WINS Provincial Convention 2006
REVIEW

The 2006 WINS Provincial Convention was a great success and more than 200 members and friends of WI took part. The theme of the Convention was, ‘We Can Do Anything!’ and it was held at the Howard Johnson’s Hotel and Convention Center in Truro.

Our Convention took a closer look at women's roles, not only at home and as a volunteer, but also in business. Through our ‘Networking in Nova Scotia Business Tours’, sponsored by the Women In Business Initiative, delegates had the opportunity to meet, listen and question how Nova Scotia women business owners have established and grown their businesses and how self-employment is a viable option in rural areas.

On July 4th, we started the Convention with WINS Scramble Golf Tournament. Teams took to the beautiful Riverrun Golf Club course in North River to play nine holes, enjoy a barbeque supper and have a lot of laughs. The overall winning team from Sheffield Mills and District; Leta Ells, Susan Ueffing, Joan Hennigar and June Main, took top honours and won the Critter's Pet Feeds Trophy!

Later that evening, delegates took part in Bell Ringer sessions! These mini 'how-to' workshops were led by women who work in non-traditional career roles - an electrician, a carpenter and a member of the Canadian Forces. At the end of the evening, we enjoyed the music of Susan Ueffing.

On July 5th, we 'hit the road' on our Networking in Rural Nova Scotia tour. Each bus visited a variety of interesting businesses such as a quilt shop, artist's studio, a wool shop and sheep farm, a old-fashioned general store, a potter's studio, a bustling farm country market, a gallery, a rug hooking studio, a vineyard, a maple sugar camp, etc. The businesses are owned or operated by women and their families in Colchester, Cumberland or Pictou Counties. Each tour also featured a cultural stop at a museum.

Another wonderful addition to Convention 2006 was the attendance of members of the West Virginia Community Educational Outreach Service (WVCEOS) and friends. More than 50 of our American guests joined us on July 5th for the Networking tours and the evening program.

This Convention was our most 'colourful' event yet! Newly made Branch banners made their grand entrance at Convention and it was amazing to see the many designs and creations. Banners were displayed in the main meeting room along with the 'Round Robin' Quilt block exchange display from West Virginia and Nova Scotia members. Sixteen WI members from Nova Scotia and sixteen members WVCEOS teamed up to participate in a Round Robin Quilt Block exchange. Each participant has created a centre block for a quilt top or a wall hanging. The blocks were exchanged between the two organizations and members were asked to add rows around the centre design to create either a wall hanging or a quilt top.

The Handcraft awards for the 2006 Rug Hooking project was presented that evening to Doris Thurber of New Tusket WI.

Sheila Needham, President of the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada and Ruth Ann Anderson, President of the West Virginia Community Educational Outreach Service brought greetings to the members, along with Marie Kenny of PEIWI and Bill MacLeod on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and the Minister.

Evening entertainment featured the Tall Tales Competition. Most Districts and the WVCEOS presented a short 'Tall Tale'. The top three tales were presented by Betty Tonkery, West Virginia (1st place), Emma Dalrymple and Yvonne Kennedy.

The last day of Convention, July 6th, was extremely busy. Business sessions, voting for the new President Elect, presentation of the Erland Lee Award and other activities took place. Discussions and motions were presented on the proposed changes to the Bylaws and Constitution as well as one Urgency Resolution on the continuation of Rural Mail Delivery Service was approved by the delegates.

Our speaker, Dr. E. Wanda George, gave a personal and emotional presentation in keeping with our theme. Wanda truly personifies the statement, ‘We Can Do Anything’. She spoke of the determination it took to overcome personal tragedy and the challenges of being a single mom and her perseverance to achieve higher education. She is truly an exceptional woman and the delegates in attendance were visibly moved with her inspiring story.

The Reach for the Stars Membership Award 2006 was presented to the Port Williams WI. Marion Newcombe graciously accepted the award on behalf of the branch.

Jim Tate was presented with the Erland Lee Award for his many years of assistance to WI. The award was presented by Winnie Forbes and Sheila Needham.

Delegates in attendance were anxious to hear the results of the WI President Elect vote. Coni Murray of the North River WI is the new President Elect 2006-2009. Joan M. Campbell of Tartan WI was thanked for her commitment to WI and for also allowing her name to stand for this position.

The new Board of Directors was installed by the President of FWIC, Sheila Needham, and the Convention ended with delegates singing, Let There Be Peace.