Owen Sound Committee - Tom Thomson Art Gallery Advisory Meeting Transcript — February 4, 2026

00:00:14 Speaker 01: Okay.

00:00:23 Speaker 01: Good afternoon, and welcome to this meeting of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery Advisory Committee.

00:00:34 Speaker 01: It is Wednesday, February fourth, at two p.m., and I will call the meeting to order.

00:00:53 Speaker 01: Our first item of business today, and it's atypical for a new member or staff members; in fact, it's atypical for a staff member to call the meeting to order,

00:01:23 Speaker 01: but given this is our first meeting of this cycle, beginning in February, our first item is electing the chair.

00:01:33 Speaker 01: So staff will work with you to do that.

00:01:47 Speaker 01: Perhaps before we do that, I would ask if we could do introductions, and I'll maybe start on the far side of the room with you, Kelsey.

00:02:03 Speaker 02: Hello, my name is Kelsey Starr.

00:02:07 Speaker 02: I don't have else to say.

00:02:19 Speaker 02: This is my second calendar year on the advisory committee, and I'm also a member of the fundraising committee for the Tom Thomson Art Gallery.

00:02:55 Speaker 03: Scott Greig, Deputy Mayor, escaping from his business across the road for maybe an hour and a half or two hours this afternoon called Runners Den.

00:03:14 Speaker 01: Peter Tavel, I've been—I can't remember how many cycles I've been on this board.

00:03:25 Speaker 01: I'm not sure.

00:03:31 Speaker 01: I think this is probably my third cycle anyway.

00:03:38 Speaker 01: And I live; I'm a retired architect and live in Meaford.

00:03:51 Speaker 01: And I am also on the fundraising committee and a couple of other ones Eden usually gets me into.

00:04:05 Speaker 01: I'm Catherine Lochnan, and it's my pleasure to be here day one, year one.

00:04:28 Speaker 01: Although I was on this committee when it was first formed, and I think that was in 2017 or 2018.

00:04:47 Speaker 01: It's obviously much more formal now.

00:05:03 Speaker 01: Not on any committees, but Peter keeps nabbing me every time he wants to do some fundraising.

00:05:18 Speaker 01: Hi, I'm Linda Montgomery, and this is the beginning of my second year.

00:05:48 Speaker 01: And I am currently not on any committees, but at the end of today, I might be on fundraising.

00:06:14 Speaker 01: And I'm living in Clarksburg now after forty-eight years of being in Owen Sound, so it's lovely to be on this committee.

00:06:33 Speaker 04: I'm Kim Skeen, and I'm the operations coordinator at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery.

00:06:42 Speaker 04: I'm Aidan Ware, and I'm the director and chief curator of the art gallery.

00:07:10 Speaker 04: I'm Briana Bloomfield, the city clerk, and I'm sitting in for Christina today, who's normally here, and she's the executive support coordinator.

00:07:20 Speaker 04: All right.

00:07:27 Speaker 04: Well, thanks so much.

00:07:40 Speaker 05: In terms of how the election will work, we'll open the floor to nominations first for the position of chair.

00:07:48 Speaker 05: We'll take nominations; you would put up your hand.

00:08:00 Speaker 06: We'll ask the person nominated if they are willing to let their name stand.

00:08:19 Speaker 06: We'll ask if there's further nominations, and we have to do that three times, and then we'll close nominations.

00:08:45 Speaker 06: If there is more than one person nominated for a position, we will hold an election by show of hands.

00:09:10 Speaker 04: Briana, is there anything I've said that's not right?

00:09:15 Speaker 04: Okay.

00:09:21 Speaker 04: So, are there any questions before we get started with the nominations?

00:09:26 Speaker 04: Okay.

00:09:33 Speaker 04: Oh, I would note Councillor Koepke is on her way, so she'll be joining us shortly.

00:09:44 Speaker 04: We'll open the floor for nominations for the position of chair.

00:09:52 Speaker 04: I'd like to nominate Peter Tavel.

00:09:58 Speaker 04: Second; Peter, are you willing to let your name stand?

00:10:03 Speaker 04: Thank you.

00:10:07 Speaker 04: Are there any further nominations for the position of chair?

00:10:14 Speaker 04: Asking a second time and a third time.

00:10:21 Speaker 04: Okay.

00:10:25 Speaker 04: If there's no further nominations, we'll close that, and Chair Tavel can take over.

00:10:34 Speaker 04: And the next item will be the vice chair, following a similar process.

00:10:42 Speaker 04: Pam, do you want to nominate someone?

00:10:44 Speaker 04: Okay.

00:10:45 Speaker 04: Asking for nominations for vice chair.

00:10:49 Speaker 04: May I nominate myself now?

00:10:53 Speaker 04: Can I nominate somebody else?

00:10:59 Speaker 04: I would suggest that you need to step away from the chair position to do something like that.

00:11:11 Speaker 04: So maybe normally the chair would take over at this time.

00:11:19 Speaker 04: I would like to nominate Linda to be vice chair.

00:11:24 Speaker 04: Is there a second for that?

00:11:28 Speaker 04: Any other nominations?

00:11:29 Speaker 04: Okay.

00:11:32 Speaker 04: Is that a vote or a nomination?

00:11:36 Speaker 04: A second.

00:11:38 Speaker 04: Thank you very much.

00:11:41 Speaker 04: All those in favor?

00:11:45 Speaker 04: Then we have one candidate here.

00:11:47 Speaker 04: No more.

00:11:47 Speaker 04: Okay.

00:11:51 Speaker 03: All those in favor?

00:11:54 Speaker 03: Linda, thank you.

00:12:00 Speaker 03: Sorry; we don't technically need a vote for that since there was only the one nominee, correct?

00:12:08 Speaker 03: It was Member Montgomery, but that is fine.

00:12:14 Speaker 03: So we've got her as the vice chair, and Mr. Chair Tavel.

00:12:26 Speaker 03: Tavel, if you wouldn't mind taking the position of chair, I will move your name plate over.

00:12:38 Speaker 03: She's going to wait till next time.

00:12:42 Speaker 03: That's right.

00:12:47 Speaker 03: Thank you all.

00:12:53 Speaker 03: I want to welcome also Kathy Locken as our new member.

00:13:03 Speaker 03: I think everyone is a returning member of this committee, and it's good to see you again.

00:13:13 Speaker 03: And it's okay; not that late.

00:13:14 Speaker 03: Only ten minutes.

00:13:26 Speaker 03: Okay, I think then we now have a call for any additional business people want to add to the agenda.

00:13:35 Speaker 03: None being raised, then we'll move on.

00:13:39 Speaker 03: Thank you.

00:13:41 Speaker 03: Declarations of interest: Any declarations?

00:13:44 Speaker 03: Have you received any, Briana?

00:13:48 Speaker 03: No, none received.

00:13:49 Speaker 03: Okay.

00:13:54 Speaker 03: Confirmation of minutes: We have minutes from our January thirteenth meeting in two thousand and twenty-six.

00:14:05 Speaker 03: Has anybody had a chance to read them and go through them?

00:14:12 Speaker 03: Any comments, additions or errors to bring up?

00:14:18 Speaker 03: Okay; I need a motion to approve the minutes.

00:14:22 Speaker 03: Scott, great, thank you.

00:14:23 Speaker 03: Second.

00:14:33 Speaker 03: And I can just note that council passed no comment whatsoever on the minutes, so they were carried as presented.

