoy
• We've got alot of planning to do for next month (traveling to different regions, etc) so we will probably start on that...

And that's about it. I hope the great weather keeps up, and everyone, have a great week!

WEEK 4: Neal Gillis

G'day all,

Well, Kristi and myself just got back from lunch with the lieutenant governor of PEI. I think my main goal for the week will be figuring out a way to get us invited back.

Other goals will include:

• Making contact with the groups/people we've been talking to so far regarding their co-op ideas.
• Doing more research into the craft co-op phenomenon.
• Get more documents posted on the blog.
• Work with Kristi and David on the payroll.
• Post our multitude of resources on the blog, so people may start making orders if they like.
• Keep up with the regular business.

Hope all is well with the rest of the team.

Talk to you soon.

-Neal

WEEK 4: Matthew Petre

Had an interesting meeting with John Chamard and Stuart at Saint Mary's University this morning. It was quite surprising that John being the Director of the Master of Management- Co-operatives and Credit Unions was not interested in getting involved with the MYDAS program. However, he is happy to make available our phamphlets and contacts. Apparently all the students in his program work for major multi million dollar co-ops abroad and the program is structured to teach managing growth rather than co-op start-ups.

Goals for the week are:

• Meet with Wanda Smith, Funeral Director for Arimathea Funeral Co-op
• Meet with Bruce Cowie, Community Credit Union re: CCU Youth Initiative
• Meet with Brock Business Career Development Office (BCDO) and Faculty re: MYDAS and my academic research credit..still trying to get the final approval
• Complete intro for Funeral Co-op info guide, and continue research for this project
• Follow up with Healthy Minds Co-op re: their marketing/promotion strategy
• Call media outlets re: MYDAS Press Release
• Set up my office at NSCC

Have a great week everyone! Welcome aboard Marc

Cheers,

Matt

WEEK 4: Stu Neatby

Hey all,
Bonjour et Bienvenue Marc! On aurait peutetre la chance de nous rencontrer quelque temp cet ete. (Ou en Septembre?)
Yar, sorry about the accents. Can't type too well in French yet.
Week 4 Goals:
- Complete a canvas of community groups in the North End of Halifax
- Do up a display for tabling purposes at a few upcoming events (Marilyn next monday, showing of "the Take" this Friday)
- Follow up with the Solidarity Boots/Black Star Boots Co-operative
- Meet with Eric Turner, who is leading up the diagnostic governance tool for NSCC. Arrange a day to be in Cape Breton in that capacity.
- Continue reading up on governance models.
- Meetings: "Face of Poverty Consultation" on Thursday to ask about interest in Co-op presentations, John Ure of Ovo housing co-op about setting up a Halifax Co-op forum, possibly someone from the Canadian Housing Co-op Federation
- Get set up in the new office space!

Matt and I just had a meeting with John Shamard at SMU. He's the director of the SMU graduate program for Co-operative Management. Unfortunately, he indicated that there was little that the university would do in terms of promoting the MYDAS program to Commerce students (the sense I got was that, apparently, we're small fish compared to the Exxon or IBM reps who seem to show up at the expos they hold).
So it seems the best way is to go compile a list of sympathetic faculty members who would be willing to pass on the information about MYDAS to students next winter. I'll be in touch with a few (particularly Tom Webb, who is very difficult to get ahold of), this week. A number of faculty members in the SMU Sobey school are off to visit Mondragon co-ops in the Basque region of Spain this week, so I'll see who I can reach before then.
David, is there anything in particular that would be useful for me to ask from faculty members beyond word-spreading about MYDAS? Possible credit from such a program may be doubtful.
Have a good week everyone.
-stu

WEEK 4: Dan Meades

Welcome Marc!
This week promises to me another interesting one:

• Steph and I will be meeting with the Indian Head Co-op manager a fair bit this week and working on a strategic 5-year plan to help their business. We will also be attending and presenting at their AGM on Tuesday evening.
• We have the Ramea Community Co-op Newsletter ready for print but we need to reach the co-op board in Ramea for a few little specific pieces of info before we do. There has been some communication troubles as of late that we are working out. I think the issue is just that it is summer and people are scattered around a bit. We may be heading back down there in the very near future.
• We are waiting on word back from the NLFC regarding some reimbursement as well as contacts for other co-ops.

Have a good one everyone,

Dan

WEEK 4: Stephanie Hobbs

Well, well, well week four already, the summer if flying by. I hope everyone had a great weekend. It's nice to see some new people on the blog; I was getting a little tired of the same old people, just kidding folks you are all doing wonderfully. Great to see that everyone had a nice time at Annie's cabin.

This week is hopefully going to be a productive one:

• Distribute the Ramea newsletter about the Ramea Community Co-op. hopefully Dan and I will be able to make the trip to Ramea we will find out as soon as we hear from them.
• (If Dan and I end up in Ramea for the week our plans may change a great deal and we will be at the Ramea Co-op's disposal.
• Present the Indian Head Co-ops 5 year plan at the AGM on Tuesday night. We will then got some feed back and answer any questions we may have.
• We are waiting on the NLFC to get back to us about potential co-op in our area
• We are also still waiting to hear from Gerry in Anchor point about the shrimp co-op

Well I hope everyone has a nice week and I can't wait to talk again.

