DIRECTOR OF FINANCE WORK BLOG

[steveleenow]

My first entry!

It is my intention to keep a blog here about what work I am doing each day regarding the KSA and my portfolio. I've done this in the past on my own personal blog - http://steveleenow.livejournal.com/, but I often get into my own personal ramblings about life and other things and most likely, I will continue posting things there as well.

This blog will focus exclusively on KSA related work, and although no one is mandated to do so, I hope other staff, executives, liaisons and perhaps the campus councils will also maintain similar blogs. At the very least - I hope everyone at the KSA will regularly participate in this forum!

More soon,

- Steve

[steveleenow]

I've posted pictures I took of the February 21, 2007 KSA Council meeting that was held at the Langley Campus yesterday...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveleenow/sets/72157594549809418/

[steveleenow]

Today has been somewhat productive...

- Met with Desmond, Titus and a consultant the KSA has hired to assist with CUPE collective bargaining negotiations that have been ongoing;

- Sorted more paperwork; and

- Worked on a number of HR budget amendments that will be brought to Council very shortly (when the budget was approved, it was noted that there would be some amendments that would have to come forward in the HR staffing area. These amendments will have the effect of lowering the contingency and the full text of these amendments will appear in the up-coming Council agenda);

- Researched possibly amending the budget to lift the tuition benefit that executive board members receive (currently, executive board members receive $700 per year provided they can show proof of enrolment in courses. This was set back in 1999 or 2000, when tuition was approximately $40 per credit. I think it would be fair to see this increased to approximately $1,800 per year as tuition has increased by more than 100% since the $700 level was set). There are other terms attached to this as well, as laid out in our regulations:

http://www.kusa.ca/index.php?pid=148#s9

- Researched the creation of a new benefit that would hopefully give more incentive to elected officials for attending meetings of council [how would this work? Well, that is being drafted... but the executive felt last fall that this would be a good idea. Right now, I'm thinking we could set it up so that Campus Council Directors, Representatives as well as Liaisons could possibly get $25 for every Council meeting they attend. There are approximately 24 meetings a year (2 per month) and the money would be given out at the end of the year (or at the end of an official's term of office), and it would be up to the general manager to handle the dispertion of the funds... I know what you may be thinking - it is the duty of all elected offiials to attend these meetings. I agree. But the wages for elected officials is very low and there are nearly no benefits. I do believe that to attract good people, they should be fairly rewarded. And I'm not talking about increasing wages or benefits by crazy amounts as happened last year under the previous administration, as documented on my site:

http://www.steveleenow.net/kwantlen/ops/finances/payincreases.htm

In fact, no lifts other lifts to the base salary / wages of elected officials is being entertained for 2007 as it cannot technically happen until 2008].

The Finance Committee will be reviewing all salaries / wages to try and provide a minor lift to them for the 2008 fiscal year. If this is a topic that interests you - attend our meetings!

In fact, the dates of the next two Finance Committee meetings were also set by me today, as follows:

- Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 2pm SURREY
- Thursday, March 8, 2007 - 2pm SURREY

I also got my business cards today - YEAH!

Time to head home...

- Steve

[steveleenow]

It's 9pm and I'm still at the KSA... I did some more work tonight on coming up with a recommendation for Monday's Executive Board Meeting regarding the KSA DAYCARE BURSARY. The following is the text of the report and recommendation I have made to EBOD:



Daycare Bursary…

The following information was received from the foundation office:

“The Daycare Bursary was established April 4, 2005 and is still active. $5,000 towards this award was paid on April 5, 2005. The criteria is as follows:

Kwantlen Student Association Day Care Bursary: The Kwantlen Student Association offers 10 bursaries annually to Kwantlen students, enrolled part-time or full-time studies in upgrading or university transfer courses.  Criteria: Funds must be directed towards daycare related expenses.  Documentation must be attached to the application form confirming a child's registration in a daycare facility. Amount: 10 x $500.  Application Deadline: Available throughout the year. Application forms are available at all Financial Awards Offices. 

In 2006, the KSA administered this award on its own. It appears that they gave out amounts ranging from $250 to $500 and up. A complete listing of what was given out is not yet available.

In the 2007 budget, Council expressed a wish that:

·   the day care bursary created in 2005 be continued, even though no dedicated funding currently exists for any awards or bursaries (previously $1 per student per semester had been allocated towards bursaries);

·   $6,000 be allocated to a “Young Parents Bursary” (this is the line item that existed in the 2005 budget);

·   the bursary be administered through Financial Awards; and

·   fundraising is conducted to raise more funds for support of KSA awards & bursaries.

