Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association
LOWDSA is a membership-based non-profit that works to preserve and sustain lake life in the Lake of the Woods region. LOWDSA is the largest association of its kind in Ontario. Our members support our efforts, many of whom travel from across Canada and the US to spend time at their ‘piece of heaven’ in lake country.
Vision
Lake of the Woods region remains one of the most beautiful places on earth for present and future generations to enjoy.
Mission
Values
Environmental Stewardship
WE BELIEVE… in maintaining a current understanding of best environmental practices through the experience and knowledge of our members and the counsel of experts. We will share this information with our members and others, encouraging them to make decisions that will minimize the human impact, protect the environment and sustain the value.
Community Relations
WE BELIEVE… in sustaining a respectful and positive presence with government, business, and the larger community of the Lake of the Woods region to ensure that concerns and interests are considered in our policy and operational decisions.
Education
WE BELIEVE… that education, based on sound research, will lead to better decisions and practices by our members and the larger community of the Lake of the Woods region.
Communication
WE BELIEVE… that informed communication is important to further the goals of the Association and to educate and inform our members and the larger community of the Lake of the Woods region.
Membership
WE BELIEVE… in activities that will encourage membership involvement in Association activities. We will maintain a current and positive image of the Association amongst our membership and the larger community of the Lake of the Woods region.
Goals & Objectives
LOWDSA provides information and coordinates activities to preserve and enhance the environment of the Lake of the Woods region.
- Educate and empower the community on environmental issues to increase awareness and inform sustainable action
- Support and facilitate key partnerships in order to coordinate environmental efforts in the region and ensure community concerns are being heard
- Deliver coordinated environmental programming that provides hands-on engagement opportunities and measurable environmental benefits
LOWDSA communicates and engages on issues impacting the region.
- Communicate and share information on a wide range of matters in the region through publications of the Area News and social media
- Engage on issues impacting the environment as decided by the board and staff through sound decision making processes and recommendations
- Identify and connect members to information and resources, within and beyond LOWDSA through development and implementation of communication plan
- Strengthen relationships and increase collaboration to address identified priorities
Strategic Plan
The video that follows includes LOWDSA’s Strategic Plan. With this new and improved vision, mission, values & goals we hope to preserve the lakes for the present and future generations to enjoy.
Message from our President
By setting operational priorities and measuring progress towards achieving them, we will be better able to bring our Mission, Vision and Values to life.
Fundamentally, it is all about reflecting the inclusivity of our Association and continuous improvement in the way we work. As we embrace the revised Mission, Vision and Values, we are pleased to build on your Association’s rich history, past successes, and its years of dedicated service to the current and next generation of property owners, visitors, lake users, and all of those who share our love of the lake.
— Garth Collier, LOWDSA President
Our Board
Executive Committee
Adam Blake
Treasurer & Chair Environment Committee
Corkscrew Island
Garth Collier
President
Schnarr Lake
Carley Fyke
Co-Chair Finance Committee
Welcome Channel
Trevor Templeton
Chair Membership & Communications Committee
Minaki
Don Parfitt
Chair Government Affairs Committee
Winnipeg River
Jeff Rempel
Co-Chair Finance Committee
Pine Portage Bay
Chris Semenchuk
Past President & Chair Nominating Committee
Pine Portage Bay
Directors At Large
Sean Campbell
Woodchuck Bay
Martha Mankewich
Nanton Island
Bob Stewart
Longbow Lake
Committees
In addition to the creation of special project committees when required, The Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association operates with four standing committees focused on areas of concern to our members, and to the ongoing development of the Association.
Get Involved!
We are always on the lookout for committed volunteers to join our efforts. If you’d like to get active in your lake life community or simply want to learn more, please contact us.
Membership Development and Communications Committee
The goal of this committee is to grow and maintain a strong, active and vibrant membership base by providing products and services that serve the varied needs of our members. That can mean developing a new event for a specific segment of our membership, or ensuring that our data collection provides us with the most up-to-date information relating to member demographics. LOWDSA is constantly working to raise the profile of the Association, partly as a function of membership development, but also to ensure our members are represented throughout the province when decisions are being made that affect their properties and their lake experience. The role of this committee is to ensure our message gets out in a timely and effective manner to the appropriate audiences; members, stakeholders, non-members and the community.
