Recap of RNAO’s in-person 98th Annual General Meeting
RNAO held its 98th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in person at Toronto’s Hilton hotel from June 22-24 and it was one for the books! With more than 500 registrants, the three-day event celebrated the theme Change Through Unity and Action and was filled with captivating energy, vibrant discussions and inspiring presentations.
The opening ceremonies began with an energizing procession led by entertainment from Carnival Spice featuring RNAO’s President Dr. Claudette Holloway, CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun, then immediate past-president Morgan Hoffarth, board of directors, political leaders, international nursing colleagues and other special guests. After a lively participatory dance session, attendees heard from the Hon. Sylvia Jones, deputy premier and minister of health, leader of the official opposition Marit Stiles; interim leader of the Ontario Liberal Party John Fraser, and leader of the Ontario Green Party Mike Schreiner. The evening also featured RNAO’s 20 designated Best Practice Spotlight Organizations® (BPSO®), including two hospitals, six Indigenous-focused health organizations, 10 long-term care homes, a BPSO Host Francophone and the first academic BPSO Host.
RNAO was honoured to have Elder Kevin Deer open day two of AGM with a traditional opening – “our first mother (is) mother earth…we have our own creation story, which tells us who are you, where do you come from, why are you here and where are you leaving when you leave this place one day.” President Dr. Claudette Holloway and CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun delivered their reports to highlight RNAO’s impact alongside its more than 50,400 members. Members had the opportunity to engage in a consultation session of the 11 proposed resolutions to help guide the future priorities of the association. They also took to the mic to participate in members’ voices and share updates on behalf of their chapter, region without chapters or interest group.
As a result of One member, one vote, RNAO welcomes and congratulates the new and re-elected members of RNAO’s 2023-2024 board of directors: President-Elect Lhamo Dolkar, Region 7 representative Sonia Chin, Region 9 representative Debra Lefebvre and interest groups’ representative Katie Hurst. Thank you again to the outgoing members of the board of directors: Morgan Hoffarth, who has completed her term as immediate past-president, Dr. Loretta McCormick as Region 3 representative, Dr. So-Yan Seto as Region 7 representative, Julie Rubel as interest groups representative and student representative Rebecca Titus.
Additional sessions on day two included the Student Leadership Luncheon hosted by the Nursing Students of Ontario (NSO) – this year’s AGM host – and the President’s Banquet. NSO welcomed Canada’s chief nursing officer Dr. Leigh Chapman to address students at the luncheon. She shared her priorities for the role in relation to nursing students and discussed her cross-Canada engagement to date. At the luncheon, two Recognition Award winners in the Student of Distinction category were announced and in the afternoon session of AGM, awards for Leadership in Nursing Administration and Leadership in Nursing Education (Academic), Chapter of the Year and Interest Group of the Year were handed out.
To close day two of the AGM, Holloway hosted the President’s Banquet – a lively evening to celebrate this year’s recipients of RNAO’s prestigious Recognition Awards and Media Awards, as well as live entertainment. Holloway and Hoffarth presented the Recognition Awards alongside Grinspun and Daniel Lau, RNAO's director of membership and services. Each winner had an opportunity to share remarks. RNAO’s director of communications Marion Zych and communications officer/writer Victoria Alarcon celebrated the best in health journalism by handing out awards alongside Holloway and Grinspun to the Media Award recipients who also shared acceptance speeches. Congratulations again to this year’s Recognition Award winners and Media Award winners!
The third and final day of the AGM saw numerous RNAO interest groups host hybrid meetings with their current and prospective members. In the afternoon, members joined an impactful and engaging keynote panel discussion moderated by Holloway focused on the topic: “Have you ever been discriminated against?” Panelists included the RNAO Health Equity Consortium: Dania Versailles, co-chair of RNAO’s Black Nurses Leading Change Interest Group; Maxine Lesage, Region 11 board representative and liaison to the Indigenous Nurses and Allies Interest Group; and Dr. Shelley Evans, provincial president of RNAO’s Rainbow Nursing Interest Group. The panelists shared lived experiences with discrimination as well as calls to action for structural and policy changes to dismantle all forms of discrimination in the nursing profession. It was an informative discussion that prompted many thoughtful questions and important key takeaways, including how imperative safe spaces are in health care. Elder Deer shared a traditional closing to bring an end to RNAO’s 98th AGM: “How people express themselves is up to them, but as long as they cultivate love, peace, friendship and respect, we shouldn’t have a problem because what we’re going to do together is sit under the great tree of peace.”
Thank you to everyone who joined us in person, watched the livestream or engaged on Twitter. We are a strong collective that continues to influence healthy public policy and promote evidence-based care each and every day. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s AGM!
To reflect on how RNAO and its members have made change through unity and action over the past year, download and share RNAO’s 2022-2023 annual report.
For more highlights, read RNAO’s Twitter thread and explore tweets with #RNAOAGM.
