The Director's Message
With the coming of a new year, one has a tendency to look back and reflect on what has past, which I can't really do seeing as I have only been Executive Director since November. But I can reflect as an individual member of the organization. ELAN in a very short period of time (having just turned 3 years) has grown exponentially; transforming itself from having a predominantly web-based presence to one far more visible, tangible and integral to the arts community in general. It's not often that you witness that type of growth within that brief a time period. Clearly our greatest challenge is to sustain this growth, elicit further growth, and to ensure that the organization is structurally sound and has the necessary resources to support it through future endeavours.
Overall we ended the year energized, focused and with a strong sense of motivation. Each new-year will subsequently bring along new ventures, initiatives and challenges, especially as we begin new projects such as our ARTS/Education initiative and tackle issues such as own source revenue & fundraising (which includes examining the possible inclusion of membership fees in the future), as well as developing the means to produce member-centric arts events. The success we achieve will stem from our fundamental dedication, responsiveness, our flexibility in continuously adapting to the needs of our members, our ability to obtain the necessary resources to meet the demand on a timely basis and, without a doubt, our ability to direct our resources where they are most needed.
In closing, I'd like to pay tribute to all of ELAN's Board of Directors, and to the Staff (Sandra and Elizabeth) who make this organization so vibrant and viable, who truly care about its members, and who believe wholeheartedly in its mandate. It's great being part of the team.
All best for 2008.
Michael Toppings
Executive Director