Finance Committee
The finance committee monitors the LOWDSA financial information, including budgets, financial statements and investment income, to ensure that we remain fiscally responsible and work within our means.
Environment Committee
This committee has a broad mandate encompassing three primary objectives:
- To educate our membership allowing them to make informed decisions minimizing the human impact on their properties and in their communities.
- To support research and mitigation efforts related to environmental issues affecting the Lake of the Woods District.
- To ensure that LOWDSA and its members are recognized as important stakeholders in relation to initiatives affecting the natural environment in the region.
Government Affairs Committee
The Government Affairs Committee monitors government actions that may affect our members. As directed by the Board of Directors, the Committee will represent LOWDSA on related outside committees, inform members on issues that may affect their property, and prepare responses to government on specific issues.
LOWDPOA changes name, reflecting inclusivity and the association’s vision
MORE THAN JUST A NEW YEAR ON JANUARY 1, 2019
Your association will close out 2018 as LOWDPOA and will ring in the New Year as LOWDSA, the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association.
The path to this momentous announcement has been a long one with many stops along the way for consultation with members, and repeated, careful consideration by your directors. The LOWDPOA banner has been carried proudly by our members for over 56 years as evidenced by the association’s rich history and remarkable record of accomplishments. With this name change, that banner will still be carried high but will now be clearly aligned with the stated vision of the association—to preserve one of the most beautiful places on earth as a high quality environment for future generations to enjoy.
Over a year ago, at the 2017 LOWDPOA Annual General Meeting, the Board presented the idea of changing our name to better reflect the inclusivity of our association and the fact not just property owners have a vested interest in the sustainability of the Lake of the Woods district. The next generation of property owners, campers, boaters and all of those individuals and families also share our vision and love of the lake.
Canvassing Our Members
The idea was met with overwhelming support by those in attendance, which encouraged the LOWDPOA board to pursue a name change option. The importance of gathering member input to the idea of changing the name and what it should be changed to was paramount, and we provided every opportunity for members to participate in the discussion over the span of a year. Articles in the 2017 Summer, Fall and Winter issues of the Lake of the Woods Area News asked for members’ input. The winter issue also included a survey and link to an online survey. Information was also included in our eNews as well as information and a link to the survey posted on Facebook and Twitter. Beyond the articles and survey, your board and staff have also taken every opportunity to talk to members about their reaction to a name change and possible new name options.
Based on the responses to our survey over 78 per cent of members were in favour of a name change, an overwhelming endorsement to make the change. The next step was to determine what the new name would be.
What’s in a name?
It was important that the new name accomplish our ultimate objective—to demonstrate more inclusivity for the brand of our association and to ensure the mandate and mission were continued. We had to be able to register the name. We didn’t want to be confused with other associations. We needed to ensure we could obtain important brand and marketing elements like a good website URL, Facebook page, email addresses and finally, we wanted a name that was easier off the tongue and easier to remember than LOWDPOA or Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association.
The next critical step was to determine which of the short-listed names presented in the survey, as well as names submitted by members, fulfilled each of the criteria mentioned. Although this process took longer than we anticipated, we deemed it best to be thorough and diligent in our search at this stage.
Decision Made
Thanks to all of you who weighed in on this discussion and provided your input, whether in conversation, by email or through the survey, the Board had a good understanding of the sentiments of many of the association’s members. This was factored heavily into the Board’s final decision, a decision that could not have been made without your input.
As of January 1, 2019 your association will be known as the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association or LOWDSA in all aspects of its operation. We are pleased to unveil the new logo that will look very familiar with a name (and acronym) that are just a little easier to say—and a name that aligns so well with our vision, mission and mandate, and one that better reflects the inclusivity of our association and the fact there are many individuals and families beyond property owners who have a vested interest in the sustainability of the Lake of the Woods district.