President's Message - October 2003
Fall is in the air, and I hope everybody has had a wonderful summer. As you see the geese heading south for the winter, flying along in “V” formation, you might want to consider what science has discovered why they fly in formation. As each bird flaps its wings it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a “V” pattern, the whole flock has a flying range at least 71% greater than if each bird flew on its own. There is a lesson to be learned from this: people who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going faster and easier because they are travelling on the thrust of one another. When the lead goose gets tired, it moves back into the formation, and another goose flies to the point to lead the geese. From this we can learn that it is sensible to take turns doing the hard and demanding tasks and sharing leadership. We all depend on each other’s skills, capabilities, talents and resources to move forward. The geese following behind in the formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up the speed. We need to provide an encouraging honk, not just a honk. In groups where there is encouragement, the productivity is much greater, and everyone shares more happiness. Please make sure that your honking is encouraging and not discouraging, as encouraging an individual will create a positive outlook for the individual, as well as yourself for a deed well done. Just think: if we had the sense of a goose, we would stand by our colleagues in difficult times as well as in good times.
In keeping with the example of the geese, we encourage all our members to come out to our Past Presidents/Honourable Members Night to honour our past leaders who have led this association and made it what it is today. Our guest speaker, Danielle Sauveageau, will talk about how to reach your goals, pursue your dreams and achieve ultimate success through determination and teamwork. I am sure you will find Danielle’s presentation very educational and entertaining: I guarantee that you will not go home discouraged, you will be encouraged.
During the month of September your association worked hard to hold some Bill 198 seminars throughout Ontario. We hope that the training seminars were of benefit to our members, and we are working towards providing further training seminars throughout the year. Keep an eye out for them in WP. I wish to thank Philippa Samworth and her collages from Dutton, Brock, MacIntyre and Collier for their excellent presentation of Bill 198.
Our next seminar will be held on November 12th, 2003, at the Wyndham Bristol Place on Dixon Road. We are delighted to have a number of defence lawyers from different areas of Ontario to talk about what is happening with threshold in their jurisdiction. What types of injuries are meeting threshold in their territory, what types of injuries are being settled outside of court, what should we be defending and what should we not be defending. Please come out and hear about what is happening in Ontario, as well as asking the questions you have always wanted to ask, one being why your territory is different than others for threshold cases. Take advantage of the seminar: I don’t think you will have an opportunity again to have a number of lawyers from different areas of Ontario in the same room to answer questions. This year we have a different printer for the printing of our Without Prejudice magazine, in order to maintain our costs for providing the magazine to our members. The new printer is doing an excellent job in producing the magazine and in meeting the deadline so that we can get the magazine out to our members quicker. Our Without Prejudice committee should be congratulated on their hard work in securing a new printer so that our members can continue to enjoy the magazine without an increase in cost this year.
Your OIAA Council is continuing to work hard for its members, and you will see in future issues what they are doing for you. I personally would like to thank them for their hard work so far this year, and for their endless hours of volunteer time. When talking to the executive council (and please make a point of talking to them) please provide them with your honk of encouragement. These individuals lead the flock, and we look forward to having more members join in the “V” formation as we do better with numbers.