Huronia Highlands Branch

Huronia Highlands Branch includes Barrie, Orillia, Bracebridge, and the regions of Muskoka, Huronia and Haliburton.

Board Members

Morris Hudasek, President
Dan Downey, Past President
Dawn Myers, Treasurer
Megan Rochford, Secretary
Diane O'Hara, Provincial Representative, Membership, Newsletter
Diane Campeau
Chrissy MacLean, Student Representative
Steve McDonald
Doug Moore
Mario Spiler

Annual General Meeting

We are moving our annual meeting date back to the Fall, possibly at the beginning of October in the evening.

Recent Branch Initiatives

To view the current newsletter, [click here].

Upcoming Branch Initiatives

Workshop

OASW Huronia Highlands Branch Presents "A Taste of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction - Learning to use the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Cope with Stress, Pain and Illness" on Friday, September 14, 2007, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at The Best Western Mariposa Inn, 400 Memorial Ave., Orillia. Dr. Bill Knight, presenter, is the Medical Director, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic, Department of Family Medicine, St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto. His psychotherapy practice consists of teaching this program in Huntsville as well as in Toronto since 1995. It is a program designed to help participants cope with chronic pain, chronic illness, cancer, depression, anxiety, and dealing with events in our lives that feel overwhelming. His presentation includes didactic teaching and exercises. Registration fees: OASW members $40.00. Non-members: $50.00. Lunch is on your own. Seating is limited to 50 participants. For further information, you may contact either Diane O'Hara (705-645-9618 or ohcsi@vianet.ca) or Dan Downey (705-528-1947 or downey@csolve.net).

Annual General Meeting

We are moving our annual meeting date back to the Fall, possibly at the beginning of October in the evening. We hope to have the Findings from the OASW Quality of Work Life Survey presented at that time.

Recent Branch Initiatives

Huronia Highlands Branch Study

Our Membership Survey has been updated and finalized, thanks to Megan Rochford, and is ready to go on line with help of Steve McDonald. Our goal is to reach out to our members. What do they expect from our Branch? How can we best meet their needs? This is our response to declining membership participation in our local events.

Social Work Week

Our main event was a Social Work Job Fair held on March 8th from noon to 4 pm. at the Georgian College, Orillia campus. This event was co-sponsored by the Laurentian - Georgian Campus Social Work Student Club and the OASW Huronia Highlands Branch. We had 11 employers attend and social work students visited through the day. The Social Work Profession Video was shown throughout the event and refreshments served near the end of the Fair. Gifts of the Laurentian key chain were also presented to employer participants. We plan to make this an annual event. Special thanks go to Chrissy McLean, our student representative, for her excellent work at pulling this all together.

News

Our own Board Member, Steve McDonald, has successfully completed his doctoral dissertation and added the title Dr. to his credentials at the recent convocation. Steve teaches the beginning Social Work program at Georgian College and has served both as our Huronia Highlands Branch provincial representative and Vice President, Membership Services, OASW. Congratulations Steve.

Seeking New Board Members

Some of our Board members are retiring in June after a long period of service. Please consider coming on as Board members. We invite you to attend one or some of our meetings to help you in your decision. Two recent members did just that and have joined us. Please contact our President, Morris Hudasek by phone at 705-645-9146 or e-mail hudasek@muskoka.com. We generally meet the first Monday evening of the month.

Contact Information

President: Morris Hudasek, Bracebridge
Provincial Board Representative: Diane O'Hara, Bracebridge