of the
ROYAL HERALDRY SOCIETY OF CANADA
Hosted by the Toronto Branch
The 38th Annual Conference and General Meeting, hosted by the Toronto Branch, was held at a modest but effective venue -- the Admiral Inn in Hamilton across from the exquisite Dundurn Castle -- and is now relegated to the Society's long history. Many thanks to Branch President, David Rumball and Branch Secretary, Susan Peters, along with help from Branch Directors David Cvet, Brian Domander, John Wilkes and Kevin Greaves. The team, lead by David Rumball, successfully executed the "master plan" for the AGM, creating yet another memorable event. This left a lasting warm impression on the 49 registered members, providing opportunities to form new friendships for some and to renew existing friendships for others.
The Friday-afternoon meeting of the Board of Directors, as ratified by the AGM on Saturday, saw a some changes in the Board, with the election of Allan Bird as 1st Vice President, Vicken Koundakjian as Treasurer and David Cvet as Director-at-large and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the Society. Dr. Kevin Greaves remains as President, David Rumball as 2nd Vice President, John Wilkes as Honorary Secretary and Jean Matheson as Past President. D'Arcy Boulton, Auguste Vachon and Barbara Zaharescu were re-elected as Directors-at- large for three-year terms. Additional details on the various specifics will be made available to the membership in future publications of Hogtown Heraldry and Heraldry in Canada.
On the Friday evening, Archdeacon Hannen presented a fascinating visual preview of his planned heraldic-education CD-ROM, asking for comments and suggestions from the members present. This was followed by a most interesting Beley lecture on the United Empire Loyalist Society by Mrs Myrna Fox, a recent Past President of the society.
The climax of the weekend was the fabulous black-tie dinner for 79 guests at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) Centre on the Saturday evening. At the President's Reception prior to the dinner, many guests were seen to be adorned with decorations and other honours, including the insignia of Fellows and Honorary Fellows of the Society. The ladies, elegant in their formal evening dress, added to the buzz readily apparent to everyone in attendance, creating an expectation not unlike an evening at the Academy Awards in Hollywood. Conversations were many, some brisk, others animated or intense between long-time friends and colleagues. The highlight of the Reception was the investiture of two new Fellows (Ralph Brocklebank of Worcestershire, England, and the Venerable Peter Hannen of Montreal) and one Honorary Fellow (Mrs Elizabeth Roads, MVO, Lyon Clerk and Carrick Pursuivant, of Edinburgh). When the reception was concluded, the guests were led into the graciously appointed dining hall in the RBG and the Head table procession formed up. Led by Pipe-major Tom Lee of the ASHC, this included a surprise -- the piper was followed by Society member David Cvet, dressed in full, authentically reproduced 14th century harness with weapons, supporting the Society Ganfanon and carrying it to the head table.
Immediately following the dinner, the Guest of Honour, Mrs Roads, presented a witty and entertaning talk on "A day in the life of a herald", describing some of the matters she copes with daily as Lyon Clerk. Following the talk, the Chief Herald of Canada, Robert Watt presented Letters Patent of newly granted arms to the Society itself (the Royal augmentation) and to five members. This represents the largest number of new grants presented at a Society banquet. The banquet concluded with the presentation by Dr Greaves of mementos to three members who had contributed greatly to the Society in the past three years.
The images below offer the reader a sense of the event, covering meetings, reception and dinner. Everyone looks forward to next year's AGM, hosted by the Prairie Branch in Edmonton.
