August 21, 2008
The United Native Nations Society (UNN’s) held its 39th Annual General Assembly in Westbank, BC this past weekend. In accordance with the UNN Constitution and By-laws, an election by secret ballot was held for the positions of President and Vice-President. The election results are as follows:
Position for President – David Dennis 61, Lillian George 58
Position for Vice-President – Kelly L’Hirondelle 64, Dan Smith 54
The UNN electoral officer declared David Dennis elected as President and Kelly L’Hirondelle elected as Vice-President. A signed affidavit to verify the integrity of the voting process and the official outcome of the 2008 election results was given to UNN on August 20th, 2008.
In the first week as President and Vice President we are in the process of getting acquainted with federal and provincial funders, establishing relationships with community leaders, various government officials and Patrick Brazeau our National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. We have begun the work expected of us by the members of the society and we look forward to working in the best interest of our society.
We are committed to continue to work on developing a revitalization plan for UNN. This plan includes; cleaning up the governance, rebuilding grassroots support and implementing a program to resurrect our infrastructure. This will enable us to validate who we represent and how. We firmly believe that good accountable, transparent governance is the first order of business.
With respect to our current financial situation, after meeting with both federal and provincial funders we are happy to inform our membership that the provincial and federal counterparts and have secured commitments that will be forthcoming.
We are dedicated to the vital work of carrying out the responsibilities and initiatives of the UNN; we are firmly committed to the important initiatives that benefit families, youth, children, women, and Elders.
We would also like to thank Lillian George for all her hard work over the past three years as President of UNN and wish her all the best in her future endeavors. We would like to acknowledge and thank the staff at UNN for their dedication and hard work.
We invite all partners and members to help us coordinate our short-term goals and long-term goals as we move ahead. We are committed to uphold the UNN Member code of Ethics, and look forward to hearing from and meeting with membership and community.
UNN MEMBER CODE OF ETHICS
PURPOSE: The mission of our organization is communicated from the grassroots. Our organization is guided by the values, hope and vision that helps us to determine what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
PRIDE: We feel proud of ourselves and of our organization. We know that when we feel this way, we can resist temptations to behave unethically.
PATIENCE: We believe that holding to our ethical values will lead us to success in the long term. This involves maintaining a balance between obtaining results and caring how we achieve results.
PERSISTENCE: We have a commitment to live by ethical principles. We are committed to our commitment. We make sure our actions are consistent with our purpose.
PERSPECTIVE: Our leaders and members take time to pause and reflect, take stock of where we are, evaluate where we are going and determine how we are going to get there.
1. UNN, Zones and Locals acknowledge that authority and responsibilities of the UNN as Parent Society.
2. UNN, Zones and Locals and its Membership shall act towards each other with respect and dignity and deal judiciously with any disagreements that shall arise during Board Meetings or at the Annual General Meeting.
3. The Executive, Zones, Locals, and Membership shall promote goodwill and interest in the Purpose of the UNN and to carry out programs consistent with those of a charitable organization for relief of poverty amongst the Aboriginal People in British Columbia.
4. Any Member, as an Individual, will not make unauthorized representations to any outside bodies in the name of the Society, Zones or its Local associations.
5. The Executive, Zones, and Local Board of Directors shall have moral standards and shall not be either currently in trouble with the law or have a current outstanding arrest warrant against them.
6. Zones and Local leaders shall not withdraw collectively the Membership of their respective constituents without the constituents’ collective agreement taken through a democratic vote at their Local or Zone meeting.
7. All Members, Zones and Local leaders shall adhere to the UNN Constitution.
8. All Zones and Local Leaders who have signing authority shall be accountable to their respective Zones and Locals and act in a financially responsible manner.
In good spirit,
Dave Dennis, President Kelly L’Hirondelle, Vice President
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