Dave Hayer’s reflections, gratitude and hopes
Dear members and friends:
We announced in our July OOTD issue that our next AGM of AFMLABC will be via Zoom on Sept. 20th, at 2 p.m. I encourage all our members to attend. I want to thank everyone who will be taking time out of their busy schedule to join us at our AGM.
Instructions on how to join the meeting are on Page 11 of this edition of OOTD and on our website www.formerbcmla.com on the News and Events page. If you are interested in serving on our association board, please get in touch with Diane Thorne, Vice-President and Chair of our Nomination Committee, by email at ootd.afmlabc.com. Your email will be forwarded to her and the nomination committee.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all our team members – the Board of Directors, our Executives, and our wonderful volunteers for their dedication and support. Special appreciation goes to Brian Kieran, Editor of Orders of the Day; Rob Lee, our specialist in layout, production, research, mailing, and membership projects; and Donna Hains, who volunteers her time taking meeting minutes, assisting with editing, and helping wherever needed.
I am especially grateful to our Executives – Diane Thorne, Vice-President; Bruce Strachan, Secretary; John Les, Past President; Patrick Wong, Treasurer; and Ken Jones, Membership Chair – and to our Directors – Harry Bloy, Richard T. Lee, Tim Stevenson, Cliff Serwa, Ida Chong, Ian Izard, and Joan Barton. To Brian, Rob, and Donna, thank you for enduring the late-night phone calls as we tackled AFMLABC and OOTD duties, and for your support and friendship.
Three directors will be retiring after this AGM – John Les, our Past President; Patrick Wong, our Treasurer; and Tim Stevenson. Thank you for your service.
I announced to our Board of Directors in July that I will not be available to serve as a president after our AGM on Sept 20, 2025, as I will be dedicating more time helping my wife Isabelle Martinez Hayer, who was elected as a District Governor, 2025-2026 for Rotary International District 5050 in Canada and the USA.
I served as president of AFMLABC from March 2021 to July 2021 and from September 2022 to Sept 2025. This will be my final message as president, but I will continue as a past president.
We accomplished a lot over these past three years. We hosted a very successful AFMLABC dinner on September 15th, 2023, with guest speaker Jody Wilson-Raybould, Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada at the Government House. We updated the AFMLABC bylaws and our student scholarship agreements with UVIC, UNBC, Youth Parliament of BC, and the Victoria Foundation.
Last December, as we have been doing for years, we provided four grants from our AFMLABC Hugh Curtis BC Youth Parliament fund to four young students to attend the BC Youth Parliament in Victoria. This year, recipient students were from Surrey, Trail, Burnaby, and Vancouver (two female and two male students). Our director, Ken Jones, helped to update our Student Scholarship agreements with UVIC and UNBC to ensure scholarships are given to an equal number of male and female students. Students must be graduates of BC high schools.
We connected with Elections BC. They provide us with free kits called “Democracy in a Box” for former MLAs to use in school visits, helping students understand the voting process, provincial elections, and democracy. This initiative supports the AFMLABC’s objectives to use the knowledge and experience of its members at the service of parliamentary democracy in BC and elsewhere and to serve the public interest by providing non-partisan support for the parliamentary system of government in BC.
We are currently working on succession planning for the OOTD newsletter and the AFMLABC board.
Last year, I visited the Legislature to meet with MLAs of all parties. I invited all MLAs who retired in the 2024 provincial election to join the AFMLABC and to consider serving as a board member. I also invited current and former MLAs to contribute to the OOTD by sharing their experiences and stories.
I enjoyed reminding current and former MLAs of the history and purpose of the AFMLABC. It was founded in 1987 by five former MLAs representing each active political party. On Christmas Eve of 1987, the organization was incorporated under the Society Act and in 1998, the AFMLABC was formally established in legislation by all the MLAs of that time.
The Act calls on us to: “Put the knowledge and experience of its members at the service of parliamentary democracy in BC and elsewhere; serve the public interest by providing non-partisan support for the parliamentary system of government in BC; foster a spirit of community among former MLAs; foster good relations between current and former MLAs; and protect and promote the interests of former MLAs.”
I want to extend my sincere thanks to Speaker Raj Chouhan and his staff for the $5,000 provided to AFMLABC, and for providing the room for our meetings. Special thanks also to Kate Ryan-Lloyd and her staff at the Clerk of Legislative Assembly, Peter Gourlay, Director of the legislative library and all the library staff, the King’s Printer, Sergeant-at-Arms Security, and everyone else who helps AFMLABC.
Finally, we will not be holding a dinner in 2025. This decision was reached after lengthy discussions by the board members. I am hoping we will have a dinner or lunch in 2026.
Our heartfelt thanks to our past Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin and current Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia and Government House staff for allowing us to host our Annual AFMLABC Dinner at the Government House since 1987. Your work and support are meaningful to all of us.
Sincere regards,
Dave S. Hayer, President of the Association of Former MLAs of BC