It is my recommendation that the KSA maintain the Day Care Bursary as setup in April 2005 but alter the amounts given so that more students can benefit to be as follows - 10 x $250; 5 x $400; 3 x $500.

BIRT the Executive Board authorize the immediate release of $6,000 to the Kwantlen University College Financial Awards office in support of the Kwantlen University College Daycare Bursary to be given out in 2007.

BIFRT the description be changed to read: “The Kwantlen Student Association offers 18 bursaries annually to Kwantlen students, enrolled part-time or full-time studies in upgrading or university transfer courses.”

BIFRT the criteria and application deadlines as set in April 2005 remain the same but that the amount given be changed from “10 x $500” to “10 x $250; 5 x $400; 3 x $500.”

Other Awards established in 2005…

Council has allocated funding towards supporting a number of other awards that are given out in the fall. These awards were setup in September 2006 by the previous administration and the KSA is committed to funding them for five (5) years. We are in year two (2) of these awards.

I am currently reviewing the criteria of these awards to ensure they do not “clash” with any currently existing awards and will bring recommendations for any (minor) amendments and for the release of this funding to the Kwantlen Foundation to EBOD within two (2) weeks.

It is my hope that the KSA can fundraise enough money this year and in the years ahead to turn some of these newly created awards into endowed awards that will forever be on the books as awards created by the KSA, but which will require no further funding (unless the KSA wishes to add more money to any endowed fund so that more awards can be given out).

Furthermore, any additional fundraising could go towards offering more Daycare bursaries in 2007.

Additional Notes

When I sent the above report to the Executive and Council, I added two points that the Executive should consider:

1. Perhaps EBOD should consider on Monday directing the financial awards office to ensuring that the funds are available year long (to avoid all the funds going out the door right away).

2. The KSA should see if these funds can be matched by any other group (government or Kwantlen). I've asked the financial awards office, but I have yet to hear back from them. Laura - perhaps you can bring this up at your next meeting with Dr. Ross - ask him if Kwantlen would match the $6,000 we are giving for this, so that the final amount available for the bursary is $12,000?



... so hopefully the Bursary is one step closer to being re-established. Prior to 2004, the KSA used to have other bursaries and it is the KSA's hope that all bursaries will be re-established within the next year or so -this will be made very easy if funding for bursaries is restored in the upcoming referendum.


- Steve

[steveleenow]

After having a muchly needed sleep-in, I'm now getting ready to meet with the KSA lawyers this afternoon in downtown Vancouver. For those of you who may not read our minutes and agendas too closely, the KSA is represented by David B. Borins with Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy, LLP. Information on David can be found here:

http://www.farris.com/lawyer.aspx?LawyerKey=7

Information on the firm in general can be found here:

http://www.farris.com/our_firm.aspx

After that meeting, we'll be meeting with Tompkins, Wozny, Miller & Co., an accounting firm that specializes in delivering audit, tax and consulting services. The firm does the auditing of many student unions and other non-profit organizations across BC. They were selected by the membership to continue as the KSA's regular auditors at the last AGM held in March 2005. Specifically, we will be meeting with them to discuss doing an audit for the 2006 fiscal year. The firm's site appears to be currently unvailable but has worked in the past:

http://www.twmca.com/

Some of you may know that the KSA is currently undergoing a forensic audit by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) and as such, you may be asking why we are meeting with Tompkins, Wozny, Miller & Co. (Wozny). Well, PWC is handling a forensic audit, but a forensic audit is a very different animal from the regular audit that Wozny is performing. Specifically (and correct me if I'm wrong):

• the period of time covered is different. The forensic audit is covering a period of time spanning from late April 2005 until October 31, 2006. The regular audit is only concerned with activities that occurred from January 1, 2006 until December 31, 2006.
• what each audit looks for is different. The forensic audit is more global and looks at issues of fraud and maladministration. A regular audit is a test of how sound an organization's financial controls are and ensures that an organization's financial statements are based on proper accounting practices and record-keeping.

