The summer sunshine has been beautiful in these hazy days of July .... Hopefully you have all managed to stay cool in the heatwaves....
Exciting times at Candlelighters! I am pleased to announce and welcome Erin Phillips to the position of Chair, Candlelighters' Board of Directors. To our good fortune, Erin has been involved for many years with Candlelighters, together with her husband Chris. Our member families may have met them, and their family, at the annual Christmas Party, which they have graciously hosted for the past two years at Scotiabank Place. Having served on the Board of Directors for the past 3 years, Erin brings her passion for helping others and her leadership skills to the next level as Board Chair.
As immediate past Chair, Sal Iacono will carry on as a valuable member of our Board and it continues to be our great pleasure to work with him.
Also new to Candlelighters Board of Directors is Sally Boucher. Sally is a Certified General Accountant with more than 20 years of varied financial, operational and business development experience in both the private and public sectors. We are delighted that she has volunteered to share her skills and expertise with us in the role of Board Treasurer.
We also welcome a new Director on the Board - Sherry Saunders, Sr. Vice President and General Manager of Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Sherry was introduced to Candlelighters last fall, and it has been an exciting few months as Sherry has been instrumental in securing ongoing funding for Candlelighters' Bursary Program. She too was at the Christmas Party this past December, together with those fun and enthusiastic volunteers, all of whom are part of the Carlson Wagonlit Travel team here in Ottawa.
I am so pleased to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to each of you and a great big Welcome to Sally and Sherry!

Anybody recognize this here fella? A familiar face around Candlelighters over the years (and years :) ) Jason Campbell has accepted a staff position here in the office, and on July 9th officially started in his role of Social Media Specialist. Joining our small team here on Richmond Road, Jason brings his toolbox of IT know-how, as well as his unbridled enthusiasm to contribute to Candlelighters ongoing success (not to mention that winning smile ... look at it folks). Couldn't be happier to have Jason joining me and Tam and look forward to working with you Jay Camp to make this exciting new position the best it can be!
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and I hope hope hope that each of you will come on out and join in the activities!
A super event comes up on Saturday September 8th at Woodvale Church on Greenbank Road to kick things off. I am so pleased to invite all our member families to Fall Frenzy 2012, a real family event that will feature bouncy castles and games, a free bbq, toy and clothes give away... all kinds of fun!
I'm really looking forward to seeing lots of you there. It will be like a Christmas Party in September, where we can all reconnect and share in some good fun, create some wonderful memories. See you there!
Please check candlelighters.net for all the latest and greatest!