Canadian Alliance of Life Skills Coaches and Associations 

Annual General Meeting Minutes - June 19, 1999

941 Kings Road, Victoria, British Columbia

 

Present: Edward Arnold, Paul Bagordo, Josie Brocker, Mari Lynne Brooke, Shauna Butterwick, Pat Chubb, Michael Chubb, Trina Cook, Linda Dumas, Romana Frey, Anne McCabe, Rod Paynter, Devra Poitra, Lu Ripley, Bea Rhodes, Penn Thrasher, David Zeller, Colleen Zeller.

Item 1: The day began with a round of introductions.

Rod Paynter welcomed everyone and explained that traditionally in CALSCA meetings, all decisions are made by consensus. Rod also explained that the agenda was not set, but that suggested topics were:

a) next Year`s Meeting

b) national accreditation

c) reality check re: tasks taken on

Item 2: Rod then asked for suggested topics from the floor.

Additional suggestions included:

a) Inclusion

b) Resource Sharing

c) Fun and Laughter

d) Support

Item 3: Paul did a brief meditation on identifying what is important.

Item 4: Discussion

- Penn suggested that "inclusion" be an overall "theme" which was followed by a request from Shauna for a definition of "inclusion".

- Penn explained that historically there was discord over length and content of various life skills coach trainings. This led to a discussion to the political nature of life skills.

- Linda Dumas (President of the Life Skills Coaches Association of British Columbia) acknowledged that some people have been disillusioned and hurt by the apparent "exclusiveness" of the Provincial Association. Paul reported that this is common across Canada.

- Penn raised the question: "How do we describe the "spirit" or human relations component of the life skills program. This led to a general discussion of the value of life skills programming. Some participants have been working in the industry for 20 years or more and still value the life skills model.

Item 5: The subject of national accreditation was raised.

Currently there is no national accreditation. Do we want national accreditation and do we need it? Penn suggested that perhaps principles, spirits and values are more important than laws and rules.

Discussion:

- Paul reported on his experience with Provincial Accreditation in Ontario. He found it to be extremely educational.

- Dave suggests that with the current financial situation in the Province and consequent funding, that accreditation is not at the top of his agenda.

- Linda and Mari Lynne reported that within the Provincial association in BC no accreditation process has yet been agreed upon.

- Paul reported that to his knowledge only the Maritimes Association was currently putting much effort into accreditation.

- No decision was reached regarding National Accreditation.

Item 6: Resource Sharing

A general discussion was held on resource sharing, including archiving older resources. Shauna said she would find out about archiving some of the older life skills resource materials.

Item 7: Next Years Meeting

Next year's meeting was tentatively set for the May long weekend 2000 in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Item 8: Report from the Life Skills Coaches Association of British Columbia

Linda and Mari Lynne reported that the Provincial Association is actively seeking new members and requested submissions to the newsletter.

Item 9: Rod thanked Life Skills Unlimited for their hospitality and great food.

Meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

 

Return to AGMeeting Minutes Directory

Return to CALSCA Info

Return to Home