Hello dearest Division 1307 member,
It has been a little while since I have sent a brief update about our lovely division.
I would like to introduce, dare I say, reintroduce Cassandra Trueman, MStJ. For those who have not yet had the pleasure to meet her, she is the founder of our division, way back in 2018. She was its leader for 6 years before getting promoted, and leaving the role to a successor, which was eventually replaced by me. Cassandra has dropped her Crown and Star rank and her Area Training Officer role to help our division prosper and grow under her leadership as Divisional Training Officer. Her extensive training background is a huge asset, and we are grateful for her 19 years of experience as a St John volunteer, her skill as a licensed PCP-Student and as a seasoned Emergency Medical Responder, as well as her experience as the St John National Office First aid specialist where she actually writes first aid classes for all of Canada.
Many of you may have already seen emails from her as we plan for upcoming courses. The BLS course is mandatory every year for all AMFRs in order to keep up your certification. It is a bonus for all SFAs to have, and it is a good and necessary thing to renew for any licensed and registered professional.
This and all of our courses are free for all of our volunteers (we keep you well trained as a thank you for volunteering with us).
We will be restarting AMFR courses in the new year as well. This too is mandatory for all volunteers as per the St John Ambulance Policies.
There are multiple course delivery options that we can offer if the 40 hour course is not manageable. Please check with Cassandra to arrange for training that suits your needs.
We are continuing to provide monthly training and ask that if you have not started this training, that you please get on it. If you cannot access the course, please contact our DTO at dto.d1307@sjabcy.ca. The monthly training is not optional, and is even more necessary for the members that don't attend events often or regularly. Maintenance of your training is always a priority, no matter what your level of education is, and our training team has put a lot of effort into making this training available. If you have not had a chance to start it, for one brief week starting Christmas Day to the end of the year, all quizzes will be re-opened. Each quiz is worth 2 hours, and it is highly recommended that they are all done, as each monthly module builds on the last to expand your intellectual horizon.
For those that missed it, our Divisional Administrative Officer is Tannis Steele, she is also a huge asset with many years of experience as a volunteer and an officer. She was instrumental along with Cassandra in creating the New West Cadet Division 1304 a few years ago.
Tannis has already done some miracles with our administration, and some of her work can be seen on our google calendar, where you will see the call numbers and types for past events. This is to help give you, our volunteers, a glimpse of what to expect on the type of events, and has many applications such as preparing us should the artist return.
We have some exciting things planned soon, likely in the new year. Our communications officer Drew Forester, has been working extremely hard to provide us with a monthly newsletter, which will be sent out with updates (so you don't have to read long boring emails like this one). There are also more surprises to come, so please keep yourself informed.
Uniforms are delayed. I know, i'm sorry!!! They are coming, but this is a provincial issue, and there is a provincial standing order for white T-shirt/shirt, black pants and black shoes at the moment until the supply chain issues are resolved.
We will soon however be rolling out the few pieces of uniform that we do have, for the members that volunteer the most. Maybe now is your chance to put some hours in :)
We are now over 90 members strong. I am still seeing skeleton crews at many events, which makes the jobs of our Events Coordination Officer and Operations Officer very difficult. I have attended many events recently that had no members signed up. There is a reason Rogers Arena is the most active and elite division, and yes we do have 4 events a week currently. Please consider picking up shifts, I know this is a volunteer gig, but this is what we signed up for, this is where we shine. In November alone, we had 19 events, many other divisions do not see that in a quarter. PLEASE HELP, you are definitely needed at events.
The end of year is fast approaching, we have a few members that are no where near the minimum requirements (and who have not even looked at the monthly training)… if this is you, please get it together! I have already terminated several memberships, and it really is my least favourite task, please don’t make me do it.
Thats all for now,
All the best for now,
Sincerely,
Philippe Lurol, MStJ,
Primary Care Paramedic
Divisional Superintendent
Division 1307, Rogers Arena Operations
St John Ambulance BC/Yukon