President’s Message Karen Huestis CSA President Bill and I were fortunate to meet many of you during our latest round of fall Snowbird Lifestyle Presentations. This year, we made stops in five provinces and, although I’m not sure, I think that might be a new record. We began our tour with shows in Calgary, Alberta and Vernon, British Columbia. From there, we headed back to Alberta for a presentation in Sherwood Park before stops in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Brandon, Manitoba. We concluded our meetings in Ontario with stops in Belleville, Oshawa and St. Catharines. Unfortunately, our show in Nepean was cancelled after a very damaging tornado struck the region just before our arrival. Rest assured that we will make every effort to visit Nepean during our next round of Ontario shows. This year’s Florida Snowbird Extravaganza will be held at RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida on Tuesday andWednesday, January 29 and 30, 2019. The Winter Texans’ Snowbird Extravaganza will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 5 and 6, 2019 at the Pharr Events Center in Pharr, Texas. Finally, our Canadian Snowbird Celebration will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 12 and 13, 2019 at the Mesa Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona. These Extravaganzas are great opportunities to visit with old friends and be entertained with new ones, all while having access to the latest information regarding the snowbird lifestyle. As always, admission to these shows is free and we’d love to see you, so please consider visiting with us this winter. If you are unable to attend one of our Extravaganzas, please consider joining us for one of our Winter InformationMeetings. Once again, these meetings are filled with great entertainment…but they are a little smaller. They present members and prospective members with a great opportunity to hear first-hand what initiatives the Canadian Snowbird Association are currently undertaking on your behalf. They also provide ample opportunity to question members of the board of directors about any concerns you might have. Again, admission to these shows is entirely free. This winter travel season, our Winter Information Meeting tour begins in Indio, California on Monday, February 18, 2019 before heading to Winterhaven, California for a meeting on Tuesday, February 19. From there, we head back to Florida with our first stop in Immokalee on Friday, February 22, 2019. We will be in Port Charlotte on Monday, February 25 and Bradenton on Tuesday, February 26. We conclude our tour in Clearwater on Wednesday, February 27, 2019. Once again, admission is free. Please look elsewhere in this issue of the magazine for specific venue locations and times. Since the fall issue of CSANews, we have concluded two provincial election campaigns. In Quebec, the Coalition Avenir Quebec brought an end to nearly 50 years of twoparty rule by winning a majority government. Congratulations to newly elected Premier Francois Legault on this historic victory. Our friends in New Brunswick witnessed the first election since 1920 that did not result in a majority government. The Progressive Conservatives secured the most seats with 22, while the Liberals finished a close second in seat count with 21. The People’s Alliance and Green parties ended up holding the balance of power with three seats each. On November 1, incumbent Liberal Premier Brian Gallant’s government was defeated in a non-confidence vote and Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs was sworn in as the new Premier of New Brunswick with a minority government. Again, congratulations to New Brunswick Premier Higgs and to all members of both provincial legislatures. We look forward to working with all of you on issues of importance to travelling Canadians. Speaking of travelling Canadians, the seventh edition of our popular Canadian Travellers’ Report Card will be unveiled in January at our upcoming Snowbird Extravaganza in Lakeland, Florida. As many of you are aware, this is a national evaluation of federal, provincial and territorial government policies and regulations of importance to travelling Canadians. It really is an invaluable resource when we sit down with policy-makers and we are committed to keeping it as up to date as possible. If you are not able to obtain a copy at one of our winter shows, not to worry, the report will be available at www.snowbirds.org. Bill and I wish you a safe and relaxing snowbird season in your winter homes. Welcome to your winter homes! 10 | www.snowbirds.org
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