00:14:44 Speaker 03: Motion to approve the minutes of January thirteenth.

00:14:57 Speaker 03: Linda, you can move it first before you second; don't need the second if there's only one mover.

00:15:03 Speaker 03: Okay, thank you.

00:15:05 Speaker 03: Delegations and presentations: On the minutes?

00:15:08 Speaker 03: Okay.

00:15:14 Speaker 03: Now I apologize for a vote on the minutes also to approve them.

00:15:17 Speaker 03: Great, thank you.

00:15:19 Speaker 03: Now we have some presentations.

00:15:23 Speaker 03: Executive Procurement Director, is that okay?

00:15:26 Speaker 03: Who's doing this one?

00:15:30 Speaker 03: Okay, thank you.

00:15:42 Speaker 03: Chair, through you to the committee; I will be providing a brief orientation as it's the first meeting, and as well as the director will also provide part of this presentation.

00:16:02 Speaker 03: So here's an overview of the city's committee structure: The City has three standing committees, one advisory committee, and there is one ad hoc committee.

00:16:16 Speaker 03: Each of the standing committees and the advisory committee are comprised of a mix of council members and members of the public.

00:16:24 Speaker 03: Council makes the final decision on all matters.

00:16:34 Speaker 03: Minutes from all of these committees' meetings go to council for final approval, as council has the ultimate decision-making authority.

00:16:52 Speaker 03: That's why in report recommendations you will often see wording such as "the advisory committee recommends that" or "the committee recommends that city council do X, Y, or Z."

00:17:12 Speaker 03: While council holds the ultimate decision-making authority, committees have an important role in providing advice and recommendations to council, hosting public meetings or open houses,

00:17:24 Speaker 03: and monitoring and evaluating financial and operational performance of programs and services.

00:17:35 Speaker 03: This committee typically meets four times a year, and the dates for this year are listed on the slide.

00:17:58 Speaker 03: Please note that there is no meeting currently scheduled at the end of 2026 due to the election, which is in October.

00:18:18 Speaker 03: Outlook meetings have been sent to all members for this year, and the website calendar is also up to date.

00:18:33 Speaker 03: Agendas are published the Friday before the meeting, and Christina will send out an email to let you know when it is published.

00:18:45 Speaker 07: Agendas are to be read prior to the meeting.

00:18:56 Speaker 07: Please let Christina know at your earliest convenience if you are unable to attend a meeting.

00:19:07 Speaker 03: This helps to ensure that quorum will be met.

00:19:21 Speaker 03: Additionally, if you are going to be attending virtually, please connect with Christina, so that she can set up an electronic meeting and send a Teams link to you.

00:19:36 Speaker 03: The mandate of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery Advisory Committee is to provide advice and recommendations to Council on art gallery policies, programs, and services;

00:20:03 Speaker 03: provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and actions on policy, programs, and initiatives related to the art gallery; implement and support the work of council in achieving the vision, goals,

00:20:15 Speaker 03: and objectives of the city strategic plan and cultural master plan.

00:20:30 Speaker 03: Review, provide feedback, and participate in city policy development in areas relating to the art gallery, and engage, support, and work collaboratively with partners.

00:20:53 Speaker 06: And I'll turn it over to Aidan to provide some information on the art gallery.

00:21:08 Speaker 03: Thank you to the clerk and through the chair to the committee, just a few things here.

00:21:21 Speaker 03: We have that I'll bring you up to date on for the art gallery.

00:21:37 Speaker 06: Here's our vision statement: is to be an open landscape for exploring art, and our mission is to develop exhibitions and programs that enrich the region and contribute to national visual arts discourse.

00:21:57 Speaker 06: We promote and support emerging and professional artists.

00:22:12 Speaker 06: We advocate for the creative sector, and we actively research, preserve, develop, and exhibit the collection to promote scholarship and to generate and explore new ideas;

00:22:33 Speaker 03: we are committed to welcoming and inspiring people of all representations, ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

00:22:48 Speaker 03: So the Tom staff commonly bring updates to this committee, and you'll see that in my report today, respecting the following items: exhibitions, programming, fundraising, grants, collections, and operations.

00:23:00 Speaker 03: Here's our organizational chart, and as you can see here, I am underneath Community Services, and I have five staff.

00:23:08 Speaker 03: Curator of Exhibitions and Collections, Shannon Binghamman.

00:23:22 Speaker 06: Heather McLeese is our curator of Public Projects and Education, so she runs all of our education programs in house and the things that we do outside of our walls as well.

00:23:44 Speaker 06: Ian Dickey is our Exhibitions and Engagement Assistant.

00:24:00 Speaker 03: You'll often see him at the front desk, and when he's not there, he'll be assisting with installing exhibitions.

00:24:28 Speaker 02: Kim Skeen, to my right here, is our Operations coordinator, and she takes care of lots of invoices and attendance tracking and all kinds of administrative things for us, as well as our film series.

00:24:59 Speaker 03: Emily Coleman was joined us last year as a part-time fundraising coordinator, so she's working with the fundraising team on lots of projects and our major fundraising event, the Calendar Project.

00:25:15 Speaker 03: And I'll talk more about those things as we go through my report later.

00:25:40 Speaker 03: A couple of interesting facts that I thought I'd share with the committee here: the origins of the gallery date back to 1959,

00:26:02 Speaker 03: when art was displayed in the church that was purchased by the Grey County Historical and Art Society.

00:26:22 Speaker 03: And Tom Thomson is Canada's most iconic artist.

00:26:36 Speaker 03: He lived in Leith and he frequented Owen Sound.

00:26:44 Speaker 03: The gallery was established and built through donations and the advocacy of his family, colleagues, and his friends.

00:27:08 Speaker 03: The gallery has an art collection that contains more than 260 works that span over one hundred and fifty years and includes paintings, drawings, works on paper, photographs, installation pieces, and even a motorcycle.

00:27:40 Speaker 03: The gallery has acquired over one thousand artworks in the last fifteen years, and of these, two hundred and forty have been designated as having outstanding national significance through the Canadian Cultural Property Review Board process.

00:27:58 Speaker 03: And the question that we get asked the most: How did Tom Thomson die?

00:28:05 Speaker 03: Something we still can't answer.

00:28:15 Speaker 03: I've highlighted a few accomplishments from last year, and in the next slide, you'll see some of the goals that we have for this year.

00:28:30 Speaker 03: And one of the highlights was the loan of Sarah Robertson's Blue Sleigh to the National Gallery of Canada for their exhibition Winter Count.

00:29:07 Speaker 03: It's currently on view, and it explores winter as represented by Indigenous people; so we're really proud that not only do we have the collection in house,

00:29:23 Speaker 03: but we're able to loan it to other major institutions that want to show it as well.

00:29:42 Speaker 03: The three Tom Thomson paintings that were recently bequeathed to the gallery underwent conservation treatment, which was made possible through generous donations from the public.

00:30:02 Speaker 03: And these works were first presented in the safekeeping exhibition in their original condition, alongside the fundraising campaign to support their conservation and frame; support their conservation and framing,

00:30:22 Speaker 03: and I'm so pleased to report that that conservation work has now been complete, and we are now moving on to the framing stage for those works.

00:30:37 Speaker 03: Camp Tom last year wrapped up after six incredible weeks of creativity for us.

00:30:47 Speaker 03: A total of 87 campers attended; that was like three shy of being completely sold out.

