What a difference a year makes.
Halifax Pride convened its 2024 Annual General Meeting on October 2, 2024 via Zoom. I didn’t count attendance but I would estimate 30-40 people on the call (I stand to be corrected by anyone who counted!) And the whole meeting proceeded with relative efficiency and good spirits.
For context — if you’ve already forgotten this history — Halifax Pride spent 2022 imploding in a flurry of staff overturn and internal conflict. There effectively was no “official” 2023 Pride Festival, though community-planned events occurred as always. A year ago, a new Board of experienced community leaders came together to try to put things back on track.
And essentially, they did. Executive Director Fiona Kerr presented the Annual Report (pdf, 14 pages) which explained how the new Board was able to reconnect with funders, partners, and the community to present a Festival which felt to most like it was on par with the pre-Covid festivals the community had come to expect.
The community’s fears that the organization was somehow in financial dire straits proved to be unfounded
That’s not to say it was a year without difficulty. Halifax Pride faced increased scrutiny in 2024 of its relationship with the cause of Palestinian liberation, and its relationship with key sponsor TD Bank (which is featured on the Canadian BDS Coalition’s “Boycott List of Shame.”) Some parade participants pulled out, concerned about conflict, and indeed there was even a small disruption of the parade itself. However, none of this became the subject of much debate at the AGM, other than Kerr’s report of how these issues were handled by the Board and her reiteration (consistent with prior statements to the community) that the Board was scaling back its future relationship with TD.
The financial statements were the subject of some scrutiny at the AGM, unsurprisingly. The Board presented statements for both 2023 (pdf, 7 pages) (because the internal turmoil prevented statements from being ready for the 2023 AGM) and for 2024. Kerr was clear that when the new board took over, the cash position was relatively solid, despite a lack of bookkeeping in the prior year. The community’s fears that the organization was somehow in financial dire straits proved to be unfounded in retrospect—bills got paid, parade fees got refunded or brought forward, and relationships with funders were quickly re-established. 2023 was an inactive year, and the finances reflected that, but the organization was otherwise in a sound position money-wise.
The 2024 finances (pdf, 6 pages), on the other hand, reflected a successful, if somewhat-smaller-scale, festival. One point of slight concern was the increased cost of insurance, on account of the 2023 Board’s letting the festival’s standing insurance expire. Mark Monk, the sole holdover from the 2023 Board, basically explained this by pointing to the Board’s dysfunction over the course of that year. (Monk offered his name as a candidate for the Board heading into 2025, but was not chosen by the members.)
The final agenda item at the AGM was to elect new Board members for 2024-25. Returning Board members Adam Reid, Carmel Farahbakhsh, Connor McKiggan, Kay Macdonald, Jenn Waugh, and Scott Gillard will be joined by (forgive me for reducing their bios to a few words):
- Brady Reid: recent returnee to Halifax advocating for active living and sober spaces
- Justin Greek: Pride newbie with not-for-profit sector and events management experience
- Melody Lumen: non-binary performer and security industry professional
- Kathleen King: events industry worker and Pride volunteer
- Onna Young: trans advocate, Pride volunteer, and Wayves contributor
This was a year that forced a lot of us in the community to reflect on what Pride really is, why we value it, and how we can bring it forward into the future.
After a successful year, this new Board will have its own chance to determine what Halifax Pride will be in 2025, and beyond.
.
