Headwaters Communities in ActionHCIA Celebrates its Annual General Meeting with distinguished guests.
Deepening Community,
BUILDING COMMUNITIES THAT SUSTAIN US
HCIA is celebrating its Annual General Meeting on Oct 28 by welcoming distinguished guests from near and far. This will be our 7th year since incorporation and our keynote speaker was integral to HCIA’s beginnings. Paul Born, president of Tamarack Institute, led a 2-day workshop in the Orangeville area back in 2004, which was the catalyst that formed HCIA. Now, more than a decade later, we are so pleased that he is returning to our community to acknowledge our growth and share his latest learnings. Paul will be delivering a keynote address based on his latest book: Deepening Community – Finding Joy Together in Chaotic Times. Joining in the event and supporting with introductions and reflections will be Sonya Pritchard, Dufferin CEO and Laura Ryan, Dufferin Warden and Mayor of Mono.
Attending as well will be a delegation from Logan City in Australia, who are here on a fact finding mission to support their Logan Together program. Logan Together aims to improve the health and well-being of every child in the City of Logan through a roadmap of key developmental milestones from pre-birth to eight years with an action plan that will be implemented by the community over the next 10 years. The delegates want to hear about community engagement successes, challenges, best practices and more. This will be an exciting opportunity to learn from each other.
HCIA has championed a number of collaborative projects in the past year including: the formation of the Poverty Steering Committee which has released its Poverty Reduction Strategy draft. Huge thanks to Dufferin County Community Services and Public Health for leading the charge. The Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance (HFFA) is finalizing a draft of a regional Food Charter that will define a common vision for what it means to have a healthy, fair, prosperous and sustainable food system in the Headwaters region and the steps that need to be taken to achieve it. Our Food Education Literacy and Access group continues the ever popular Farm to School programs. Dufferin County asked HCIA to partner in the formation and steering committee of the DC Moves initiative which has had 3 engaging half day meetings with regional agencies to date. The Citizens of Headwaters for Active Transportation Team (CHATT) held a kids bike skills workshop in Mono in conjunction with Mono on a Bike and is positioned to bring the program to other communities.
HCIA is a grassroots citizens-based organization that began from discussions around issues and challenges in the community. Since our inception, HCIA has been a convener of community conversations to hear and provide citizens with information about emerging issues and opportunities as well as to support the start-up of collaborative projects that enhance community well-being. HCIA is supported by, and made up of, numerous community partners and stakeholders and caring citizens, and demonstrates the potential of collective impact.
The meeting will be held at the Lord Dufferin Center, 32 First St. Orangeville, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Please register!
For more information, please contact Shirley Boxem (519.925.0347), or action@headwaterscommunities.org.