00:31:02 Speaker 03: And with that in mind, several spaces were held for youth to attend at no cost, thanks to the sponsorship of Kiwanis.

00:31:20 Speaker 03: And last year we also had the return of our convergence juried exhibition, which was a huge success for us, attracting just under 300 submissions of art from over one hundred and ninety artists.

00:31:40 Speaker 03: The exhibition featured a compelling cross-section of contemporary works by artists in the region, and was a real draw for us throughout the time that it was on display.

00:31:59 Speaker 03: A couple of highlights from the upcoming year in terms of education: I talked about our camps.

00:32:14 Speaker 03: We want to expand them this year, so we've been working on some plans to do that.

00:32:27 Speaker 03: We're going to be launching some new PD day camps and hopefully an extra week of art camp in the summer.

00:32:42 Speaker 03: Exhibitions: We're curating a major collection that celebrates the recent acquisitions of Grey County artist George McLean's work in the fall.

00:32:56 Speaker 03: And in terms of fundraising, we're organizing our second palette-to-palette fundraising event, which will highlight local food and art.

00:33:16 Speaker 03: And this year, we're theming it around the George McLean exhibition and that idea of let's go wild as a wildlife artist; we thought it was quite fitting,

00:33:30 Speaker 03: and we can tie that theme into the food and to the experience for the evening.

00:33:43 Speaker 03: Partnerships: We're continuing with our open team projects with Pollinate Owen Sound, planting native gardens at the library gallery and at the Waterfront Heritage Center.

00:33:56 Speaker 03: Planning for two thousand and twenty-seven.

00:34:08 Speaker 03: It's incredible to think it's going to be one hundred and fifty years since Tom Thomson was born, and the gallery's sixtieth anniversary; Gallery's 60th anniversary,

00:34:25 Speaker 03: so our team is definitely looking at ways that we can make a great celebration and acknowledgement out of that date.

00:34:32 Speaker 03: Thank you, Aidan.

00:34:37 Speaker 03: Does anybody have any questions for Aidan on their presentation?

00:34:40 Speaker 03: Kelsey.

00:34:41 Speaker 03: Thank you.

00:34:52 Speaker 03: I have a couple of questions about the Tom camps, and I am a big fan and feel like they've been such a success.

00:35:11 Speaker 03: I'm wondering if the sponsorship for camp spots, like that the Quants Club is doing, is that an ongoing commitment to have some spots set aside for lower-income youth?

00:35:24 Speaker 03: Through the chair, thank you for that question.

00:35:41 Speaker 03: That's a great one, and we will be approaching them again to see if we can have those spots sponsored; but it was just so great to have that available and really important.

00:36:01 Speaker 03: So it's not an ongoing thing, but we'd love to extend it to this year as well through an ask.

00:36:20 Speaker 03: And then my next question, and I kind of maybe already know the answer, but it is an opportunity to kind of share it publicly.

00:36:36 Speaker 03: I understand that the March break camp is not running in 2026; in two thousand and twenty-six,

00:36:52 Speaker 03: and I was wondering if you wanted to provide some sort of background or context to why that's not happening in two thousand and twenty-six.

00:37:03 Speaker 03: Thank you through the chair.

00:37:04 Speaker 03: Great question.

00:37:17 Speaker 03: We're moving towards pay what you can programming for March break because it removes an economic barrier, and we're really excited; we hope that we can get lots of people in to do self-guided activities,

00:37:40 Speaker 03: and it just offers another alternative to paying for a full week of camp, and kids can come in and explore the exhibitions and also make art at a very low cost,

00:37:56 Speaker 03: just by making a donation or pay what you can for that week.

00:38:03 Speaker 03: Linda, thank you.

00:38:13 Speaker 03: And further along to that, Aidan, what is the normal cost for a spot in one of those camps normally?

00:38:24 Speaker 03: Thank you; through the chair, I have to double-check the exact number.

00:38:30 Speaker 03: We've changed it for this year.

00:38:35 Speaker 03: It's two hundred and seventy-five.

00:38:40 Speaker 03: Kim has just informed me it was last year,

00:38:52 Speaker 03: and so we might be increasing that just a little bit this year because we had some costs associated with purchasing T-shirts that were tie-dyed as one of the activities.

00:39:05 Speaker 03: So we'd like to include that in the cost.

00:39:11 Speaker 03: Have you set any dates and when the camp's going to operate?

00:39:19 Speaker 03: Thank you through the chair.

00:39:21 Speaker 03: Yes; Through you, Chair.

00:39:29 Speaker 03: Yes, we are tentatively looking at July and August dates again.

00:39:39 Speaker 03: Perhaps I can't recall if there was an extra week at the end of June, but I think it's just July and August.

00:39:47 Speaker 03: Thank you.

00:39:50 Speaker 03: Any other questions for Aidan?

00:39:53 Speaker 03: Go.

00:39:55 Speaker 03: Yep.

00:39:56 Speaker 03: Scott.

00:39:56 Speaker 03: Thanks.

00:40:02 Speaker 03: Just noticed that this year, Aidan; for the first time is passed by me in other years.

00:40:11 Speaker 03: How old is our mission statement for the gallery?

00:40:18 Speaker 03: That was part of our strategic planning that occurred in shortly after I arrived.

00:40:26 Speaker 03: So that strategic plan, I think 2023.

00:40:32 Speaker 03: Kim's nodding here, so somewhere around that time frame, I could confirm that for you.

00:40:49 Speaker 03: So it's; and we are actually in the process of re-refreshing our strategic plan, so as part of that, we look at our vision, mission, mandate statements,

00:41:03 Speaker 03: and make sure that they're still aligned with what we're doing.

00:41:08 Speaker 03: Okay, I can easily support the vision.

00:41:16 Speaker 03: The mission statement is probably quite wordy, and it becomes a little undefined; I think so.

00:41:26 Speaker 03: That's just something in the future.

00:41:34 Speaker 05: Then I think that Warren's paying attention to it in comparison to what's the standard mission statement?

00:41:45 Speaker 05: I wasn't going to ask, but I will ask now because it was brought up regarding the March camps: What revenue is being compromised compared to last year and not charging;

00:41:57 Speaker 05: because the cost remained the same and revenues are a key component of decision making.

00:42:01 Speaker 05: So now I'm curious what we're doing and not charging.

00:42:07 Speaker 05: Thank you through the chair for that question.

00:42:14 Speaker 05: So, last year we did have some additional fees through renting the Harrison Park hall there.

00:42:20 Speaker 05: Is it the inn, Pam, or the hall?

00:42:25 Speaker 05: The hall; so, you know, for us it was a great pilot project.

00:42:35 Speaker 05: There, it didn't make as much money, maybe because we had some additional fees associated with that.

00:42:54 Speaker 05: This year we wanted to add the week into the summer time because we felt that's where parents really need it, and that's the feedback that we received from parents throughout the summer.

00:43:19 Speaker 01: So the March break then offered us the opportunity to have this free drop-in program and use it as a way to get maybe more people in, so that we can actually promote those camps;

00:43:35 Speaker 01: We'll be having registration open very shortly for them.

00:43:44 Speaker 05: So having lots of people come in allows us to promote the summer program with the extra week.

00:43:57 Speaker 05: Okay, I would just note there wasn't an opportunity to host those camps inside the gallery last March because it was closed for repairs.

00:44:14 Speaker 07: So you had to sustain that external cost.

00:44:28 Speaker 07: Was the camp at full capacity last summer, or what opportunity did exist to still round out participation?

