Important Squadron Sponsoring Committee Announcements
Hello 87 Eagle Families,
The COVID situation continues to bring new challenges, but 87 Eagle Squadron keeps moving forward.
With hard work from both the Command Staff and the Cadets, the program has continued to offer training nights and fun nights, even without being able to physical be together.
The SSC has also been working hard in the background to maintain the program and our Squadron building, so when we are able to meet in person, the building will be waiting with open doors! Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the SSC, we have been able to run several small, but effective, fundraisers, which have kept our basic building costs mostly covered for the past year.
A special thank you should go out to our SSC Chair, Rob Foster, and the great staff at Canadian Tire, who have hosted (and supported) several meat fundraisers throughout the past year.
But there is still more to do!
The OPC Lottery
The OPC Lottery, which helps fund both our local 87 Eagle Squadron, and the Ontario program overall (including the gliding program), is in full swing, but is soon coming to and end. The final draw date is April 30, so there is still time to sell those tickets! The tickets are purchased on-line by following the link https://aircadetlotto.5050central.com/?olc=87 and filling in the form. It’s that easy! Tickets are available to anyone living in Ontario, so please share the link on social media or email friends and families.
87 Eagle Squadron receives over 40% of the revenue of tickets sold, so it is a great value for the squadron.
We have set ourselves a goal to sell 250 tickets for the lottery and are doing very well. If every cadet can sell just 5 more tickets, we will make our goal! We have just over one week left, so don’t miss your chance to win the Grand Prize of $20,000
Annual Assessment
In a normal programing year, at the beginning of the year, each cadet is required to purchase a book of OPC lottery tickets and pay a yearly assessment (annual dues). For 2020-2021, the assessment fee, which is set down by the OPC (Ontario Provincial Committee) was not finalized until late into December. With the OPC lottery moving to an on-line sales format, it changed how the Squadron was charged by the OPC as well.
All that being said, we finally have the assessment fee for the 2020-2021 season. The assessment fee goes directly back to the OPC, for administration of the program and the help offset costs associated with the Gliding Program, which we hope to see running again soon.
For the 2020-2021 season, the Assessment Fee is $55.00 / cadet. For families with more than one cadet, the fee for the first cadet is $55.00, and each subsequent cadet is $50.00.
Payment can be made via cash, check, or via e-transfer using the treasurer@87eagle.ca email address. Please feel free to contact me any time at treasurer@87eagle.ca or by phone at 905-394-9191 to arrange payment, or discuss options.
SSC Annual Meeting
Coming soon in May, we will be having our SSC-Parent Committee Annual Meeting. At this meeting, we vote for the SSC board members (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer). We also discuss fundraising opportunities and ideas, as well as plans for building maintenance and upgrades, and help plan events and activities for the squadron for the upcoming year. With the current lockdown, the meeting may be delayed until we can have at least some in-person meeting options. More details on this to come, but anyone with ideas for fundraisers, program ideas, or would like to help out the committee in any capacity, please feel free to contact me at treasurer@87eagle.ca or Rob Foster, the SSC chair at ssc@87eagle.ca with your thoughts or ideas.
The 2020-2021 season has been full of challenges and set-backs, but there have been some great moments as well. I have seen the excitement that Wednesday nights bring to my cadet, looking forward to having a night with the Squadron, whether it be a guest speaker, a talk about Aerodrome management, or doing push-ups on the floor. There are still great times to come and some great opportunities as well.
Thank you for your continued support of the Welland Air Cadets, 87 Eagle Squadron!
Owen Gifford
SSC Treasurer
87 Eagle Squadron
Welland Air Cadets