The KSA is currently working on developing financial statements documenting what happened in 2006. It has been a difficult task as the former administration kept very poor financial records. For example, our financial administrator, with the help of a few 4th year Kwantlen accounting students the KSA hired, is having to re-create our general ledger for 2006. The general ledger is usually kept up to date on a daily and weekly basis and is a complete record of the transactions. Supporting documentation such as meeting minutes or approved budgets go alongside the ledger as well as receipts, expense reports, etc. A lot of this was not done by the former administration and as such; we have to closely examine what records are on hand, and compare that to banking information obtained from the KSA's bankers at CIBC.

So it's a lot of work – but it is being done and soon it will be complete. And then we hope to invite Tompkins, Wozny, Miller & Co. to come and examine our work and the financial statements we develop to produce our audited financial statements and post-audit memorandum.

For more information on how badly the KSA was being run under the former administration, refer to the post-audit memorandum that was issued for 2005:

http://www.steveleenow.net/kwantlen/cbrppdocs/financialstatements/2005/2005postauditmemo.pdf

You can also find complete audit documents spanning back to 1994 on my website:

http://www.steveleenow.net/kwantlen/cbrppdocs/financialstatements/index.htm

Eventually these documents will also be available in a similar format on the KSA’s website.

Our deadline to finish both the forensic audit and the regular audit is mid-March.

If you have any questions about the auditing process – feel free to comment here in the forum, or come see our Financial Administrator Rolando Navarro or myself during our office hours. Also, the Finance Committee that meets regularly discusses these issues – and all meetings are open to the Kwantlen community.

Cheers,

- Steve

[steveleenow]

The meeting with the auditors went well. We are working towards drafting and signing a letter of engagement with Tompkins, Wozny, Miller & Co.

One of the key things surrounding this audit will be the development of a contract with the auditors that will ensure openness and transparency throughout the audit process. The details are currently being worked out, but essentially, should any student have any concern with how the audit is going - they will be able to find the answers they are looking for. It will also ensure that the Post Audit Memorandum will be an open and public document - so that no matter what it says (good or bad), students will know about it.

We also learned that we are probably going to need more time for the regular audit. That is, the KSA and Tompkins may have to issue a letter at the March AGM providing an update on the audit and a revised timeline for its completion. The reason for this ties back to the issues I discussed in a previous post - a lack of information about the KSA finances due to the very poor record keeping abilities of the previous administration. We literally have to recreate our books from scratch - documenting as many expenditures as we can based on what information we have on hand. It also involves contacting suppliers to see if we can get copies of invoices or receipts. So a lot of work has to be done to ensure our books are in proper order. So the forensic audit will be ready for presentation at the AGM, but the regular audit may not be. If the regular audit is not complete, as soon as it is complete, the KSA would hold a special general meeting at which that audit would be presented to the membership.

Another thing I want to work on is bringing some changes to the mandate of the finance committee, so that it has some powers to review and monitor the auditing process. Many non-profits (including Kwantlen) have audit committees that are charged with this task. Another new duty will include setting up processes whereby the committee would review and make recommendations to the Executive and Council on how to address areas raised by the audit, the financial statements and the post audit memorandum.

It’s just one more step towards making the KSA as open and transparent as possible.

Cheers,

- Steve

[steveleenow]

In my last report to Council, I talked about research I had been doing regarding making the KSA a more environmentally friendly and sustainable organization.

Today, in reading my Organizational Behaviour textbook by Steven L. McShane, I stumbled upon "The Warehouse", a New Zealand company that McShane says "has adopted Sweden's Natural Step sustainable development process to reduce dependence on non-renewable substances... It commisions an independent social audit, the results of which appear in annual reports... its strongest symbol of corporate social responsibility is The Warehouse's aim to eliminate land-fill waste by 2020. To achieve this daunting "zero waste" objective, 29 stores have odourless worm farms to digest all organic refuse from the premises. Eight of The Warehouse stores have already achieved this zero waste goal."

They post these social audits on their website: http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/ under the menu item "Society & Environment"...

It also seems VanCity does a lot on this front as well: https://www.vancity.com/MyCommunity/

[steveleenow]

Yesterday was a slow day... the Executive Board had a meeting that took up a good chunk of the afternoon. Minutes for that should be available online soon. Nothing too exciting came out of the meeting... nothing that I'm compelled to report here at this time. After the meeting, I mainly did some office work - dry stuff - e-mailing people, talking on the phone, etc.

