2022
VANCOUVER SECTION AGM 2022
The IEEE Vancouver Section Annual General Meeting was held on March 30, 2022 via virtual meeting facilities.
31 members and friends of the Vancouver Section were in attendance as Section Chair Matthew Wilder began the meeting with an acknowledgement of the meeting being held on First Nations unceded land.
Mr. Rob Anderson, President of IEEE Canada, addressed the attendees, and delivered a message of encouragement and support for the Vancouver Section.
Matthew Wilder presented the Chair’s report, which summarized the activities and the highlights of the Vancouver Section for the year 2021. He commented that while the pandemic limited the activities of the Section in 2021, some significant events did take place and many of them were available to our members via remote conferencing tools.
Jacqueline Nichols, Section Vice Chair and previously Section Treasurer, presented the Treasurer’s Report. She noted that due to the pandemic, operating expenses for 2021 were much lower than normal. The Section enjoys a healthy balance in its general account and in the Section Scholarship Fund account (held at, and administered by the IEEE Canadian Foundation). Attendees voted to approve both the Chair’s Report and the Treasurer’s report.
On behalf of the Section Audit committee, Jacqueline Nichols presented the auditors signed statement of approval. Section members in attendance voted to accept the Auditors report. The Section auditors:
Mr, Oleksandr Sergeyenko
Mr. Paul Smith
Ms. Hui Deng (Lead Auditor)
were thanked for their service. With the retirement of senior audit committee member Hui Deng, a new auditor, Mr. Patrick Sandi was nominated and approved by the attendees.
PLANS FOR 2022
The Section plans for 2021 were addressed. The chair shared his hope that members of the section will have opportunities to gather for face to face events in 2022 as communities emerge following two difficult years of restrictions in the face of the global pandemic.
The IEEE History Committee has recently approved an IEEE Milestone for the achievement of the Trans Canada Microwave System (1958). The Vancouver Section joined several other Sections in proposing and supporting this IEEE Milestone, which will be commemorated on July 1 with the installation of a permanent plaque. This milestone will also be commemorated in several other cities across Canada, in acknowledgement of the economic and social enrichment brought about by the groundbreaking national network which went live July 1, 1958. Dave Michelson is the head of this project, and will be organizing the events for the day of July 1, 2022. Attendees were encouraged to stay tuned for an announcement of the event as the day approaches.
The section plans to invite members to celebrate IEEE Day on October 4, 2022 at the Creekside Community Recreation Centre in Vancouver.
The section executives will be exploring further opportunities to help members reconnect throughout 2022.
SECTION SCHOLARSHIPS
Section Chair Matthew Wilder, on behalf of the Section Scholarship Committee, announced the scholarship winners for all four Vancouver Section Scholarship awards, including the new award in honour of John S. MacDonald:
Thurb Cushing Scholarship Award
– Sayra Gorgani (UBC Okanagan)
Hector J. MacLeod Scholarship Award
– Clinton Gaudet (BCIT)
John Deane Scholarship Award
– Vahideh Shirmohammadli (SFU)
John S. MacDonald Scholarship Award
– Talisha Griesbach (UBC Vancouver)
Each of the awards this year were in the amount of $1,500. Due to the online nature of the AGM this year, certificates and award funds will be presented to the winners as soon as possible after the AGM.
SECTION AWARD WINNERS
Section Chair Matthew Wilder announced the winners of various Section awards for excellent volunteer service in 2021:
Past Section Chair Recognition Award
– Steven McClain
Outstanding Small Technical Chapter
– Joint Circuits & Systems Chapter, Deepali Arora
Outstanding Large Technical Chapter
– Joint Communications Chapter, Vincent Wong
Outstanding Student Branch
– SFU Student Branch, Vahideh Shirmohammadli
Outstanding Affinity Group
– Young Professionals, Amine Doulfikar
Outstanding Section Volunteer
– Chris Scholefield
Vancouver Section Service Award
– Pieter Botman
Section Chair Matthew Wilder took the opportunity to recognize and thank Pieter Botman for his many years of service to the Vancouver Section, not only as communications officer, but as a store of significant institution knowledge for the section.
NEXT AGM DATE:
The anticipated date of next year’s AGM is March 25, 2023. This is subject to change.
ADDITIONAL AGM DETAILED INFORMATION
Additional information, including slides and videos, will be posted, when available, on the AGM 2022 webpage.
Any questions or feedback regarding the Vancouver Section AGM may be directed to Vancouver Section Chair, Matthew Wilder. (email: matthew.wilder at ieee.org)