Dear Members,

Goodbye winter and hello spring! We have already arrived at the sugar season!

March was the month of « la Francophonie ». I would like to thank those who were involved in activities in their communities underlining this celebration. I invite all chapters to make an effort to participate in Join Hands Day on May 3. Let us recall that May is the month of the Virgin Mary. Let us also not forget the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city of Quebec, which is celebrated with activities throughout the year 2008. Fraternal Services will keep you informed and if you need additional information, don’t hesitate to call Laurette Joppie at extension 2101.

Regarding life insurance, we can say that the introduction of new products is still expected to take place at the end of May or beginning of June. Regarding finances, we will be publishing the annual statement in the next issue of the Canado.

The annual election meeting will take place in all chapters between mid-April and mid-June. It is important that the officers are considered in good standing at the moment of their election, which means they should have a current insurance certificate (ACA or Union Vie).

Regarding the Educational Fund, the committee is in the process of reviewing the applications and upon completion, will determine the scholarship recipients for the academic year 2008-2009. Details will be published in the next issue of the Canado.

Since the number of directors on the Board has been reduced, certain areas no longer have representation on the Board of Directors and they are located too far for the directors to visit. For these areas it has been decided to assign ambassadors whose responsibility will be to visit “their” chapters occasionally in order to assist them and to provide them with information (see article on back cover).

ACA Bon Voyage and Angèle Côté as always has beautiful trips to offer and at reasonable prices, across Canada, the United States and abroad. I hope you enjoyed an inspiring Easter and continue to enjoy the final arrival of spring!

Fraternally,
Normand Morneault
Chairman of the Board of Directors