Dear fellow members of the Institute, new and old.

As you will see from the Minutes, the AGM became a turning point for our proud organization. Only a few days before the meeting, Mike Mckeown and I were discussing worse case scenarios and wondering what steps would have to be taken to formally collapse the Institute if yet another AGM failed to have the necessary quorum. We didn’t know that Clive Milner was working behind the scenes to save the organization. How many of us knew that Clive was once the head of our former umbrella organization, the Federation of Military and United Services Institutes of Canada, before it transitioned to the Conference of Defence Associations Institute.  Having an excellent grasp that our Institute was at a critical point in its history, he refused to broker the idea that it should die and took action by making a number of very significant phone calls. The result is that we now have a new President, an almost completely new executive, and a surge of very impressive new members.

It is by great fortune that Major-General Dean Milner (Ret’d) shares his father’s vision, energy and, without doubt, his leadership skills. It is by greater fortune that, in spite of many other commitments, he  has stepped up to the challenge of  bringing us into our centennial year and beyond, along with a very impressive team to work with him on the executive. In the brief time I have known him, I have gained every confidence that Dean will breathe new life into the Institute and make it a shining example for other RUSI’s and military institutes across the country.

It has been my great honour and pleasure to serve as your President for the past six years and I look forward to sitting with you in the audience and standing with you in the Mess to enjoy the exciting years ahead.

With best wishes,

Bob