November 27, 2002
Dear Fredericton Constituency Member,
It
is with pleasure that I introduce myself, Patrick Lynch, as your newly elected
president for the Fredericton Constituency Association.
And it is with keen anticipation that I look forward to working with you
during the coming year; a year, which I believe, will bring considerable success
for our party.
Great
things are happening with the Canadian Alliance and a building groundswell of
enthusiasm and renewed support is becoming readily apparent.
Our members in Parliament are 63 strong, and Stephen Harper’s team is
garnering significant attention and wide respect as the most effective Official
Opposition Party we have seen in many years.
His team, strong, united and with a new sense of purpose, continues to
fight for Canadians by offering constructive and sensible alternatives in
critical areas such as the looming war with Iraq, the controversial Kyoto
Accord, trade disputes in softwood lumber and agricultural products, and in
tackling issues in justice and native affairs.
Enough dissatisfied Liberal MP’s even broke rank with their own party
to support a Canadian Alliance initiative to have free votes when choosing
chairpersons to head committees of Parliament.
Unbelievable!
Successful fundraising efforts
have been restored and we are now the only debt free national political party in
Canada. This growing momentum in
financial support is most critical, and will ensure that we are well positioned
to fight the next election; expected within 2 years. Our traditional western base remains extremely strong, and
recent polls indicate that we are gradually gaining strength right across the
country. We are most fortunate to
have strong, capable representation from Atlantic Canada on the National
Council. We are particularly
ingratiated to Dr. Eugene Hill, treasurer for our Fredericton Constituency, and
member of the National Council. His
dedication and hard work is not only a benefit to our party nationally, but also
provides the Fredericton constituency with a clearer understanding of happenings
at the national level.
On
behalf of our membership, I would very much like to thank outgoing president
Richard Bragdon and his board, each and every one of you, for your dedicated
efforts this past year. Thanks
also, to all board members who have committed to serve another term and to
incoming board members, Paul Crabbe and Ed Lenarczyk.
Your Board
of Directors for 2003:
Patrick Lynch
President & Chair; Letter Writing (phone:
451-1112
e-mail:
patlynch@rogers.com)
Richard Bragdon 1st
Vice-president
Janet McKay
2nd Vice-president & Co-Chair Database
Eugene Hill Treasurer
Russell Crosby Secretary
& Chair of Communications (phone:
454-9950)
James Cougle Official
Spokesperson & Co-Chair Events
Paul Crabbe
Perley Demerchant Chair: Membership Committee
Stephen Kilbride Co-Chair Database
Ed Lenarczyk
Georgina McArthur Chair: Poll Organization
Richard Sullivan
Wally Tidd
Chair: Telephone Committee
Zach Ward Chair: Youth & Co-Chair Events
Your
Board of Directors is committed to achieving 4 major goals in 2003:
·
Increasing membership in the Fredericton Constituency
·
Improving the visibility of the Canadian Alliance in Fredericton
·
Raising the funds required to properly support an election campaign
·
Identifying and working with potential candidates to run in
the next Federal Election
With the year 2002 drawing to a close,
may I re-iterate our need for financial
support? By taking
advantage of the “federal political contribution tax credit” a small amount
of money can go a long way. Example: for a $100.00 contribution you would
receive a $75.00 refund after completing your income tax return.
That means for just $25.00 out-of-pocket you would be supporting your
party to the tune of $100.00! We
have also implemented what we call the $10.00 solution.
We can arrange convenient options for those who might wish to give $10.00
monthly. What that means is for
just $2.50 per month
you could make a real difference in helping us raise the funds we will
need to provide a strong challenge in the next election. To make a donation
contact Eugene Hill at 472-8759. Don’t
forget that to receive a tax credit receipt for the year 2002, Eugene must have
all donations in and processed by Dec 31, 2002. Please get donations in to him
by Dec 16, 2002 so that he has time to process them. . We are counting on your
support! For those who have already contributed, please accept our very sincere
thanks and be assured of our commitment to meet the objectives outlined above.
We are expecting that Stephen Harper
will be visiting Fredericton early in the New Year and we will be planning many
more exciting activities in 2003! We
will keep you informed of Mr. Harper’s pending visit and other upcoming
events. We hope that each of you
will come out and meet the leader, offer your strong support, and help us begin
building momentum here in Fredericton.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, and prosperous, happy New Year.
Sincerely,
President Fredericton Constituency Association