Our 9th year since incorporation saw the continuation of our high-profile activities to promote clean and safe renewable energy generation in small installations.

The coordinator missed attending our annual display at the Organic Conference at the University of Guelph due to an unfortunate fall on ice requiring emergency treatment. Fortunately a local member, Tina Chladny, took over and ,with the help of our board members Andrea and Vitold, ran a successful exhibit.

After attending the Great Lakes United board meeting in Cleveland in February it was time for a reconvalescence holiday in Germany during March. Upon returning Gary Bastin and the coordinator staffed a display at the Halton Eco-Festival near

Our Annual General Meeting took place, as usual, in the beautiful month of May at the Kitchener-Waterloo YMCA Paradise Lake Outdoors Centre. Always combined with a high-profile daylong workshop we had a good turnout and the presentations were well received. At the AGM the coordinator’s and treasurer’s report were tabled and unanimously passed.All our board members agreed to serve for another term. We are grateful for your volunteer service, Vitold, George, Andrea and Charlie!

After a quick trip to Kingston, to take part in a federal/provincial grants information workshop the coordinator left for Germany again, this time as delegate of CFRE and GLU to attend 2 International Conferences on Renewable Energy in Bonn. The first was organized by the World Council for Renewable Energy(WCRE) of which CFRE is a member, the other one by the German Government, which had ministers of 154 countries in attendance. Due to the conflicting schedule the coordinator was unable to take part in the Great Lakes United(GLU) AGM in Cleveland. After 7 years of service the coordinator resigned from the GLU board. On his behalf a CFRE sponsored resolution on “Speedy Introduction of Advanced Renewable Tariffs” was presented and unanimously adopted by the membership of this international coalition.

In July the CFRE board got together to consider a subsidy to the rental cost of a more convenient winter location for the coordinator’s office. It was decided to provide this subsidy for 4 winter months. Also, an attempt was to be made to secure funding from the EcoAction initiative for an energy conservation project. Our long-serving director Vitold Kreutzer decided to step down because of new commitments. The board then asked Gary Bastin, high school teacher from Cambridge, to fill the vacancy. Gary has been a very active member of CFRE. He accepted and volunteered to work on the EcoAction grant proposal.

August saw the Renewable Energy tour, organized by the Bruce Peninsula Environment Group(BPEG) and co-sponsored by CFRE. Over 80 people attended, mostly CFRE members, and enjoyed an informative tour.

The coordinator then attended one day of the Solar Energy Society Conference at the University of Waterloo and the Energy Conservation Forum in Toronto.

In response to calls for comments the coordinator prepared submissions on the provincial Electricity Restructuring Act(Bill 100) and the Review of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement(GLWQA),a bilateral agreement signed by the U.S.A. and Canada in 1978 and amended in 1987.

Andrew, Pirmin and the coordinator had a great time at the annual Feast of Fields where we had a substantial display and were able to sample a lot of the exotic goodies from organic chefs and bakers. We also had a chance to hear David Suzuki talking about salmon farming at the West coast.

Other events the coordinator participated in were the Toronto Conservation Forum, sponsored by the Ontario government, and the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association’s AGM where Charlie Middleton was elected as one of the 9 directors, replacing the coordinator on the Board. An ‘Invitation only’ Renewable Energy Forum was held in Toronto with the General Chairman of the WCRE from Germany among the high-profile speakers. The coordinator was able to make valuable contacts with speakers and attending officials.

To conclude the travels the coordinator made it to the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Ecological Farmers Associationof Ontario(EFAO).It was great to see so many of our long-time supporters there and we also had good interest in our display.

The year concluded with another milestone - we welcomed our fifth Member-For- Life!

Thanks for your dedication, Tim! We also don’t want to miss thanking a number of supporters for their generous donations and our board members and volunteers for their valuable service to make CFRE a vibrant force among the environmental organizations!

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