President’s Message

I sincerely hope our members had a happy, healthy, and safe Festive Season with whatever celebrations you enjoyed. The most important celebration is with your family and good friends. Of course, we wish everyone a very Happy New Year for 2023. We hope the new year will bring positive progress with the various challenges we have faced and will be a healthy, safe year for everyone.

A new year gives us a reason to reflect on the past year, and IHM is no exception. First and foremost, we had our in-person Annual Educational Conference in Niagara Falls after two years when we were unable to gather for an in-person event. This gave everyone the opportunity to learn from the excellent program and to see friends and colleagues once again. We also had our third Annual Golf Tournament, where everyone who had registered came to play in the snow and freezing temperatures. It was undoubtedly a challenge that day but after many hot chocolates and our parkas, we made it.

Our membership grew in numbers, the number of students participating in our various educational programs was terrific, those members who graduated and became accredited members continued to grow, we embarked on the development of new Accreditation Program for the Co-op Sector, and our monthly Chat Room Sessions were very well attended with an average of 60-70 participants each month, and the topics have been well received. We are excited about our programs for 2023. We also started launching chapters in various areas of Ontario. The first one created is in South Western Ontario, and so far, the results are very encouraging.

We will be holding our Annual Educational Conference a little later this year, May 11th and 12th, in Grimsby. The Conference Committee is well on its way to confirming the program with many topics identified and our keynote speaker in place. I am hopeful that, being a couple of weeks later than usual, our Fourth Annual Golf Tournament will be in somewhat warmer weather conditions. We are looking at several courses in the Hamilton area. I have also investigated Whirlpool again, as it isn’t that far from Grimsby. Watch for the announcements.

The work has begun with rewriting the manuals for the Co-op Accreditation Program, and we are hopeful the first course will be available this year to students. We are very excited about this new opportunity being offered to an entirely new market. We are confident this will increase our membership and the participation in IHM.

In my first message of every new year, I leave these comments to the end as I want those reading to leave this page with my thoughts. I am honored to be the President of IHM and work with a very active and professional Board of Directors and staff. Our Board works very hard (and on a volunteer basis), and I am most thankful for their efforts and dedication to IHM. Our staff at Association Concepts is fantastic and takes care of all the administration needs, from the education programs to the Chat Room Sessions and everything else we need. Thanks to Deborah Filice for her tireless efforts as our Education Director.

Let us all be optimistic and hope 2023 will be an excellent year for everyone.

Jimmy Mellor, FIHM IHM President