00:44:45 Speaker 03: As I recall, the camps were not at full capacity; I think we still had a couple of spaces left available.

00:44:53 Speaker 03: Following up, what is the capacity?

00:45:01 Speaker 03: Last year, we're looking at expanding our capacity next year as well.

00:45:13 Speaker 07: So we're hoping to be able to increase the amount that we can take.

00:45:24 Speaker 07: It was 15 kids for summer.

00:45:27 Speaker 07: Kathy.

00:45:35 Speaker 03: Yes, two things: First of all, I'd love a copy of the strategic plan; and secondly, I'm thinking that to the fundraising committee,

00:45:50 Speaker 08: would it be possible to come up with donors who would be prepared to cover the cost of a camper?

00:46:03 Speaker 08: I think that would be a really nice thing to do.

00:46:16 Speaker 03: I'm thinking of the way that Georgian Bay Symphony invites sponsorship of musicians in the symphony.

00:46:27 Speaker 03: It's very reasonable, and my guess is that it might be on a fundraising list.

00:46:36 Speaker 03: Thank you, and through the chair, yes, absolutely.

00:46:48 Speaker 03: Our strategic plan refresh document will be brought back to this committee for their feedback and input.

00:46:56 Speaker 03: Absolutely, and I think that's a really worthwhile idea.

00:47:12 Speaker 03: We're also pursuing educational sponsorships with various companies, so the fundraising coordinator has a package that she's been making an approach with.

00:47:20 Speaker 03: So I think even looking at other opportunities to sponsor is great.

00:47:25 Speaker 03: Any other questions from any committee members?

00:47:29 Speaker 03: That being so, can I ask for a motion to receive report?

00:47:32 Speaker 03: Okay.

00:47:35 Speaker 03: We'll move on to the next slide.

00:47:39 Speaker 03: Okay, here we go.

00:47:45 Speaker 03: So, did you include your update report?

00:47:49 Speaker 09: Anything that we need to do now?

00:47:54 Speaker 09: Okay, I think it was done.

00:47:58 Speaker 09: Yeah, wasn't it?

00:48:01 Speaker 09: 7B is when they did.

00:48:04 Speaker 09: That's up next.

00:48:10 Speaker 03: Is that one, which is the report from the director and curator, February twenty-six update report.

00:48:15 Speaker 03: That's back with Hayden.

00:48:19 Speaker 03: Seven B, seven B. Verbal update from fundraising coordinator, fundraising plans.

00:48:30 Speaker 06: Thank you.

00:48:34 Speaker 06: And through the chair on.

00:48:40 Speaker 06: And through the chair, unfortunately, our fundraising coordinator couldn't be here today due to a family situation.

00:48:56 Speaker 03: But most of the updates are actually contained in my report, so I will provide that update as I go through my report to you.

00:49:09 Speaker 03: Thank you, and I apologize for the blip there.

00:49:21 Speaker 02: On the public forum, any correspondence received, which direction is required?

00:49:32 Speaker 02: I don't hear any sort of notice.

00:49:34 Speaker 02: Okay.

00:49:39 Speaker 02: Now we go on to now you can go on to your report.

00:49:49 Speaker 03: Aidan, on your—we've done the organizational work plan, right?

00:49:53 Speaker 03: We did 10A.

00:49:55 Speaker 03: Is a different one again?

00:49:57 Speaker 03: Okay.

00:50:02 Speaker 05: It's a lot of this stuff.

00:50:05 Speaker 05: Okay.

00:50:07 Speaker 05: Well, thank you, and through the chair.

00:50:21 Speaker 05: So this is the first year that the city has developed a unified plan for the work that will be done across the organization;

00:51:01 Speaker 01: the 2026 business planning process was focused primarily on developing an integrated organizational work plan, including reviewing and analyzing dependencies and linkages within the organization to identify opportunities for collaboration and greater alignment,

00:51:15 Speaker 01: and to ensure that the work plan was achievable.

00:51:32 Speaker 01: As a first step, core service profiles have been included in the organizational work plan to provide perspective and scope, complexity, and volume of work managed throughout the organization on a day-to-day basis;

00:51:59 Speaker 01: so the basis for the projects and the core services essentially remains the same, with a focus on advancing the 2050 vision priorities and implementing recommendations and actions from various master plans.

00:52:13 Speaker 01: So, with that, basically attached to this is that organizational work plan.

00:52:22 Speaker 01: I don't know if anyone had a chance to review it in detail.

00:52:37 Speaker 01: Quite a few pages are contained there, but if you have any questions, Pam or myself would be happy to answer.

00:52:48 Speaker 01: Does anybody have any questions on that?

00:52:53 Speaker 01: I did go through it all.

00:53:06 Speaker 10: I will admit, I was too indelicate to do that.

00:53:08 Speaker 10: Now, do we just again receiving that?

00:53:13 Speaker 10: I need a mover to receive the report.

00:53:22 Speaker 10: Ben, all those in favor?

00:53:31 Speaker 03: Thank you.

00:53:37 Speaker 03: Now, does the February two thousand and twenty-six report update report, Aidan, please.

00:53:41 Speaker 03: Thank you.

00:53:44 Speaker 03: Through the chair, to the committee.

00:54:00 Speaker 11: I'm pleased to bring an update to the committee on the activities and the upcoming programs that we have.

00:54:09 Speaker 11: I'll start out with one of the highlights.

00:54:26 Speaker 01: On January twenty-fourth, the gallery opened two new exhibitions, including a major retrospective of Flesherton-based artist Harold Clunder, and Harold has quite you know he's quite recognized nationally and within the province as well.

00:54:50 Speaker 01: So we had a great turnout for that event, and we were so pleased to be able to welcome him and have him see his work across basically seven decades.

00:55:06 Speaker 06: It was truly a special event for us.

00:55:23 Speaker 03: As I mentioned, we've just completed the conservation treatment of those Tom Thomson paintings, and during that conservation, a previously unknown title was revealed, and it's called Gray Day.

00:55:38 Speaker 03: And so it's always exciting when you're able to, you know, send these works out.

00:55:49 Speaker 03: Georgian Bay Conservation did the work on them, and they were able to essentially uncover the title for that work.

00:55:58 Speaker 05: So that's always quite exciting to us.

00:56:18 Speaker 03: We're excited to announce upcoming Emergence, which is going to provide local high school students with the opportunity to showcase their artwork in a professional gallery setting, and that show will run from April to June,

00:56:36 Speaker 05: and it will essentially celebrate youth and creativity.

00:56:58 Speaker 05: And currently, in the atrium, we have an exhibition of photographs called "North of Freedom" that's on display in partnership with the BME Church Grace Center Owen Sound,

00:57:32 Speaker 05: and it highlights the descendants of formerly enslaved African Americans who settled in Ontario, including Owen Sound, and this project celebrates the resilience, cultural heritage, and local Black community contributions.

00:58:07 Speaker 05: It's an opportunity for people to come in and learn a bit more about what the church is doing as well.

00:58:26 Speaker 05: So now I'm going to, as I move through my report, I'm just going to draw some attention to our visitor and engagement audience outreach for two thousand and twenty-five.

00:58:42 Speaker 05: So we had a total number of visitors that were counted manually by staff.

00:58:53 Speaker 05: These are the people walking up to the front desk that they're engaging with: nine thousand four hundred and ten.

