2021 Annual General Meeting

VOKRA will be holding its 2021 Annual General Meeting on November 17. Anyone can attend our AGM, however in order to vote you need to become a society member. Membership is only $10 and is a great way to show your support for VOKRA.

CLICK HERE FOR NEW MEMBERSHIPS OR TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP

(Online membership sales close at 3 p.m. on November 17. There will be no membership sales at the door.)

2021 VOKRA AGM
Wednesday, November 17
Hastings Community Centre
Room 9, 3096 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
Doors open at 6:30 p.m and the meeting begins at 7 p.m.

Members will receive a full agenda package, but briefly, the points to be covered will be:

  • Minutes of the previous AGM - September 28, 2020

  • Presentation: 2020 – 2021 in Review

  • Treasurer’s Report: 2020 Financial Statements

  • Motion to set membership fee post October AGM

  • Motions to change the bylaws to align with the new Societies Act

  • Election of board members

  • New business

  • Meeting adjourned

At the AGM we will be electing six new members of the board of directors to serve a two-year term until 2023. Board membership is a leadership position within VOKRA that guides the organization to achieve its mission. Directors act in a position of trust for the community and are responsible for the effective governance of our organization.

CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS SEEKING RE-ELECTION

Brian Blamey

Brian joined the VOKRA board in 2019 and is the current treasurer.

Brian brings his athletic endurance, zeal and energy to public practice at Galloway Botteselle & Company where he has been a partner since 1996. Brian deals with the everyday issues small to medium‐sized businesses face regarding taxes, business expansions or reorganizations, acquisitions, valuations, and personal financial planning. He has dealt with the requirements of, and the audit for, a number of not for profit organizations. Brian is also an effective teacher and has made numerous presentations on the latest changes in tax laws and how to reduce taxes.

Brian is past Chair of the Porter Hétu International’s National Management Committee, a group of independent accounting firms across Canada and internationally, and is currently the treasurer for the Achilles International Track and Field Society.

Brian and his wife Rose are supporters of VOKRA and have fostered a number of cats, although they did foster fail with their first foster.

Tasha Bukovnik

Tasha’s been volunteering with VOKRA since 2014, has been on the board since 2016 and is the current president.

She’s a public relations professional and leads VOKRA’s integrated communications and marketing efforts. She oversees all of VOKRA’s social media activities, manages the website and blog, coordinates the development of marketing materials, helps promote events, handles media relations and generally supports other VOKRA teams with whatever they need. Tasha also leads fundraising efforts and her main focus is to manage VOKRA’s direct fundraising initiatives and appeals. When not volunteering, Tasha can usually be found at the yoga studio.

Shelley Dowson

Shelley has volunteered with VOKRA for more than 12 years, since discovering VOKRA and adopting her kitties Chookah and Ubu. She most recently re-joined the board in 2019.

Shelley has volunteered for VOKRA in many different capacities: as a foster coordinator, adoption interviewer, adoption contracts, surrenders, event coordinator, adoption event coordinator and cat care. More recently, Shelley was instrumental in getting our Operations Centre up and running and she continues to coordinate building logistics.

During the day, Shelley works in the “not so real world“ of film and television, spending the past 25 years as a paint coordinator. As a result, she has been able to access materials that are to be recycled or has been in the right place at the right time to receive that perfect item the Operations Centre needs. She can usually be found at Ops whenever she is not working, busily moving or organizing things to run more smoothly for the volunteers.

Audrey Jeary

Audrey was appointed to the board earlier this year when a vacancy became available.

Audrey has always had cats and is dedicated to their wellbeing. She joined VOKRA in 2017 and volunteers as a foster coordinator and contracts team lead. This experience has allowed her to have a great sense of how VOKRA works and can assist in many areas.

Audrey has extensive experience as an administrator and business owner. She’s organized and task oriented, as well as being able to make decisions quickly and troubleshoot while keeping a positive attitude.

Jeff Matthews

Jeff has served on the board since 2016.

Jeff and his son Raine have been enthusiastic VOKRA volunteers for close to ten years. Originally starting out as drivers, they’ve taken on a range of roles, including cat care, failed foster, vaccinations and generally being available to help out when needed. Jeff was elected to the board in 2016 and spearheads many of VORKA’s grant writing efforts. He’s also the proud companion to two VOKRA kitties. Jeff has had a life-long love of animals, dedicating much of his spare time to volunteer activism for the environment and animal rights, including a stint as President of Sea Shepherd Canada. In his professional life, Jeff holds a PhD in Physics from UBC, working as a biomedical research consultant and advisor.

Maria Soroski

Maria co-founded VOKRA with Karen Duncan in 1999, after years of volunteering with cats and kittens. While volunteering, Maria saw a desperate need to develop a holistic approach to cat and kitten care, as well as a TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program in order to keep the feral and homeless cat population down. After VOKRA’s inception, Maria’s dream started coming true. Local shelters were seeing a dramatic drop in feral cat and kitten numbers in Vancouver – something Maria is proud to have helped with. She paved the way with VOKRA’s founding values and continues to ensure that as a no-kill organization, the TNR program is one of the best in BC. With a passion for giving homeless and feral cats a happy and healthy life, Maria always ensures VOKRA uses organic and nutritious food for all cats. With VOKRA keeping her busy, the former prairie gal loves to reward herself with time spent at home relaxing with her cats.

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