I just sent an e-mail regarding a PERMANENT CHANGE IN MY OFFICE HOURS, as follows: I'm switching my hours that have occurred on Tuesdays from 2pm - 6pm to Thursdays from 2pm - 6pm. That change is effective immediately - so I won't be in for my hours today as I have a lot of homework that needs my attention on Tuesdays. That does not mean that I won't be in the KSA at all on Tuesdays - from time to time I may still show up.

I also notified the KSA of a TEMPORARY CHANGE IN MY OFFICE HOURS. I won't be working my hours next week on their regular days as I will be campaigning for a seat on the Kwantlen University College education council. I'll look at starting up a topic on the governance elections on the election section of this forum.


Today, I did a very thorough revision of a document that Duncan Keist, our LGBT Liaison has been working on - an update to the information about the KSA as listed in the Kwantlen University college online calendar. The following is the text of those revisions... it may or may not go through more revisions later today!

------------------------------------------------

Kwantlen Student Association

The Kwantlen University College Student Association (KSA) represents over 14,000 students enrolled at all Kwantlen campuses, and is Local 26 of the Canadian Federation of Students.

The mission statement of the KSA is “…to support its members during their time of study by ensuring adequate provision for their welfare, activities, political, and social needs. Through its democratic procedures, the KSA represents and reflects the concerns and priorities of its membership to the University College and beyond, and strives to uphold the rights of each of its members.”

The KSA offers all Kwantlen students support in three main areas:

1.   Services;
2.   Events & Student Life; and
3.   Advocacy & Student Support

Services

Some of the many things sold at the KSA include:

·   Discount Bus Tickets, Monthly FareSavers, and FastTrax Stickers
·   Discount Gift Cards
·   Discount Movie Tickets
·   Discount Gym Memberships
·   Discount Memberships to the KSA (Talon Room) Fitness Centre in Surrey
·   Playland & PNE Pass Sales
·   Whistler Blackcomb Lift Ticket Sales

Some of the services offered by the KSA include:

·   Discount Photocopying
·   Free Local Faxing 
·   Jumper Cable Loans
·   Low-Cost Binding and Laminating
·   Low-Cost Colour Printing (in Surrey only)
·   Low-Cost Long-Distance Faxing
·   On-Campus Locker Rentals
·   On Campus Student Posting Boards 

Each year, the KSA also provides Kwantlen students with an agenda-daytimer, which students can use to help plan their daily lives.

On the Surrey Campus, the KSA operates the KSA Oasis Café-Lounge, where the Kwantlen community can enjoy a variety of healthy food alternatives and drinks at reasonable prices.

The KSA now operates an online used book buy and sell service at http://www.bcbookworm.com/

Through the Canadian Federation of Students, the KSA offers a number of services that include:

·   Cell Phone Discounts through Student Phones (http://www.studentphones.com/)
·   Free Tax Filing through UFile.ca
·   International Student Identity Card (ISIC) for Travel (http://www.istc.org/)
·   National Online Housing Database (http://www.homes4students.ca/)
·   Student Saver Discount Program (http://www.studentsaver.ca/)
·   Trip Planning through TravelCuts (http://www.travelcuts.ca/)

Through Gallivan & Associates, the KSA offers Kwantlen students a comprehensive health & dental plan. More information on this plan can be found at: http://www.gallivan.ca/studentnetworks/

Finally, in all of its services and operations, the KSA supports environmentally friendly green and ethical initiatives, such as but not limited to:

·   Abiding by an ethical purchasing policy
·   Using quality recycled paper in all of its copiers and printers
·   Ordering promotional products produced from recycled materials
·   Supporting and enacting environmentally friendly policies
·   Working towards a zero-waste objective

Events & Student Life

The KSA sponsors many on campus events throughout the year, including:

·   Candidate debates during municipal, provincial and federal elections
·   Diversity and cultural events
·   Guest speakers, forums, lectures and readings
·   Movie, X-Box, Nintendo and Karaoke events
·   One-man shows and other comedy acts
·   Music concerts
·   Pub nights and club events for Kwantlen students
·   Welcome Weeks at the start of each semester

The KSA also regularly fundraises in support of its student support services, such as student food banks to awards & bursaries.

The KSA operates the Talon Room Fitness Centre on the Surrey Campus, where students can work out. From time to time, the KSA also supports classes and sessions in Yoga, Kickboxing and other activities.

The KSA also maintains lounges on every campus with comfortable seating, widescreen-TVs, wireless Internet access and gaming tables (such as foosball, pool and ping-pong tables).

