Gail Potter 2563 RCACC PETROLIA has been selected as League Member of the Year for 2024.
Gail’s daughter joined #2563 Lambton Cadets in 2015. At the same time, Gail joined the Support Committee. While her daughter did not find cadets to her liking, Gail has been a valuable member of the Committee since that time. After only a brief time on the Committee, she was elected Secretary. In 2018, she was elected as the Treasurer of the Committee, a position she has held for the past six (6) years. She remains strong supporter of both the Committee and our Cadets. She has been recognized with an Adult Volunteer Service Medal.
She is diligent in her efforts to keep our financial affairs in order. She works hard to ensure our annual statements are correct and submitted to your office in a timely manner. My discussions with her suggest she has a solid working relationship with your staff and communicates with them on a regular basis.
At the same time, she delivers financial statements to our Committee on a monthly basis reflecting our revenue and expenses. As a small Corps, we must keep a close watch on our monthly cash position. We also are lucky to rent our own building and she is our primary contact with the landlord. In addition, she recently assisted RCAC #109 Ingersoll Cadets in the preparation and submission of their financial returns.
Besides her direct duties, she performs a variety of additional volunteer duties in support of our cadets. First, she runs a canteen for the cadets on regular parade nights plus comes out on our occasional Saturdays to provide both canteen and deliver lunch. During the summer, she has also made herself available to support the CAP Program when requested.
Second, she is the key planner for our Tagging Weekends. Working closely with RCAC #102 in Sarnia, she plans the locations for the cadets, establishes the scheduled cadets for the shifts in each location, contacts businesses to obtain permission to solicit support outside their premises and coordinates the adult volunteers to support the cadets. She then coordinates staff to count the money and makes the necessary deposits. Our Tagging success, post Covid, are testament to her hard work and attention to detail.
Third, we recently conducted a one-time capital request to all our local service clubs and Legion Branches. It has raised nearly $10,000 which we are using to replace some our worn out camping equipment, compasses and other equipment used in our training. We also replaced all our old tables in our classroom. This has much enhanced our ability to offer a prime training milieu for our Youth. Gail was instrumental in helping prepare the request letters, track the monies received and preparing our Thank You letters. She also assists with photo opportunities when cheques are presented. (She takes the pictures)
Four, our Support Committee makes application to The Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario to assist in our local Bingo Hall. Working two volunteer shifts per month, we receive sufficient funding allocations to support our leasehold in Wyoming. Gail is responsible for preparing our budget request on an annual basis and tracks the receipt and expenses for the revenues on a monthly basis. She also volunteers regularly to complete a two hour shift at the Bingo Hall. These revenues are critical to our ongoing success.
Overall, Gail is all important member of our Support Committee. In addition to her main activities, she also performs other small duties too numerous to list. She has developed a strong working relationship with all members and the cadets are very open to discussing personal matters with her. She is a true asset to RCAC #2563 Lambton Cadets and is a key contributor to the overall success of the Corps.