Letter from the President,
Diane Kent
November 8, 2008

The OHA Annual General Meeting was held in September, and your Board of Directors will remain unchanged for the coming year, with all members standing and being re-elected. Betty Donald, Tahir Ahmad, Graham Butler and myself will continue the work of the OHA through 2009. However, this means that we still have vacancies for an additional three board members, so please let us know if you feel able to contribute in this way.

As we end this year, I would like to touch on a few of the challenges we have overcome, and some of the directions we wish to explore for 2009. There are a lot of projects which we would like to undertake, although our ability tends to be limited by the volunteer hours available. As projects become clearly identified, we will make the list available, so that members can choose to become involved at whatever level they have time for.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes this year, has been the annual Herb Fair. At the beginning of 2008, the board made the painful decision to suspend the fair due to a combination of lack of volunteer hours, poor attendance, and increasing problems with Harbourfront. However, the Herb Fair has a life of its own. Through a chance contact at the Guelph Conference, we were approached by The Distillery District suggesting that they would be delighted to host the OHA Herb Fair. Susan Elliotson then found us Event Coordinators who were willing to work on a percentage basis. The result is that the Herb Fair will be back; bigger and better on May 31st, 2009. I hope we will be able to count on the support of our members to make this a fabulous showcase for the OHA next year.

Betty Donald has completed the task of transferring all the membership records to the new computer system. This will allow us to make much better use of our records, and will ease the work required to keep them up to date. Betty has now taken over the office management, in addition to all the financial work she has been doing, and I want to thank her, both for her hard work, and for volunteering to stay on - I can not imagine how we would cope without her.

I would also like to thank Jennifer Pottruff, who has bravely volunteered to handle the OHA email. She complains that it is mostly junk, but I assure you, it is a huge relief for me not to face all those emails every day.

With the help of PrimeTime Insurance, we brought in a group home and auto insurance plan for all members. I hope some of you have taken advantage of the good rates. This is the first of several new benefits we expect to implement for members. We are always interested to hear from you, if you have any ideas regarding additional benefits that you would like us to explore.

The Professional Members Committee was very active in 2008, and has achieved an enormous amount. Monika Ghent chairs the PMC meetings, and has done a great job keeping everyone on track. My thanks to her, and to those members who regularly attend or send suggestions to the meetings. We anticipate that the committee will continue their work in 2009. Major areas that are currently being worked on include a method for assessing herbal courses to qualify new professional members, and an analysis of ways in which we can increase the visibility and reputation of OHA herbalists. All professional and student members are invited to contribute to this process. You are encouraged to email, call or attend with questions or suggestions.

As most of you know, we had the huge challenge of analyzing and responding to the federal Bill C51 and C52 in 2008, which consumed vast numbers of hours. Our response is still available on the OHA web site, however these bills died with the election. I am told that they will likely be reintroduced under different numbers now that parliament has resumed, so we will continue to monitor this closely. The web site will be updated as soon as additional information becomes available.

Wishing you a time of rest and rejuvenation through the winter months.

Diane
The material contained on this web site is intended for educational purposes only and no responsibility is assumed for misadventure resulting from the misuse of botanical preparations. If you have a health problem, you should consult a qualified medical doctor for diagnosis. Herbal treatment should be undertaken only with the advice of a qualified herbal practitioner. Self medication may be dangerous or ineffective.

General membership in the Ontario Herbalists Association is open to any herbal enthusiast, and does not imply any fitness to practise herbal medicine. The OHA only supports those members who have met or exceeded the requirements for professional membership, who have been approved, and whose membership is in good standing.