Advocacy

The KSA offers a number of student support services, including:

·   Academic Appeal Process Assistance
·   Student Food Bank Services
·   Fundraising assistance for KSA Clubs

The Ombudsperson is an independent individual who is responsible for handling complaints from Kwantlen students regarding maladministration within the KSA and Kwantlen University College. Based on these complaints, the Ombudsperson conducts investigations to ensure that existing rules and processes are followed. The Ombudsperson then summarizes the findings in a report in which recommendations may be made to either the KSA or Kwantlen to help improve existing rules and processes.

The KSA also lobbies the University College, local government and other organizations regarding issues that matter to Kwantlen students.

The KSA also supports many educational campaigns that exist to raise awareness on issues that matter to Kwantlen students. Further to this, the KSA maintains a brochure centre on each campus with information regarding the KSA and other non-profit organizations of interest to students.

Pride Kwantlen is a commission for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgendered (LGBT) Students. Pride Kwantlen provides resources and events for LGBT students, and caters to the needs and concerns of LGBT students. Please contact the LGBT Liaison at (604) 599-3483 or lgbt@kusa.ca or visit http://www.kusa.ca/pride for more information. The Pride Kwantlen office is located in the Social Justice Centre on the Surrey Campus.

Finally, the KSA also provides services for students who have traditionally faced barriers in accessing post-secondary education. To this end, the KSA operates the Social Justice Centre on the Surrey Campus – a resource centre for individuals who identify with:

·   Aboriginal & First Nation Students
·   International Students
·   Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgendered (LGBT) Students
·   Mature Students
·   Students with Disabilities
·   Students of Colour
·   Women

Specifically, the Social Justice Centre:

·   Features comfortable seating, meeting space and television
·   Provides information, peer support and referrals
·   Serves as a meeting and gathering place
·   Serves as a place for events, movies and X-Box tournaments

KSA Contact Information

Langley KSA:   604.599.3398
Richmond KSA:   604.599.2721
Surrey KSA: (Main Office)   604.599.2126
Social Justice Centre:   604.599.3483
Website:   www.kusa.ca

For more information on how you can get involved by volunteering with the KSA visit the KSA website: http://www.kusa.ca/

The site features complete contact information for KSA officials as well as interactive forums, news, events, and office hour listings.


----------------------------------------------------




That's about it for now.

Time to study,

- Steve

[steveleenow]

I woke up this morning to a bad allergy attack where I've been sneezing nonstop for the last hour and a bit... so I won't be coming into the KSA right away today - and may not if I don't improve

it sucks, because today our union negotiations start and I was hoping to sit in on the first round... hopefully Mat Huff will be there providing an executive presence along with our senior management

- Steve

[steveleenow]

sigh.

I get through the forms for applying for funding from the Government of Canada for Canada Day events on Canada Day and what do I discover at the end - a part of the form that requires the board of directors to have moved a motion in support of authorizing an individual to make the funding request. This is something that I do not have.

So we will not be getting funding from the Government for our event.

Which is ok. We have funding provided in our 2007 budget. And we will do other means of raising funds and collecting donations.

Another loophole in filling out these forms came in the form of what an organization is allowed to do to cost recover. It is limited and does go against KSA practice (such as charging table fees to for-profit organizaitons like cell phone companies).

This is not something that will be abandoned however. In planning this year's event, we will work towards structuring it as though we would be getting funding - that is - we will structure it as per the requirements laid out in the applications, and then in 2008, we can more easily submit an application as we will know how to work with their requirements in planning this event.

I hope we will be able to do an amazing event - in the last week of June, on the Surrey and Richmond Campus - have a welcome week like event, with a pancake breakfast, BBQ, bands, DJ, henna artists, caricature artists as well as for-profit and non-profit organizations providing information, etc. I'd also like to see us have rental games such as summo wrestling from Partyworks Interactive http://www.partyworks.bc.ca/main.html

More information on funding from the government is located here: http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/special/canada/invitation/funding_e.cfm

[steveleenow]

the allergy attack I had yesterday, kept me grounded most of the day - I slept.

but then, I couldn't sleep last night, and I ended up sending e-mails on work and other things I've been meaning to do. The e-mails were regarding the HR amendments that we need to make. It seems everyday, something new comes up regarding HR and the budget for that, and I want to make sure we get all our ducks in a row, so that we only take one set of amendments to Council when that time is right.

so I went to bed around 3am, I didn't sleep very well and this morning, I'm still sneezing and I have a massive migrane, which I never get... so if anyone needs me, just e-mail me at finance@kusa.ca

- Steve

[steveleenow]

after sleeping a few hours, I discovered I had developed a fever - at around noon or 1, I was at 102.5.

at about 5pm, I was up to 103.

as they say on BSG - frack. so I wasn't in the office today (as I noted I would not be this morning), and tomorrow is probably a write off too.

if you have anything pressing, e-mail me at finance@kusa.ca and I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can.

