Annual Report 2022-2023


Hello everyone,

Welcome to this 33rd meeting of the General Assembly of the Association des Familles Demers Inc. Being now able to return to a normal life is more than welcome and it is with great pleasure that I submit the report of our activities for the year 2022-2023 as well as projects we had planned for or changes in the making for the year 2023-2024.


I would like to thank all the people who give so generously of their time, be it as administrators or volunteers. Nothing would be possible without their contribution. These people are a dynamic team and contribute with their generosity and determination in making our Association a unique organization.

So here’s what we’ve accomplished during the past year:

GOVERNANCE

• Four meetings of the Board of Directors were held:
  • April 23, 2022 (video conference)
  • September 11, 2022 (face-to-face meeting)
  • October 29, 2022 (video conference)
  • February 4, 2023 (video conference)

•  We also had very many exchanges via the internet or the telephone.

  
  
  NEWSLETTER COMMITEE
  
  In charge: Andrée Demers in collaboration with the other members of the Board of Directors.
  
  This year we have a new contributor for the newsletter: Maurice Demers. As soon as he joined the Board, he offered to write very interesting historical capsules for the Association. Also, Élaine provided us with a summary of the German presence in the blood line of some of our Demers members, and let’s not forget Suzanne who, year after year, writes good articles for us. Thank you to the three of you and to all who collaborate closely or remotely in the realization of our newsletter!
  Do you wish to contribute an article, a slice of life concerning your ancestors or yourself, old or recent photos of an event? We are takers, as our wish is to bring diversity to our newsletter! info@famillesdemers.org
  
  
  

  MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
  
  In charge: Alain Demers
  
  Marketing / Promotional Products
  
  We currently have an interesting inventory of items bearing the image of our coat of arms. At the time of writing, we are preparing to add ceramic cups to our promotional items. A list of all our promotional items, as well as a revised interactive order form, are available on our website in the section”Boutique”. These items are all very reasonably priced and you could use them as gifts for your family members. All these items are also available on site during our annual gathering.
  
  Communications:
  Alain is in charge of publishing articles highlighting exploits or other interesting facts about the Demers on our Facebook page. Sometimes they are Facebook “souvenirs”, commemorations (Remembrance Day), announcements of events involving Demers (Outaouais Book Fair, Mélanie Demers’ Show), or announcements (new website, date of the gathering, etc.). We try to vary the topics in these publications. The number of members is constantly increasing and thus allows Alain to interact frequently with descendants of Demers throughout North America.
  
  If you want to be notified of our publications, please go to our page and click on the “like” under the picture of the Board members, then select the option “Favoris”. This way, you will see our new posts on your news feed.
  If you know of an event of interest highlighting a Demers let us know at: info@famillesdemers.org
  
  Our website has been completely redone by Maurice and Philippe, who gave a lot of their time to make it user-friendly and above all, filled with interesting information! This was necessary following a virus attack on the server of our old hosting site. We had to rebuild our website and find another affordable and secure hosting site. The servers of the Fédération des Associations de Famille du Québec (FAFQ) was chosen to house our site. I invite you to consult it: https://www.famillesdemers.org

  
  
  MEETINGS AND GATHERINGS COMMITTEE
  
  In charge: Hélène Demers, helped by all the members of the Board
  
  In 2022, we were finally able to resume our annual meetings. The gathering in St-Nicéphore was a success, although we had hoped to have more participants. The visit to the greenhouse of the “Productions Horticoles Demers” was extremely interesting. Jacques Demers, president of this company, was admitted as the first member of our Hall of Fame.
  Our Annual General Meeting was held at this gathering and we are very pleased to have then recruited a new member to the Board of Directors: Maurice Demers (357).
  
  Subsequently, at a special meeting, the Board in turn appointed a revamped and rejuvenated Executive Council (C.E.). We are all proud to announce that Andrée Demers becomes our new President, Alain the Vice-President, Johanne our Secretary, Luc Gingras remains our Treasurer and Suzanne becomes the Representative of the Board on the C.E.

  
  
  GENEALOGY AND HISTORY
  
  In charge: Johanne Demers
  
  We received the new version of Heredis 2023 free of charge. Subsequently, Johanne and Alain followed a virtual training introducing the novelties. Currently, our genealogical database contains more than 82,000 names. In January, we changed our subscription to Ancestry: Instead of the Discovery Canada version, we purchased the Canada Plus version. It provides access to civil status records and censuses around the world, facilitating research on Demers living in the United States, which was not possible with the old version.
  Several paper documents are being “digitalized” by Johanne, Hélène and Andrée (with the help of her daughter Elisabeth). When the work is completed, Johanne will be able to attach the
  digitized information to the archives of the Demers database. These are mainly notarial deeds, baptisms, marriages and burials records, but there are also articles and extracts from books concerning the Demers. Johanne can receive your genealogical requests via the Association’s website or at: SecretariatDemers@hotmail.com

  
  
  TREASURY
  
  In charge: Luc Gingras
  
  During the General Annual Meeting of June 11, 2022, Luc Gingras presented his current financial statement as well as forecast for the coming year with the analysis report completed by the analysts mandated to accomplish this task. We have now taken the necessary steps and prepared an appropriate procedure form to receive various payments from our Canadian members via Interac Transfer. We are also seeking for possible solutions to offer an equivalent service to our American members and hope that this will eventually be possible.

  
  
  SECRETARIAT
  
  In charge: Johanne Demers
  
  Since June 2022, Johanne has assumed all responsibilities of the role. She’s added the tasks that were formerly carried out by Rosy: Preparing agendas and drafting minutes. For her part, Rosy proofreads various texts as well as their translation. Johanne, also continues in the very special task of tracking membership cards.
  
  
  

  I must mention that at the beginning of the year, the renewal of annual and five-year membership cards is going very well. This leads us to believe that our members appreciate our work and what is presented to them.
  for the year 2023-2024.
  
  Thank you for your time,
  Andrée Demers,
  President