Wednesday, December 4, 2013
CORNELL COMMUNITY CENTRE & LIBRARY
3201 Bur Oak Ave., Markham, ON, L6B 1E3
8:00 am to 9:00 am • Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 am to 9:45 am • New Skating Facility Adopts Old Concepts to Meet the Community’s Needs
Learn how the Municipality of McDougall recently opened their “natural-ice” skating facility at a total cost of 1.3 million dollars. The cost included site preparation, concrete slab with a complete dasherboard system, metal building with enclosure on three sides, concrete building portion that contains ground level, ice resurfacer/maintenance room and staff washroom, concession room, two public washrooms, two change rooms, workout room, storage room, open space area and a Foster Hewitt’s gondola/control room. All areas required seating, full rubber flooring throughout all rooms and entrances to the skating surface. In the summer months the facility accommodates a basketball court and 16 shuffleboard courts painted on the play surface. The parking lot is paved and green areas landscaped and grassed. Winter operation sees the ice operated 14 hours per day. Maintenance floods are performed at each activity switchover or normally 5 times throughout the day, and then nightly maintenance at 2200 hr. The washrooms are open 24 hours/365 days accessible to anyone. There is no cost to skate or play hockey. In the warm season, the facility is open daily for anyone to use. An organized shuffleboard club operates with 80 members and two days per week with formal competition. Ball hockey, roller-blading, basketball, fitness, etc. all take place on a first come basis.
Presenter:
Brian Leduc, Fire Chief, Municipal Enforcement Chief, Director of Parks, Municipality of McDougall
9:45 am to 10:45 am • 2013 CORPORATE SHOWCASE
10:45 am to 11:30 am • Creating Accessible Recreation Facilities for People who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
The Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) has partnered with the Ontario Recreation Facilities Association Inc. (ORFA) for a one year project titled: Creating Accessible Recreation Facilities for People who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. This EnAbling Change project is being produced with the support of the Government of Ontario.
Educational resources – webinars, videos, and articles will be produced to educate ORFA’s members about their obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). These resources will help to create accessible and inclusive environments in recreation centres throughout Ontario. This will enable deaf and hard of hearing people to have increased access to opportunities that promote healthy living and leisure activities.
A key element of the project is the creation of a video that provides insight into how to communicate with Deaf and hard of hearing consumers, along with incorporating communications and alerting devices into the built environment. A series of scenarios were filmed over a two-day period in August at the Pickering Recreation Complex with a number of volunteers and recreation staff. The video will premiere at ORFA’s Annual General Meeting in December, along with an introduction to a series of webinars on customer service, technology, the built environment, legislative requirements and noise induced hearing loss. ORFA members will receive a certificate upon completion of the educational webinars as part of the project, which is expected to be completed by May 2014.
Presenters:
JoAnn Bentley, Program Director, Communications Devices and Accessibility Consulting Programs, and Gordana Mosher, Special Project Lead Accessibility Consulting Services, Canadian Hearing Society
11:30 am to 12:15 pm • 2013 CORPORATE SHOWCASE
12:15 pm to 1:30 pm • Lunch and Annual General Meeting
Agenda:
- Approve the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held Wednesday, December 5th, 2012 in Schomberg, Ontario
- Receive the President's Report
- Receive the Treasurer's Report
- Presentation of December 31, 2012 Audited Financial Statements
- Confirmation of auditor/accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2013
- Receive the By-Law and Governance Committee Report
- Presentation of results of membership vote to amend supplementary letters patent by updating the objects of the Corporation
- Transact any other business that may properly be brought before the meeting.
1:30 pm to 2:15 pm • Social Media For Municipalities
Across Canada, more and more local governments are finding innovative ways to connect with their citizens through social media. In Ontario alone, municipal social media use exploded in by almost 850% in two-and-a-half years, before leveling off dramatically. Redbrick Communications has been tracking who is using social media and how, and developing social media policies and best practices in a municipal government context. Brian will discuss emerging trends and potential approaches in social media for municipal governments, and the importance of having sound social media policies to guide the way.
Presenter:
Brian Lambie, President, Redbrick Communications Inc.
2:15 pm to 3:00 pm • Security Changes in Arenas and Stadiums
The session will explore the evolution of security issues and management in arenas and stadiums. It will provide an overview of all aspects of crowd management, fan services, and the enhancement of the guest experience during times of heightened security measures. It will also outline the development of a crisis management team and a business continuity plan.
Presenter:
Vince Bozzo, General Manager, Air Canada Centre
3:00 pm to 3:30 pm • What’s New – 2013 ORFA Resources Update
Presenter:
Terry Piche, CIT, RRFA, Technical Director
Ontario Recreation Facilities Association Inc.
