Claudio Verconich (Chairman): Good afternoon distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.  Welcome to the 41st Annual Meeting of the Association of Average Adjusters of Canada. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our distinguished guests:

•    Liz Burrell, President of the United States Maritime Law Association
•    Graham Jackson – Besso Ltd./UK

It is also again my sad duty to pass on to you that one of our full members, Mr. John Cantello passed away in this past year.  Bill Kyle will be saying a few words about John.

Bill Kyle: John Cantello was one of founders of the Association of Average Adjusters of Canada. He arrived from the United Kingdom in 1961. I was part of the group who found the Association in 1967. John was a driving force in the formation of the Association. He pushed the Association around the world. He was a honourary member of the Association of Average Adjusters of the United States. Tim Stradling wrote an obituary for the U.S. Association. I’d like to read it now:

John Cantello was born and educated in England.  He served with the Allied Forces in World War II - when he drove a tank in North Africa.  John trained as an Average Adjuster with the UK firm Burden & Clark; he also worked as an insurance broker with Swan & Everett.  In 1961 John and his family left the UK for Canada and he joined the Montreal office of Osborn & Lange Limited - the premier Canadian firm of marine Insurance Brokers and Average Adjusters handling many of the large Canadian Great Lakes fleets.

John, along with several other adjusters then practicing in Canada, was largely instrumental in forming the Association of Average Adjusters of Canada in 1966 - the first meeting of this new body being held in Montreal in March 1967.  John was always extremely active within the Canadian Association, serving as its Chairman in 1972 and again in 1989.

John was keenly interested in maritime law and joined the Canadian Maritime Law Association, serving as their Secretary/Treasurer for many years.  

In his 60's, and at a time when most of us would be thinking about retirement, John obtained a Bachelors degree (with honors) in modern history from Montreal's Concordia University.  John became a Foreign Associate of the Association of Average Adjusters of the United States shortly after arriving in Canada and attended every one of that organization's meetings/dinners in New York for so many years that, in recognition, the US Association made him their first Honorary Member in 1996 - soon to be followed by Ray Hicks, with whom John had worked extensively during the latter's many years of service at the American Hull Insurance Syndicate until retirement.

John maintained his contacts with the London Insurance Market and joined the UK Association of Average Adjusters as an annual subscriber and enjoyed attending many of their meetings and dinners held in London in May of each year.  Along with other Average Adjusters and marine lawyers, John played a significant role as part of the Canadian Maritime Law Association's delegations in the revisions to the York Antwerp Rules in Hamburg in 1974 and again in 1994 in Sydney.

John died peacefully at his home in Pointe Claire, Quebec, on December 22nd 2006 surrounded by his family members.  He will be sorely missed by all his many friends and contacts in the international business of marine insurance and average adjusting.

His passing truly does mark the end of an era.  Rest in peace, my friend.

Claudio Verconich: Before continuing with our meeting there is one formal matter which requires to be taken care of and that is the adoption of the Minutes of the last Annual Meeting held in Halifax Nova Scotia on June 15th, 2006.  I would therefore make the following motion: “that in accordance with the Bylaws, the Minutes of the last Annual Meeting, having been examined and certified correct by the Executive Committee, now be confirmed.”  May I have a seconder? 

Ian Fraser: I second the motion

Claudio Verconich: All in favour?  [Motion Passed]

Claudio Verconich: It has been an eventful year of my term as Chairman of our Association. It has again been a privilege and an honour to represent our Association at the events in the past year.  
In October of last year, I was invited by the US Average Adjuster’s Association to attend their meetings in New York.  I thank that Association for their hospitality.
In May of this year I received an invitation from the Association of Average Adjusters of the United Kingdom to attend their meeting which was held in London on the 10th of May 2007. The 138th annual general meeting of the U.K. Association was held at Lloyd’s. A panel of distinguished speakers joined Nigel Rogers, the current Chairman of the AAA, to give different perspectives on the topic “Claims – The Future”. Nigel Rogers commented on the current state of average adjusting, focusing on the declining number of qualified experienced practitioners, and a lack of cohesion amongst the different component parts engaged in claims servicing. He went on to talk about the concept of an Association of International Marine Claims Professionals (AIMCP), the idea of which was discussed at the International Marine Claims Conference in Dublin in October 2006 with the debate to be continued at the next conference later this year. He said that among the objectives of any such body would be to raise the profile of claims servicing within the marine insurance industry overall and to advance specific initiatives.
At the UK meeting I received the hospitality of Nigel Rogers and his wife Karen for a wonderful dinner. I thank them both for a fine evening.
As this is my first year as Chairman I will not be presenting a formal address. I will do so next year.  Thank you. Are there any comments from the floor?
Tony Brain:     Claudio, I thank you for your comments and I think the suggestion of an international organization is a good idea and should be supported.
Reports

•    Report of the Nominating Committee: IAN FRASER
Ian Fraser: Good morning ladies and gentlemen.  In the coming year Claudio Verconich from Toronto will serve as Chairman for a second term.  The Executive Committee will be headed by Bill Kyle, Chairman, Maurice Gesner and myself.  The Rules of Practice Committee Chairman will be Maurice Gesner, with members Tony Brain and Gordon Gibbons from the underwriters side.  Membership Committee – Chairman will be headed by David Holden, with members Greg O’Brien and Bill Kyle.  The Advisory Committee –will be headed by Ron Eldridge and he will be assisted by Tony Brain and David Holden. Rui Fernandes will continue as Secretary - Treasurer. Thank you

•    Report of the Membership Committee: Bill Kyle
Bill Kyle: I will be presenting this report on behalf of the Membership Committee.
There have been two new Resident Associates approved at our business meeting yesterday:
Ms. Kim Haniff of AIG and Mr. Alan Jervis. There was one member who wrote our examinations and I am pleased to advise he was successful in passing the exams.  We welcome Greg O’Brien of Braden Marine as a full member.

Claudio Verconich: Well, thank you all for attending today. Congratulations to Greg. I would like to thank Executive and all the committees for the great work done this year. I would also like to thank the Secretary of the Association Rui Fernandes.
Is there any other business today? If there isn’t, I will therefore declare the meeting adjourned.

[Meeting Adjourned]