President's Report - June 2025

The year 2024 demonstrated the Gulf Islands Residence Association (GISRA) has

continued to provide excellent accommodation through our Meadowbrook facility

as well as explore viable options for furthering ways to support the Salt Spring

community though our Kings Lane property.

This past year has seen the Meadowbrook community maintain full occupancy with

ongoing updates to our infrastructure to the benefit of all the residents. This will

likely be reviewed by our Executive Director, Harry Barnes. In early 2024, the

GISRA Board made the decision to formally close the Meadowlane seniors housing

project given the change in the demographics of the island. What we know

empirically is that Meadowbrook continues to support the seniors’ population on Salt

Spring with a near perfect balance between supply and demand. Adding another

residence structure would have been a mistake.

Harry Barnes, our Executive Director, keeps the Board actively informed on the

status of Meadowbrook. He has proven essential to the smooth operation of the

facility and to the happiness and welfare of all the residents. Harry also provides the

Board with considerable strategic thought towards the future of our Kings Lane

property.

The GISRA Board continues to function in a harmonious manner with decisions to

date following from full consensus. Our board is relatively small in number (5).

Linda Adams serves as our Vice-President, Peter Spencer as our Treasurer, Mike

Garside as our Secretary, and Gord Koppang as Director. We are seeking additional

members who can contribute to future decisions and directions.

Over the past year, we have continued to benefit from the presence of our CFO,

Keena Hicken-Gaberria. We have also had the assistance of Janice Gauthier, a long-

time housing consultant, in navigating the waters around decisions for the future use

of the Kings Lane property. Behind the scenes, the Board benefits from Christina

Antonick, ED and Board Assistant, and Stephanie Bartels, Meadowbrook

Administrator.

My role as President has been made easy by the active participation of all of the

above people. In this regard, I wish to express gratitude for the outstanding

contributions that each has made. I am looking forward to what 2026 will bring in

allowing the Gulf Islands Residence Association to prosper and continue to provide

outstanding support for the seniors living within our accommodations.