ASA Annual meeting

Programme

2018 Annual Meeting of the Séguin d’Amérique

It is with great pleasure that the Séguin Association held its 2018 gathering on the 21st of July at the River Rock Inn in the Town of Rockland, Ontario. Gilles Chartrand #915, vice-president of the Association was very happy to extend a generous invitation and greet us in his community.

The city of Rockland is located east of Ottawa along the Ottawa river. Many, like me, travel to Ottawa but forget to pass by this lovely little town with inhabitants since 1840.

This town was important for the lumber industry as there were three saw mills in operation. Today, lumber is not as available as in the past and as a result the sawmills had to close. Now many residents go to Ottawa to earn a living. The annual general meeting of the association took place in the morning and went relatively quick. First, our president Nicole Séguin #253 greeted and welcomed the other Séguin members present. Nicole recited a prayer composed by Marcel H. Séguin #513 then requested that a minute of silence be observed in memory of members who passed away in the last year.

Our newly appointed treasurer Ginette Quintal Séguin #915, reports that the Association completed the fiscal year ended December 31st 2017 with assets totalling $ 20598,77. The deficits are smaller than in recent years mainly due to lower costs to produce and distribute the Séguinière bulletin. Many members now receive the bulletin by internet e-mail rather than a hard copy by mail. The bulletin is also printed at a lower cost by a new printer. Our statutes require that directors be elected to the board of directors of the Association. The mandate of many existing directors has been renewed for another term. However, Patricia Séguin-Smith resigned from the board of directors for personal reasons. Nicole Séguin, our president, thanked her for the many years of service to the Association.

Our registrar Claude Séguin #937 reports that there are 231 regular members including 28 English speaking members living abroad.

In the afternoon, we went on a patrimonial bus tour. The first stop was at a monument honoring the French heritage in Ontario. The Club Richelieu (headed by Pierre-Paul Séguin #368, past president) had the Franco-Ontarian flag erected. This gigantic flag is 10 meters by five meters and is hoisted at 40 meters high at the main entrance of the town.

The second stop was at the Très-Sainte-Trinité church. The first church was built in 1880 but was destroyed by fire in 1916. Followed was the construction of an impressive church building with its adjacent presbytery and later designated cultural heritage of Ontario in 2005. We also passed in front of the nice little Baptist church built in 1945.

We made another stop at the Clarence-Rockland Museum. That Museum is managed by our association’s vice-president Gilles Chartrand #915. The Museum is located in a patrimonial building, formerly known as l’École De La Sainte- Famille and was erected in 1909. This Clarence-Rockland Museum has much to be surprised. Inside, there are all sorts of ancient objects: old books, archives, old photos, antique items and even a bi-centennial map of the land rights(owners) of Eastern Canada.

The group later gathered at the main room of the River Rock Inn Hotel for cocktails at 5:00 P.M. followed by a banquet. It was a buffet with very tasty food and the good wine had the Séguins talking quite a bit. During the evening Martin Houle, nephew of Marcel H. Séguin #513, played folk music and sang folk songs.

The main activity of the evening was the presentation of a «François» to Pierre and Colette Séguin #765 of St-Albert, Ontario. Pierre and Colette have been recognised for their involvement and commitment to the community of St-Albert. They are the owners of a dairy farm with their son Patrick. Many brothers and sisters, their children; Amélie,

Patrick, Valérie and Marie-Ève along with their 5 grand daughters, joined with them to celebrate this nice expression of gratitude. Pierre received a beautiful sculpture of «François» to be displayed in their home and Colette received a nice sheaf of flowers.

The presentation of a «François» at our annual gatherings is an important point of interest to demonstrate our appreciation to one or more members of our beautiful and great Séguin family. What joy is felt by the members of the families when one of their own is the recipient of such an expression of gratitude.

The reception ended at the end of the evening with our famous raffle. Certain gifts were graciously offered by the children of Oscar Séguin and Corinne Roy. The most popular gifts are paintings and an «all included trip» at the Auberge des Hautes-Gorges in the Charlevoix region east of Québec City. Our thanks also go to Dolorèse Séguin-Deschamps #527 and to her entire family for their great generosity.

We also extend our thanks to our president Nicole Séguin #253 and her team who worked so well at the preparation of this unforgettable gathering.

You are all invited by the board of directors of your Association to attend next year’s 29th Séguin Association annual gathering which will take place at Michel Séguin’s Resto-Bar Zool located at Pointe-Fortune, Québec.