WEEK 4: Erin Hancock

Hi everyone!

Welcome Marc!

Things have been going really well. I met with the Vision Action Collective again last night and passed on all of the answers I got for them. I will be in Saint John (staying with Annie) and attending the NB SeaChange conference from Tuesday until Thursday this week, so in the remainder of the days I will be working away at:

• Putting together a pamphlet on preferred shares for the VAC as a model for them to use to gain publicity in the community and get some start-up capital
• Research director positions in a collective situation
• Policy questions for VAC
• Continue putting a co-op introduction package together
• Prepare a package specific to worker co-ops for my meeting with people in Nackawic next week
• Editing and adding to Annie’s ‘co-op success story’ article
• Networking and spreading the co-op and MYDAS work at the SeaChange conference

Have a great week everyone!

Erin

rainy NB to sunny PE

On Thursday I zipped over to Annie's cottage just west of Saint John, meeting with Carole Findlay briefly in Moncton and picking up Marc Henrie at Magnetic Hill, en route. Marc and I even managed a brief rendez-vous with Seth Asimakos (Atlantic Coordinator of the Canadian CED Network) at the SJ market. It rained all the way to SJ and the whole time there, so it feels good to finally have a sunny experience this fine Monday morning on PEI. Erin, Annie, Marc and myself reprised an abbreviated version of the orientation, using the same presentations and materials that we used for our original orientation at the Beaumaris Centre on PEI [www.beaumariscentre.com]. It was very useful for Marc to have a chance to discuss NB issues and ongoing projects with Annie and Erin. Marc also received the utterly neat and orderly orientation records and binder that Annie had compiled. You go girl! While in SJ, I got to talk with Matt Petre via telephone. The NSCC are so impressed with Matt that they are allocating him to even more files and projects than originally planned. He is a busy guy! Off topic, but it is worth noting what a great place Annie's cottage is. She had extolled its virtues and I am now in a position to confirm what a lovely spot it is, with a nifty combination of antique ambiance and modern conveniences. It also has that indefinable energetic property that promotes peaceful contemplation. However, enough travelogue!

We wrapped up the Marc orientation/Annie debriefing on Friday a.m. Annie drove Erin to the bus stop while Marc and I headed back to Magnetic Hill. I had lined up interviews with two other applicants in Moncton and met with an anglophone candidate downtown and a bilingual candidate at Carole Findlay's house (thanks for providing the space, Carole). In between the interviews, I spent some time in the Ramada lobby accessing their wireless connection and was able to get Dan via MSN to sort out some paycheque issues. Just to let you know the score, the group direct deposit has been nixed by the company that acts for the Credit Union. The plan remains to mail out the cheques (dated for payday) in advance. In the event that this does not work for anyone, it is a relatively simple matter to deposit a paycheque via a branch in C'town.

Lest you are wondering what gives with all the interviewing, we have received the OK from our main sponsors to engage Acadian interns in place of the originally proposed First Nation interns. It would be great to work with First Nations interns, but the reality is that the smaller pool of applicants to choose from failed to come up with suitable interns. The decision not to proceed was made by the Mi'kmaq Confederacy and they remain open to participating another time. However, I was receiving a stream of inquiries from interested Acadian applicants, so have decided to make that shift for now. As well as engaging Marc Henrie (past-President of La féderation des jeunes francophones de nouveau-brunswick) and interviewing an Acadian applicant from the Memramcook, NB area, I am also scheduled to participate later today in interviews of candidates identified by our partners at Le conseil de développement coopératif de l'Î-P-É. There are financial and logistical challenges about "after-the-fact" orientation but it seems best to proceed with the engagement of the additional interns in order to ensure maximum effectiveness of the program.

For those of you who don't already know, we were able to secure an excellent work space for our two PEI interns (Kristi & Neal) in the downtown office of a partnering co-op. They are now located directly above the "Anne of Green Gables Store" right beside the Confederation Centre. You can now combine your co-op advisory services inquiries with your hard-core tourism activities all on the same block. They are also beside an internet café with free wi-fi and a working espresso machine (sorry, Dan!). Most importantly, Kristi and Dan are dealing with plenty of co-op inquiries. As am I, so I shall stop blogging and get back to the e-mails. Call me if you need anything.
Take care out there.

Wrap up of Week 3: Annie Colwell

Hello all!

I know this is a bit late but I figure better late then never!
Last week was a busy one but an enjoyable one!

• Created poster for MYDAS ( I am willing to post through out the area, however I think I should wait until we have a more permanent intern in this area before I do so)
• Met again with Roy Mackin, did tour of Fundy Funeral Co-op ( meeting last friday was cancelled) and interviewd Roy for the "Prosperus Co-op" Piece.
• Contacted Fusion Group, they sounded interested in becoming a co-operative
• Was in contact with Adam Cameron via e-mail, helped him with a few questions and also gave him contact info for Claire Gagon.
• Organized, cleaned!! and hosted meeting for Erin, David and the new intern Marc!! (super highlight of the week!)
• I need to get my interview on paper and send it to Erin for editing, so hopefully that will be done before the middle of the week.
• I will also be attending ( as much as I can) the seachange metamorphosis conference.

That is it for me! Hope you all have a wonderful week! Take Care,

Annie Colwell