At the recent EO Global Board meeting in Huntsville, Alabama, USA, Board members voted to recognize Canada as its own region. The Board made this decision based on a number of criteria, including the Canadian chapters’ past experiences, member counts and leadership. The Board also took Canadian culture and geography into consideration.
To break off and be recognized as an independent region, the area must have a minimum of 600-650 EO members, and the remaining region must have a minimum of 900 members.
Canada will officially become its own EO-designated region at the start of the next fiscal year, 1 July. This is quite fitting, since Canada Day – the day Canada was granted independence – also falls on 1 July.
Becoming our own region gives us expanded Global support, a somewhat larger budget – no more cash bars! – a dedicated Regional Director and a bigger presence on the EO Global stage. Also, we will build upon the success of our inaugural Canadian Conference in 2007, especially since our 2009 Canadian Conference has been given official "Regional Conference" status.
At our inaugural Canadian Conference in Banff, I listened with a great sense of pride to Bill Trimble, Dan Stevens, Robert Kulhawy and other early Canadian members. They shared with the 200 attendees the early involvement of Canadians in driving and shaping EO as we know it today. For example, seven YEO and WEO Global Presidents hailed from Canada.
From what I have seen, some of the most engaged and passionate members of this organization are Canadian. I can recall numerous occasions when Canadians broke out in spontaneous song, and our national anthem was heard at Global events around the world.
While the decision to move forward with this demonstrates EO’s commitment to enhancing Canadian members’ experiences, this change also comes with much responsibility. It is now up to our region to build upon the solid platform forged by our early Canadian Global leaders.
In a few short weeks, the current and incoming Presidents of all Canadian chapters – along with the Area Directors, Regional Director, Chapter Development Committee Chair, Global Board members and EO Global staff – will converge in Montreal. There we will map out a plan to strengthen EO in Canada. We will also discuss the upcoming Canadian Conference in 2009, along with growth opportunities, a national media campaign, a national sponsorship program and anything else that might enhance our membership value.
I am excited about all of the possibilities before us, and I look forward to working with my fellow Canadian EOers to help our Global leaders achieve our organization’s goals.