00:59:08 Speaker 05: The laser door counters for our exhibition spaces; those are the counters at the doors to the exhibition spaces, were ten thousand five hundred and forty-two.

00:59:23 Speaker 05: And the facility visitors, the total count from our laser counters at the front doors was sixteen thousand three hundred and sixty-eight.

00:59:31 Speaker 05: And I thought you might find it interesting to look at a little bit of a comparison there.

00:59:47 Speaker 05: So our visitors counted manually by staff was almost very close, slight increase from the final of 2024.

00:59:55 Speaker 05: The final in 2023 was 5,792, so you can see we keep sort of engaging our visitors.

01:00:01 Speaker 05: We're growing in that area, and our exhibition visitors counted by the laser counters was also increased at 10,542 versus 9,490 in the year prior.

01:00:02 Speaker 05: So with that, it just gives us a bit of data.

01:00:02 Speaker 05: I mean, other things that we can compare when we look at the percentage of visitors from Owen Sound last year: forty-four percent.

01:00:02 Speaker 05: The year prior was forty-eight percent, so holding steady around that area.

01:00:02 Speaker 05: The percentage of visitors from Grey Bruce and Simcoe was twelve percent; thirteen percent the year prior.

01:00:03 Speaker 05: Seniors were forty-one percent the year prior; they were thirty-two percent, so a bit of a jump there.

01:00:03 Speaker 05: And the number of adults: forty-two percent in 2025 versus forty-six percent in the year prior.

01:00:03 Speaker 05: So just kind of some interesting statistics that help us understand where people are coming from and what their demographic might be.

01:00:03 Speaker 05: So I have a whole bunch more information contained in my report about the number of visitors as they are broken down for different events like Earth Day, the Waste Watchers Project, Doors Open,

01:00:04 Speaker 05: etc. And I just also note that these attendance figures are strong, especially considering that we were closed for three months.

01:00:04 Speaker 05: So I'm hoping that we see even more growth this year given that we won't be closed for the first three months of the year.

01:00:05 Speaker 05: So our exhibitions: I've already touched on a little bit.

01:00:05 Speaker 05: The other exhibition that I want to highlight to you is Forecast, because it draws from our permanent collection and explores attunement to weather, atmosphere, and seasonal change.

01:00:05 Speaker 05: And this show has really got an incredible number of Thompson's oil sketches in it, and so we've had really positive feedback from people; they've really enjoyed being in that exhibition.

01:00:05 Speaker 05: And then on an opposite wall, we actually have like a Claristoria style hanging of works from the collection that speak to the season of winter, spring, and they will change in spring to summer, fall.

01:00:05 Speaker 05: So you know we're bringing people along with the changes in the weather through that exhibition.

01:00:05 Speaker 05: A couple of things in terms of our education and youth programming as a core priority.

01:00:13 Speaker 05: I talked about Emergence.

01:00:15 Speaker 05: We have a call for submissions going out, and we're reaching out to local high schools across the Bluewater District School Board to connect with our teachers and students.

01:00:16 Speaker 05: And we want to make this a great success and an opportunity for them to engage with and see their work at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery.

01:00:16 Speaker 05: So it's pretty exciting.

01:00:16 Speaker 05: We have a few things coming up.

01:00:17 Speaker 05: We've got the senior social talk at the YMCA; actually, just happened.

01:00:17 Speaker 05: Our public projects and education curator Heather McLeese gave a presentation on Tom Thompson, and she promoted membership and things like that to a group,

01:00:17 Speaker 05: which I believe our current chair attended and said it was very well done.

01:00:17 Speaker 05: So Art Explorers, a group of Canadian Federation of Women's Institutes, will be visiting the gallery, and I'm giving a talk to the North Grey Women's Institute.

01:00:17 Speaker 05: And we'll have Steve and Catherine Harris giving a presentation on the BME Church, its history, and recent renovations, including Legacy Hall at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery.

01:00:18 Speaker 05: So as I noted, we're celebrating Black History Month with that installation in the front foyer, and plans are underway for Camp Tom.

01:00:18 Speaker 05: We aim to launch it on February 17th, with registration opening for those seven weeks of summer art adventures.

01:00:19 Speaker 05: We're aiming yet again for campers aged eight to twelve, and it will blend outdoor exploration and gallery inspiration, hands-on studio art making, and using our collection to really teach and learn from.

01:00:19 Speaker 05: So each week is unique, and has different activities, different themes, and so we're really hoping for a great summer with lots of kids attending that.

01:00:19 Speaker 05: I've noted in this report here: we're hoping to expand that program to seven weeks in July and August, and offer two PD day workshops in June.

01:00:20 Speaker 05: And we've increased the camp capacity from fifteen spaces per week to seventeen spaces per week; so thirty-four campers for the two PD days as well.

01:00:20 Speaker 05: So other things: we continue our relationship with the library through our Baby Time programming.

01:00:20 Speaker 05: I've noted our March break open studio family art experiences activity that will be taking place at the gallery.

01:00:20 Speaker 05: Our Upcycling Tom project will be collaborating with Hillcrest this year.

01:00:21 Speaker 05: This project's in its third year, and it's been so positive for us; it's brought so many families and kids into the gallery.

01:00:21 Speaker 05: And this year it's supported by a four thousand dollar grant from the Community Foundation Grey Bruce.

01:00:22 Speaker 05: And so Hillcrest Elementary students this year will be reinterpreting Tom Thomson's painting Wildflowers.

01:00:23 Speaker 05: So every year we pick a different painting for them to reproduce with recycled materials, and so the plan is to have the art display in the atrium for the month of April.

01:00:23 Speaker 05: We're going to have a family day event when we invite all the kids and families to come in and celebrate with us;

01:00:23 Speaker 05: and then afterwards we're going to take those works and have them distributed throughout the River District, likely in store windows.

01:00:24 Speaker 05: So it's another way to sort of connect with local businesses downtown: have the students work on view, and it's just a great project for us.

01:00:24 Speaker 05: Gallery Night at the Movies is in its twenty-eighth season, which is just incredible.

01:00:25 Speaker 05: We're approaching thirty years of Gallery Night at the Movies, and so the remaining winter/spring dates have been confirmed; they're in my report.

01:00:25 Speaker 05: There we've been selling lots of tickets so far.

01:00:25 Speaker 05: There was an unfortunate hiccup with our first movie due to technical issues, but we're working on getting that film rescheduled.

01:00:26 Speaker 05: So a bit about collection stewardship and conservation progress: I've mentioned the Blue Sleigh as a highlight already, so I don't need to go through that again.

01:00:26 Speaker 05: The relocation and reorganization of the collection into the gallery's inner vaults is nearing its completion.

01:00:26 Speaker 05: And while the installation of new storage shelving has allowed us to maximize the existing capacity of our spaces, the project hasn't created additional room for new acquisitions;

01:00:27 Speaker 05: and our ability to accept and grow the collection is really significantly constrained by this limited storage capacity.

01:00:27 Speaker 05: At some points we'd hoped that through that reorganization we might be able to create some more space, but we're just really too tight, and we've done our best to prioritize which works go where:

01:00:27 Speaker 05: like which works go into the intervault and so on.

01:00:27 Speaker 05: I've provided you with an update on the Tom Thomson Bequest as part of my highlight; but in February Charlie Hill, who is the former curator of Canadian art at the National Gallery of Canada,

01:00:27 Speaker 05: is going to be visiting us to actually view these paintings in person, with the intention of preparing a statement of authenticity.

