The Communications Committee produces three lively and interesting issues of Current Connection, full of important current news about the lake and an annual Yearbook of information about the lake, feature articles and a listing of all members with their local and permanent addresses and telephone numbers. Our Archive subcommittee looks after historical documentation of the activities of the association and the Recreation and Safety subcommittee makes recommendations on boating safety and the quiet enjoyment of the lake.

• Current Connection newsletter
• Yearbook
• Website
• Archives Program
• Recreation and Safety

Projects

see the Communications Report for 2011

Communications is actually a conglomeration of five sub-committees. Communications produces the Yearbook and Current Connections and is in charge of the website to keep members up-to-date on the environmental, social and political matters that affect us all. As well, we coordinate the work of Archives and Recreation and Safety subcommittees. LOBA has an important role to play, knitting together a diverse community of seasonal and permanent residents. The volunteers who make up the five divisions of Communications are key to keeping the association in touch with its members and providing the membership with up-to-date news and information.

Current Connection:

Every year we produce three lively and interesting issues of Current Connection, full of important news about the lake – - articles on shoreline restoration, water quality, tax and assessment issues and notices of upcoming events. Advertising sponsorships are available.

Yearbook:

Our Yearbook is both a membership directory and and services directory surrounded by interesting feature articles, news about association activities and events around the lake. It is beautifully enriched by photos, many taken within the current year from our photo contest. Our advertising representative, Bryan Dearsley  would be pleased to help you select the best opportunity for your advertising to reach our 1500 members.

Website:

Linda McBurney is constantly improving our website. She’s always interested to hear from anyone who has ideas for the site and would love to hear from people who are willing to volunteer their experience to improve it. Is there something you’d like to see, or a link you can suggest? Please contact Linda at: webmaster@loba.ca

Archives:

The mandate of the Archives Program is to collect, organize, describe, preserve and make available, the published and unpublished records of the Lake of Bays Association and the association’s chief officers. The Archives Program is limited to collecting material directly relating to the work of LOBA and does not include general historical material relating to the Lake of Bays. This project was initiated in 2002 by Connie Briant, a former president of LOBA. Katharine Martyn, a retired librarian and LOBA member, was recruited to the project in 2003.

The collection of papers has been organized and boxed in archival document cases. An outline of contents is available and a more detailed finding aid is being prepared. The Archives Committee is actively soliciting additional donations of papers from past presidents and association officers. Earlier material relating to the association is of particular importance, as the early years of the association are not well documented in the present collection. We are also seeking a suitable location where the archives can be safely housed in proper environmental conditions and can become available for consultation, ideally year round.

If you can help in any way with the Archives program, please contact Art and Charmian McCullough at charmart@vianet.ca.

Recreation and Safety:

The Recreation and Safety Committee is your eyes and ears on what is happening in boating safety and other recreational activities. Our mission is to monitor, assess and make recommendation for recreation and safety issues on the lake and adjacent lands. Examples of areas of recent interest include:

• Nuisance boats (noise and speed)
• OPP liaison
• Navigation buoys
• All Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s)
• Safe boating education
• Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC)

2011 Communications Committee Report

Chair: Andrea Duncan

Committee Members: Connie Briant, Carolynne Bull, Sally Coutts, Jane Dupéré, Phyllis Ferguson, Art McCullough, Linda McBurney

What an interesting year it has been for the Communications Committee! Firstly, I want to extend a huge thank you to our advertisers. While advertising in the Lake of Bays Association Yearbook and on our website allows advertiser’s exposure to our members, it also allows the Lake of Bays Association to be able to offer this valuable Yearbook without using membership dollars. We are very pleased to have a new Advertising Manager this year. Bryan Dearsley joined us in September and has been working hard talking to all previous and potentially new advertisers. Bryan is energetic and his experience with the businesses in Muskoka has allowed him to exceed our expectations. Thank you Bryan!

If I had to use one word to describe this summer’s Lake of Bays Association Yearbook, it would be culture! You’ll notice right away that we have an updated look and feel to our Yearbook. This is all thanks to our new Design Editor, Jane Dupéré. Jane has worked extensively in the print and magazine industry. She brings a wealth of ideas, experience, and enthusiasm to our newest layout. I am also pleased to announce that Carolynne Bull is our new Copy Editor. Carolynne works as a Communications Officer for an independent school, but finds the time to volunteer to make sure all our content here actually makes sense to our members. Thank you to Jane and Carolynne for your efforts to ensure that the 2011 Yearbook is our best yet! We would also like to welcome Art McCullogh who will be taking over for Connie Briant, our archivist. Connie and Art have been working together on the archives this past spring and Art will take full reign this summer. Welcome Art! A huge thank you to Connie for her many years of dedicated service to maintaining our archives.

It is not just our look and feel that speaks to our culture, but the articles do too. You will love Marijane Terry’s article,  A Link to the Past, on the history of the S.S. Bigwin on page 14. Many of us watched in anticipation as this historic boat was placed in the water last summer and after reading Marijane’s article, I was impressed by the boat’s history. Thank you to Marijane for submitting such a great article. We realized at last summer’s planning meeting that it was time that we looked a little deeper into other cultural influences at our beautiful lake. Make sure to read my article on the Music Around the Lake to learn all about the amazing talent we have in our own backyard. Lastly, we were so pleased that Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve has contributed an article on hiking. The beautiful photography included in the article will inspire you to get out there and explore this local treasure!    

Lastly, I would like to thank Sally Coutts, Current Connection editor, Linda McBurney, Webmaster, and Phyllis Ferguson, Calendar Coordinator for all their work and support. Have a wonderful summer everyone!