“If Gabriolans have been noticing significant improvements to the Community Hall in 2009, they’re right”, according to Gabriola Island Community Hall Association (GICHA) board member, Nigel Hart, who listed a number of upgrades to the hall in a report prepared for their November 2009 Annual General Meeting.

New GICHA President, Joyce Babula, who has been GICHA secretary for 25 years said past board President Bob Black stepped down from the board. She said Mike Pelzer has been elected Vice-President, Ute Ewart is secretary, and Harry Graham is treasurer (“thank GAWD”, she said). Directors, who are elected annually, are Nigel Hart, Hugh Brown, and Don McLaughlin, and Trustees, who serve three year terms are: Graham Sheehan, Rick Hobbs, and Susan Brown.

Babula said: “Everyone who lives on Gabriola is automatically a member of the community hall if they are over 16”. She said that the hall is funded totally by a ‘user pay’ system, and that the hall sometimes gets grant money, but not very often. She said that the hall is 25 years old and needed upgrades, some of which the board has been able to carry out thanks to grants from the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) and the Gabriola Lions club.

Waxing rhapsodic, Hart said: “Our sound system now sounds awesome!”, noting that the Island Singers bought new speakers for the hall in the spring, Hart said that both the speakers and their stands were purchased through Lou Gradanti, “who always provides a really good price”. Hart said GICHA also purchased new speaker cables, the group Classical Twist donated a sound “snake” - which connects the sound board (where the sound is mixed) to the speakers. He said there is a new sound board as well thanks to a grant from the RDN Parks and Rec. department.

Hart said the hall’s lighting system received an upgrade as well thanks to financial and/or mechanical help from the Gabriola Players, Randy Young, Don McLaughlin, Gord Parsons and Hart, himself.

Hart said GICHA annually replaces 30 to 50 per cent of their fluorescent lighting. He said: “Thanks to an RDN grant, and a cost rebate grant from BC Hydro, and the organising work of Bob Black and Mike Peltzer, the Hall now enjoys completely upgraded fluorescent lighting”.

Hart said: “This spring we have purchased a new dishwasher that cycles in three minutes - wow! On investigating the failure of our old dishwasher, it was discovered that the control board was fried … To protect our stage lighting, sound equipment and dishwasher, Don McLaughlin researched, purchased and installed surge protectors at the power board”.

Hart said that thanks to Mike Peltzer, Bob Black and Richard Ferguson the main hall ceiling was repainted in August – the “first time the ceiling has been repainted since the Community Hall was built” 30 years ago.

“At the beginning of the year”, Hart said, “Bob Black organised the purchase and installation of new counters and sinks in the washrooms and the upstairs kitchen. The counters were installed by Simon Brown. Shortly afterwards a bad water leak during heavy snowfall damaged the upstairs kitchen and required a major repair of walls and ceiling”. He said the repairs were covered by insurance, and that Stevo’s Roofing carried out the repairs.

Finally Hart said, “Don McLaughlin worked with carpenter, Drew Staniland, to install a porch over the rear upstairs entry into the Main Hall to protect the entrance from water damage”.