01:00:28 Speaker 05: And that supports the gallery's application to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board for CPERB status; and it will be submitted by the April 1st deadline for that.

01:00:28 Speaker 05: Now we get to our fundraising and revenue development: new development section here.

01:00:28 Speaker 05: We were successful in achieving a four-year operating grant spanning two thousand and twenty-six to two thousand and twenty-nine, a total of two hundred and eighty thousand dollars,

01:00:29 Speaker 05: seventy thousand dollars a year from the Canada Council for the Arts.

01:00:29 Speaker 05: We will be applying to the Ontario Arts Council in the Visual Arts Organization category for a multi-year operating grant through the newly launched Ontario Arts Operating Fund.

01:00:30 Speaker 05: This application is due March 24th; they have now released an invitation to apply to that, and the OAC operating grant for two thousand and twenty-six has already been received.

01:00:30 Speaker 05: The gallery received the four thousand dollars from the Community Foundation Grey Bruce for Upcycling Tom, and a grant application has been submitted to Young Canada Works for three summer art camp students.

01:00:30 Speaker 05: So planning is underway for our Palette-to-Palette event; I touched on that already.

01:00:30 Speaker 05: We're going to be celebrating all things wild in the context of George MacLean's exhibition.

01:00:30 Speaker 05: He will be an honorary guest that night so we're going to enjoy welcoming people to meet him and get to know him a little bit, and celebrate those acquisitions that we have:

01:00:31 Speaker 05: many of which have never been seen in this context before.

01:00:32 Speaker 05: So we're working on all the things around that including sponsorship, catering, and so on.

01:00:32 Speaker 05: And let me take a look here on the next page.

01:00:32 Speaker 05: So basically our fundraising coordinator is preparing the sponsorship packages to support the event and other visible opportunities throughout the year.

01:00:32 Speaker 05: I know the chair has been working with several staff on potential lecture series as well.

01:00:33 Speaker 05: And with that: you know we're headed for another strong year of growth for the gallery.

01:00:33 Speaker 05: We had some operational disruptions last year, and without those, you know I'm excited to see where we go and hopefully grow our attendance, programming, and engagement.

01:00:33 Speaker 05: I'm happy to take any questions.

01:00:33 Speaker 05: Thank you Aidan.

01:00:33 Speaker 05: I want to say: as you mentioned, I actually was at the presentation that Heather did at the YMCA; and my observation was first of all it wasn't...

01:00:34 Speaker 05: It was interesting.

01:00:34 Speaker 05: Most people knew a little bit about Tom Thomson but not a lot, and it was a good learning experience.

01:00:35 Speaker 05: And also she was very good about saying "Come to the actual gallery."

01:00:35 Speaker 05: I mean to me this is a wonderful form of outreach which I think we should do more of: to hit kind of groups like this.

01:00:35 Speaker 05: To actually tell them what's in the building; not just Tom Thomson but also what else is there.

01:00:35 Speaker 05: It was interesting, same thing happened at our fundraiser where we did the vault tour.

01:00:36 Speaker 05: When Heather talked about that everybody went "Oh you can actually go and see what's inside the inner workings of the gallery."

01:00:36 Speaker 05: It was really important to people to hear.

01:00:37 Speaker 05: As I said: I think I would encourage more of the outreach things like that, small groups; there are a number quite around here, even as far as Collingwood and Thornbury,

01:00:37 Speaker 05: not just Owen Sound but beyond.

01:00:38 Speaker 05: My other question is: Do we have...

01:00:38 Speaker 05: Can you give me an idea about the budget and where we are in the status of our budget?

01:00:38 Speaker 05: Through the chair this year's two thousand and twenty-six budget was recently approved by council on January 25th or 6th; so the budget's approved, and we're rolling along.

01:00:40 Speaker 05: So no significant changes to the gallery's budget.

01:00:41 Speaker 05: Just further: is there anything we should be looking out for in terms of what Aiden thinks there might be coming up that could make a difference to our budget?

01:00:41 Speaker 05: Through the chair with Aidan's report each time the committee meets certainly if there are any variances whether it's in revenue generators or if there's a cost that came up that wasn't expected,

01:00:41 Speaker 05: that is atypical we would certainly note it for your attention as well.

01:00:41 Speaker 05: The Director of Corporate Services reports on all the city departments and divisions; she does that also through corporate services.

01:00:41 Speaker 05: So certainly one of the things we're doing is keeping track of both revenues and expenses.

01:00:41 Speaker 05: Personally I just would like to see a quick update at our meetings because it would help us understand where are we with the budget, what's actually working and what's not working.

01:00:42 Speaker 05: As simple as that; it's really important to know those things.

01:00:42 Speaker 05: Any other questions?

01:00:42 Speaker 05: Mayor Kelsey?

01:00:42 Speaker 05: I might actually need some help with this.

01:00:42 Speaker 05: You made reference to Mr. Hill coming for a visit and authenticating these new works, as I understand.

01:00:42 Speaker 05: And you said it would lead to... something about changing our status or something about federal cultural property.

01:00:43 Speaker 05: Could you repeat that for me?

01:00:43 Speaker 05: Absolutely, through the chair: Canadian cultural property is basically federal cultural property with restrictions on it; it can't leave the country.

01:00:43 Speaker 05: There are certain ways to handle it—it's a nod to its importance in terms of the Canadian canon of art history.

01:00:43 Speaker 05: So having works like Tom Thomson's certified this way ensures the cultural property remains in Canada, and that's an important step.

01:00:44 Speaker 05: He'll be providing more support and feedback around those donations to assist with that application.

01:00:44 Speaker 05: Does that have any implications for funding?

01:00:44 Speaker 05: We might be eligible for grants or similar things.

01:00:44 Speaker 05: Are there any implications there?

01:00:44 Speaker 05: Through the chair: That's a great question.

01:00:45 Speaker 05: I think it's something you could certainly use anecdotally; we do have cultural property in our collection, which is another reason to support the art gallery.

01:00:45 Speaker 05: Whether there are specific funding streams around cultural property that I'm aware of... not really—but that is something we could look into.

01:00:45 Speaker 05: Are there any plans for showing these paintings?

01:00:45 Speaker 05: Any events to celebrate their acquisition?

01:00:45 Speaker 05: Thank you, through the chair: That's a great question.

01:00:46 Speaker 05: We're already planning our next calendar and it would be wonderful to think about 2027—celebrating 150 years of Tom Thomson—and also highlighting these works that have been bequeathed to us.

01:00:46 Speaker 05: So we want to feature them in the calendar for sure, and I'm confident Shannon has exhibition plans once they're framed.

01:00:46 Speaker 05: We'll obviously want the public to have the opportunity to see them.

01:00:46 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:00:47 Speaker 05: Any other questions?

01:00:48 Speaker 05: Anyone?

01:00:48 Speaker 05: Linda: Congratulations on getting that four-year funding; it's incredible.

01:00:48 Speaker 05: It's hard to get, and I know it took a lot of work.

01:00:48 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:00:48 Speaker 05: I have a couple of information-only questions.

01:00:49 Speaker 05: When "Gray Sky" was found on the back of something else, how do you handle that?

01:00:49 Speaker 05: How do you decide which part to exhibit?

01:00:49 Speaker 05: Or...

01:00:50 Speaker 05: Oh, thanks.

01:00:50 Speaker 05: Yes; we also like to show the backs of works as well as the front.

