The AGM reviewed the groups activities for the previous year, foreshadowed its coming activities, reviewed last year’s minutes, overviewed its financial situation, appointed board members, gave out awards and thoroughly broke down the activities of the organization.

“The mission of the WQLC is to help English-speaking adults, families and youth improve their . . .

reading, writing, listening, speaking, numeracy and other life skills through programs adapted to the needs of the individual,” according to a mission statement from the group.

The WQLC is also a non-profit, charitable organization that largely functions through the work of volunteer tutors and board members.

Tutors and learners meet once a week to improve their skills across a variety of areas.

Covid restrictions made it so that tutors and learners couldn’t access learning centres, so the group had to make do with holding online sessions.

The group also distributed over 420 books to participating schools in lieu of their typical in person instruction, which was done to partially compensate for the lack of their Reading Buddy program.

Tutoring hours for the groups peaked in April 2022, just as covid restrictions were lifted and just before the summer when tutors took time off, suggesting that in-person is the way to get the most instruction out.

The group is excited to go back to the old pre-restrictions way of doing things by going directly into schools and learning centres, however they hope to to create something of a hybrid model of interaction between tutors and learners going forward in order to accommodate those who prefer online or live too far away from their tutor.

“The original concept was to go into the schools, that is what we’re going to work on,” said Greg Graham, executive director of WQLC. “But we’re still going to offer the online [service] and then in the following year, we’re going to see how we take the new system and make it a part of our regular offer of service going forward.”

The group AGM also went into great detail overviewing the statistics of the WQLC’s activities, which included facts like the board of directors donated 254 hours doing various administrative duties for the group or that in total WQLC workshops had 317 participants over the entire course of the year.

The meeting concluded with the selection of two new board members and the announcement of the annual award winners

Byeon Lee won the Marilee Delombard Award, which is presented to a learner who has demonstrated perseverance and Sue Kelly won the Tutor Recognition Award for her work bringing the WQLC Reading Buddies program to students at Dr. W Keon school in Chapeau.

“I really wanted to give a thanks to all the board members who have worked over and above us here,’’ said Donna Kushman, president of the board, during her remarks

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