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Gwaii Trust annual meeting is Saturday

The Gwaii Trust Society is inviting all islanders to attend its annual general meeting this Saturday afternoon at the Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate.To make it easier for people to attend, especially young people, the society has hired a bus that will start out in Old Massett Saturday morning and pick up passengers in Masset and Port Clements on its way to Skidegate, and take them home again after the meeting."The main reason we're doing that is we want to facilitate participation by youth," said executive director Errol Winter. "We want to make it easier for them to participate in meetings."The annual general meeting will include a message from outgoing chair Peter Lantin, financial statements and a question and answer session.The value of the Gwaii Trust fund currently stands at approximately $66 million, Mr. Winter said. Started in 1994 with $38 million from the federal government, the fund is controlled by an eight-member board of directors representing all islands communities. Part of the interest generated by the fund is reinvested every year to protect the core amount from inflation, while the rest of the interest is distributed through a variety of grant programs. Gwaii Trust grants have helped islanders with everything from trips off-island to building youth centres and buying fire trucks.The annual general meeting starts at 1 pm on Saturday (Dec. 1) in the Performance Centre at the Haida Heritage Centre. The shuttle bus leaves the Old Massett community hall at 10:30 am and will stop at the Masset and Port village offices. For more information, call the Gwaii Trust office at 626-3654 or 559-8883.