- Steve

[steveleenow]

I'm still sick... although my temperature is down to 100 now...

I found out this morning that there is a dispute between the recycling pick-up company and the city of Vancouver which got me looking around the City of Vancouver website for more information:

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/solidwaste/recycling/index.htm

that took me to the GVRD website: http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/recycling-and-garbage/index.htm and this interesting article called "The Zero Waste Challenge"...

http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/recycling-and-garbage/zerowaste.htm

http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/zerowaste/pdf/ZeroWasteChallenge-DetailedSummary.pdf

[steveleenow]

two more interesting sites...

http://www.saveourclimate.ca

http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/recycling-and-garbage/residential-garbage.htm

[steveleenow]

my first post in a few weeks - I apologize for not updating this sooner. With being sick for a week and a half, and getting back into the groove of catchup for school and KSA stuff last week, I admit, I have not been paying attention to my online work blog (or even my own personal blog at http://www.steveleenow.net/ ).

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the governance election. I did win a seat on Education Council. I look forward to serving students in that capacity starting this September 2007.

Today I attended http://www.epicvancouver.com/, the sustainability expo. It was very informative and insightful. So much that people can learn about in terms of making our world a little greener and a little more friendly. I got a lot of contacts as I hope the KSA will organize (probably for the spring 2008), an envirnomntal fair of our own. Many of the booths that were at this fair expressed interest in coming to Kwantlen, even at our Welcome Weeks. As those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile now know, I really want to push the KSA in the direction of being much more environmentally friendly and responsible.  As Rafe Mair says - "Make the environment an issue. It's yours to lose."

Last week I helped Surrey Campus Council organize a pancake breakfast in the Oasis Lounge. It went fairly well. We made pancakes from scratch - using all natural ingredients including soy milk and even Splenda sugar (for people who are diabetic). Some of the Surrey Campus Council people made fresh fruit toppings for the pancakes and we had some very nice syrup. We even went out and got gamon bacon, which has a lot more meat on it than traditional bacon from say Safeway or Costco. The only thing that we should have had was donation tins to help raise funds for bursaries. I'd like to see us have them out at each of the offices, and at any information tables or food events that we do. The donation is not mandatory - only those who can aford to give can do so at their discretion. If someone does not have money, then they won't be denied food or participation in what we do. When I was Richmond Campus Director, we had them out at all our events, and for each BBQ we did, we easily pulled in about $300 or more. On another note, we took pictures of the breakfast, which I will post online shortly.

We also cleaned out the cupboards in the Social Justice Centre where the food supplies for Surrey Campus Council and staff are. A lot of old things (mixing bowls, even our grills) were in such bad shape that we decided to start from scratch. What we can donate to say the Salvation Army, we will, but most of it is not worth keeping anymore. And with some of it, it's just because the KSA has owned some of it for so long that it's just at the end of it's useful life. But with some things, like the grills, it was due to negligence of the previous administration. They were not cleaned properly; metal was used on them so they are scratched up. Some were missing parts - all were missing proper drip trays and even the cords used to power them! So it's out with the old and in with the new.

I'm also working on a number of other things, including work on a marketing plan for the association (related to my course work). I also started researching BBQs, because the BBQs the KSA have on hand are in worse shape than the electric grills we got rid of. I took pictures of the BBQs and will post them shortly. I hope we can get nice BBQs that will last - also ones that have a larger cooking surface so we can handle more at once.

I may not have mentioned it before, but I heard back from financial awards and matching may be available through the government for the daycare bursary we are re-establishing. I hope to meet with them shortly to get this finalized.

Work on the forensic and regular audit continues.

Finally, I have started work on a sex education fair I want to hold this fall. I presented it to the events committee and they liked the idea and essentially said if I want to do it, I need to take the lead on it. Which I don't mind doing, as it is something I wanted to do in 2005. I'll post more information on this fair shortly.

That's about it for now...

- Steve