01:00:50 Speaker 05: It's always a bit of a challenge.

01:00:50 Speaker 05: Certainly there are different ways to display such pieces.

01:00:51 Speaker 05: If we want people to see both sides, there are options—display cases or other framing methods that allow them to view the evidence essentially.

01:00:51 Speaker 05: So yeah, that's a great question; we've thought about it.

01:00:52 Speaker 05: But yes, thank you.

01:00:55 Speaker 05: It'd be fun to decide: well this time one shows here and the other next time.

01:00:56 Speaker 05: And another question related to the palette—you said there will be options for silent and live auctions where people can go home with pieces.

01:00:56 Speaker 05: Where do those pieces come from?

01:00:56 Speaker 05: I know the art is owned by the city, so how do you get these others?

01:00:57 Speaker 05: Thank you: Great question; through the chair—the pieces are normally donated to us by artists or owners who wish to donate them.

01:00:57 Speaker 05: They don't enter our collection permanently; they're just donated for fundraising purposes.

01:00:57 Speaker 05: Oh, sorry—I've got one quick question.

01:00:57 Speaker 05: Can you provide some context on what that $280,000 over four years ($70,000 a year) looks like compared to previous funding from the Canada Council?

01:00:58 Speaker 05: Federal governments worldwide are struggling with deficits; I'm just wondering where they stand regarding this support.

01:00:58 Speaker 05: Thank you: And through the chair—our support remained stable relative to prior years.

01:00:58 Speaker 05: In sessions leading up to applying for the grant application, they indicated that most institutions would remain at a similar level and had very little additional funding available.

01:00:58 Speaker 05: Yes—I was also wondering whether...

01:00:58 Speaker 05: you're at all involved with this chef in Owen Sound, who's Indigenous and who apparently is doing amazing things.

01:00:59 Speaker 05: I don't even know where the restaurant is, but he's been given a Michelin star, which is pretty amazing.

01:01:00 Speaker 05: And whether he's involved at all with the wild food that you're looking at.

01:01:01 Speaker 05: Through the chair, that's a really interesting suggestion.

01:01:01 Speaker 05: We have done actually a fundraiser with him in the past, and you know it was really successful, and it was a great event.

01:01:01 Speaker 05: So I appreciate that you've brought that forward as a suggestion.

01:01:02 Speaker 05: Any other questions, committee?

01:01:02 Speaker 05: In that case, we have a recommendation in front of us.

01:01:02 Speaker 05: Do I need a mover for that recommendation?

01:01:02 Speaker 05: Kelsey, thank you.

01:01:03 Speaker 05: Okay, now take a vote on that one.

01:01:03 Speaker 05: You're going to keep me on track, I hope.

01:01:03 Speaker 05: Kim was really good at it.

01:01:03 Speaker 05: Okay, all those in favor, report.

01:01:06 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:01:06 Speaker 05: Okay.

01:01:07 Speaker 05: Thank you, Mr. Chair.

01:01:09 Speaker 05: So this is a report regarding the terms of reference for the work.

01:01:09 Speaker 05: Terms of reference for the working groups.

01:01:09 Speaker 05: So, in 2023, council or this committee and council approved terms of reference for three working groups.

01:01:09 Speaker 05: The first one was fundraising, art collection, and the expansion team.

01:01:10 Speaker 05: And the work of these teams really has been an asset to the Tom Thomson Art Gallery and has allowed volunteers to offer their support in areas where they have experience, interest, and knowledge.

01:01:10 Speaker 05: So they don't necessarily have to be part of this committee; they may just be members of the public with an interest in supporting a particular area.

01:01:10 Speaker 05: So recently, we were updating or creating a team, sort of based on this model, for the River District,

01:01:11 Speaker 05: and we noted that there was a housekeeping adjustment that should be made to these terms of reference to include the code of conduct.

01:01:11 Speaker 05: So we've made that minor change.

01:01:12 Speaker 05: We're also suggesting some minor changes in the fundraising group to acknowledge the role of staff, so there's clarity for staff and working group members about who would be doing what,

01:01:13 Speaker 05: and so that we're clear on expectations.

01:01:13 Speaker 05: And then, lastly, the report speaks to pausing the work of the expansion team.

01:01:14 Speaker 05: So the next step in that process would be for the fundraising feasibility study.

01:01:14 Speaker 05: So this just suggests that we pause that working group for now.

01:01:14 Speaker 05: They haven't been meeting until the fundraising study is complete, and then that group would be reconstituted as required at that time.

01:01:14 Speaker 05: So the recommendation before you today is that the Tom Thomson Art Gallery Advisory Committee recommends council approve the updated terms of reference for the fundraising team and the collections team.

01:01:16 Speaker 05: And I should have noted those were attached to the report highlighting those changes, and then approved that the expansion team be paused and reconstituted with an updated terms of reference when that would be required.

01:01:16 Speaker 05: Any questions for Pam?

01:01:16 Speaker 05: Sorry, thanks, Pam.

01:01:16 Speaker 05: I'm just not sure.

01:01:17 Speaker 05: I don't have it in front of me right now, but I did note when I was reading through that on the part regarding the fundraising team, M48 Team M Four H, I think,

01:01:17 Speaker 05: struck out recognizing appropriately the donors, sponsors, whatever, and I just wonder when you struck that out, is that subsumed?

01:01:17 Speaker 05: Okay.

01:01:18 Speaker 05: It sounds like there's an answer from Aidan.

01:01:20 Speaker 05: Okay, thank you.

01:01:20 Speaker 05: And through the chair, yes, with our fundraising coordinator being on staff, we would like to keep that in-house so that there's consistency in how we recognize our donors and sponsors and supporters.

01:01:21 Speaker 05: So that's why it's not on the fundraising team to do that.

01:01:21 Speaker 05: Any other questions, comments?

01:01:21 Speaker 05: Oh, sorry, it's Councillor.

01:01:21 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:01:25 Speaker 05: My question is regarding the item under meetings.

01:01:25 Speaker 05: It says the team will meet struck out as monthly, and I realize that was changed to quarterly, I believe, but it's now as required or at the call of the chair.

01:01:25 Speaker 05: Why is that?

01:01:25 Speaker 05: Say "as required" instead of quarterly.

01:01:25 Speaker 05: Or, I thought when we discussed about committees, we felt that possibly this committee would meet more often than quarterly.

01:01:31 Speaker 05: If you could comment on that.

01:01:31 Speaker 05: Sorry, these would just be the teams, either fundraising or art collection.

01:01:31 Speaker 05: So, this board and I know council will, and this committee had provided some feedback for council's consideration of the committee structure, not to be confused with teams.

01:01:32 Speaker 05: But understand where that comment came from.

01:01:32 Speaker 05: Thank you for bringing that up because I remember I was thinking the same thing.

01:01:32 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:01:32 Speaker 05: In that case, we have a recommendation.

01:01:33 Speaker 05: Oh, Scott, and it's not something that I had to highlight because it's already highlighted for me.

01:01:33 Speaker 05: But the one part is scratched out.

01:01:33 Speaker 05: Item 4F For F, tracking and reporting progress toward fundraising goals to the advisory committee.

01:01:34 Speaker 05: I'm just wondering what does staff anticipate substituting that same type of reporting to this committee year or moving forward if it's not formally addressed now in the terms of reference.

01:01:37 Speaker 05: Thank you, and through the chair for that question.

01:01:37 Speaker 05: So essentially, the tracking and reporting of progress towards fundraising goals will be done by staff and brought to the advisory committee rather than the fundraising team,

01:01:37 Speaker 05: who are volunteers and may not have all those pieces in place.

01:01:38 Speaker 05: So it just streamlines everything.

01:01:38 Speaker 05: You'll still continue to receive an update memo from the fundraising team chair, but it might be more specific to like the calendar campaign or some other things that they're directly involved with.

01:01:38 Speaker 05: Where I will be bringing the larger picture of everything back to this advisory committee.

01:01:38 Speaker 05: So there is coordination between the two parts between the volunteers and staff position; also they collaborate in planning events.

01:01:38 Speaker 05: Thank you, through the chair.

01:01:38 Speaker 05: Yes, the collaboration occurs between staff and the fundraising team.

01:01:39 Speaker 05: The staff typically will direct the fundraising team towards those areas that they need the most support in, and seek advice and guidance and help from the fundraising team around those areas that they've identified.

01:01:39 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:01:41 Speaker 05: Any other questions, comments?

01:01:41 Speaker 05: We have a recommendation in front of us.

01:01:41 Speaker 05: I mean, a mover for the recommendation.

01:01:42 Speaker 05: Yes, good, Councillor.

01:01:44 Speaker 05: Good.

01:01:44 Speaker 05: Oh, I was just going to move the recommendation.

01:01:47 Speaker 05: Okay.

01:01:47 Speaker 05: All those in favor?

01:01:49 Speaker 05: Carried.

01:01:49 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:01:49 Speaker 05: Where are we now?

01:01:49 Speaker 05: Did we get the update report?

01:01:49 Speaker 05: It was attached on the fundraising team.

01:01:52 Speaker 05: Aidan, yeah.

01:01:53 Speaker 05: Aidan, make any comments on that?

01:01:53 Speaker 05: Is this the fundraising team report?

01:01:53 Speaker 05: I would offer that maybe someone from the fundraising team would want to present the update from that report, Peter.

01:01:53 Speaker 05: I don't have it in front of me.

01:01:56 Speaker 05: I apologize, Kelsey.

01:01:56 Speaker 05: Do you?

01:01:56 Speaker 05: You're on.

01:01:56 Speaker 05: You're not doing well.

01:01:57 Speaker 05: Okay.

01:01:58 Speaker 05: Thanks, Kim.

01:01:58 Speaker 05: Okay, the report from Marianne Alton, who is the fundraising team chair.

01:01:58 Speaker 05: The fundraising team met on January 8th to complete the 2026 calendar campaign and plan for the 2027 edition; volunteers collected unsold calendars and money from sales mid-January.

01:01:59 Speaker 05: The region has been divided into five areas: Owen Sound, Sable, South Grey, South Bruce, North Grey Bruce, and East Grey Simcoe.

01:01:59 Speaker 05: For the first time, the point person of each area is a member of the Tom fundraising team.

01:01:59 Speaker 05: This has built a deeper understanding of the retailer commitment to supporting the Tom by selling calendars.

01:01:59 Speaker 05: The relationship between the volunteers and the retailers is an important element of this project.

01:02:00 Speaker 05: Our volunteer teams are excellent ambassadors for the Tom.

01:02:00 Speaker 05: Forty-one retail outlets in Great Brashear participate in the 2026 calendar campaign.

01:02:00 Speaker 05: I just want to add that as one of those volunteers, the reception of the calendars was really interesting and very encouraging.

01:02:00 Speaker 05: The best part was when I had to go around to collect the unsold ones; they all said, "Can we be part of the campaign next year?"

01:02:00 Speaker 05: Which is incredibly encouraging to hear.

01:02:00 Speaker 05: Twenty-seven long-term care homes received ten calendars each to distribute to the residents, and art teachers from Bluewater District School Board and Bruce Grey Catholic Board each received two calendars.

01:02:00 Speaker 05: In communication to homes and schools, an invitation to book a tour of the ROM Tom was included.

01:02:01 Speaker 05: This was an insert that was added into each calendar.

01:02:01 Speaker 05: Again, I delivered these to the homes.

01:02:01 Speaker 05: Again, I wanted to express again how really excited they were: "Oh, they're coming!

01:02:01 Speaker 05: It's great!"

01:02:02 Speaker 05: And actually, one of them where I'm not going to say where it was, two people at the front desk at the home were lined up waiting for them.

01:02:02 Speaker 05: So, okay, this is working; it's really good.

01:02:03 Speaker 05: The excitement about the opportunities for 2027, the 2027 edition of the calendar celebrating our 150th anniversary of Tom Thomson, has the opportunity to grow this important fundraiser, and that's the report we received.

01:02:03 Speaker 05: Report to be received.

01:02:04 Speaker 05: We need a motion to receive the report or we just received the report.

01:02:04 Speaker 05: Through you, Chair.

01:02:04 Speaker 05: Looking at a past meeting, you didn't have a motion, so we'll just move on to the next item.

01:02:04 Speaker 05: Kathy, I just wanted to say that this is really wonderful news because when I was on the advisory committee, Anne Keeling brought forward the idea of doing this calendar,

01:02:04 Speaker 05: and I can't tell you how much skepticism she was met with.

01:02:05 Speaker 05: And it was a huge struggle, with a lot of volunteer input that got the first calendar out.

01:02:05 Speaker 05: So you know, sometimes things work, and that's really good news.

01:02:06 Speaker 05: Added into that, I remember it was—I think it was in Creamware Pharmacy where they said, you know, people are buying calendars this year.

01:02:06 Speaker 05: They haven't done it; they sold more calendars, not just ours but other ones as well too.

01:02:08 Speaker 05: People are back to paper calendars.

01:02:08 Speaker 05: Interesting.

01:02:09 Speaker 05: Is there a report on the art collection team?

01:02:09 Speaker 05: I don't believe there is.

01:02:10 Speaker 05: No, and no update from the expansion planning team either.

01:02:10 Speaker 05: I believe.

01:02:10 Speaker 05: No matters postponed.

01:02:10 Speaker 05: No motions for which notice was previously given.

01:02:11 Speaker 05: No motions.

01:02:11 Speaker 05: No correspondence items being presented for information.

01:02:11 Speaker 05: Was there any additional business we wanted?

01:02:12 Speaker 05: Any additional business we want to discuss?

01:02:13 Speaker 05: I'm looking at Pam who's playing around.

01:02:13 Speaker 05: Pam, are you doing?

01:02:13 Speaker 05: I don't think there were any items of additional business noted.

01:02:13 Speaker 05: A little preoccupied there.

01:02:14 Speaker 05: I thought maybe you did have something.

01:02:15 Speaker 05: If there is any.

01:02:15 Speaker 05: Thank you.

01:02:15 Speaker 05: Okay and notices of motion.

01:02:15 Speaker 05: Are there any?

01:02:15 Speaker 05: Any notices?

01:02:16 Speaker 05: Nope.

01:02:16 Speaker 05: Then we have adjournment.

01:02:16 Speaker 05: We in motion for adjournment.

01:02:16 Speaker 05: At oh, we don't.

01:02:17 Speaker 05: I've always gone through. We have to at least one person ask to be motion for adjournment. Okay, different rules. It's fine. At 3:04 p.m. Thank you everybody. Our next meeting is scheduled for May the sixth. Thank you for attending and have a good day. It's getting warmer. The sun's out. Enjoy the sunshine.