Letter from the President, Kerry Hackett

April, 2005
Hello! I hope this letter finds everyone well and working happily towards their new resolutions for 2005. I have a number of items to report from the last quarter of 2004 as well as news for the upcoming year.

As the dates for publishing the Journal did not coincide with the submission of my last letter, belated thanks to Carol Little for all her hard work organizing the wonderful and well-attended Rosemary Gladstar events in October 2004.

In November, the third weekend meeting to form a national council of herbal associations was held in Toronto. Herbalists from Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario attended with those from British Columbia on a telephone link. Much was accomplished and all were enthusiastic regarding the formation of such a community. Each provincial association will be responsible for two representatives to this council which will meet for the first time in Vancouver, February 2005. Stay tuned for further news on this front soon! Hearty thanks go to Rick DeSylva and Christine Dennis for organizing this event as well as to Celina Ainsworth and John Redden for donating space so that these meetings could occur.

Onward: there will be a number of new items on the horizon for 2005. In her capacity overseeing Professional Development, Celina Ainsworth has set up a Continuing Education Programme for the Professional members of the Ontario Herbalists Association. Please see the OHA website often for all the various workshops Celina has organized. Just as a sample, here are a few upcoming seminars being held inToronto:
1.Professional practitioner record keeping on Tuesday, January 25, 2005

2.Learn how to assess blood pressure, pulses, and perform urinalysis on Tuesday, February. 22, 2005

3.Promoting your practice workshop on Tuesday, March15, 2005

There are also a number of other events and workshops listed on the website and we would like to have even more. If you are a professional member of the Ontario Herbalists Association and will be offering classes or seminars in your area, please contact the OHA by email (info@herbalists.on.ca) or phone
(1-877-OHA-HERB) and let us publicise your workshops on the
website and in the new Events section of The Canadian Journal
of Herbalism. Let’s let everyone
know that the Ontario Herbalists Association and its professional members are THE place to go for herbal information. And, whilst I’m
mentioning the website, have you seen it lately? A new look, new information, and a fabulous new links page are all in place, with more to come. Please take a look and check it out often.

I am also pleased to announce that there will be a quarterly newsletter for Professional members beginning in the very near future. Hats off to Peter Laker for organising this! Other announcements include an online e-mail group for Professional Members sometime early in the new year. And last, but far from least, I am happy to announce the
revival of the Herbal Renaissance Fair to be held at Spirit of the Earth, The Living Centre, just south of London, July 8th to10th 2005. Enormous thanks to Walter “Shantree” Kacera and Lorenna Bousquet-Kacera for all of their work to organize this event. These three days will be absolutely wonderful and I hope you will all attend!

As you can see, there is a LOT going on and the Ontario Herbalists Association is committed to providing as many
opportunities and services as possible. However, all of these events cannot happen on their own, nor can the same small group of people do everything.
Once again, I am asking for your
time to volunteer. Please help us
help you to have the best herbal
association in the world.

Letter From the President, August 2004

Letter From the President, May 2004

Letter From the President, February 2004

Letter From the President, November 2003

Letter From the President, Fall 2002

Letter From the President, May 2002

Letter From the President, February 2002
The material contained on this web site is intended for educational purposes only and no responsibility is assumed for misadventure resulting from the misuse of botanical preparations. If you have a health problem, you should consult a qualified medical doctor for diagnosis. Herbal treatment should be undertaken only with the advice of a qualified herbal practitioner. Self medication may be dangerous or ineffective.

General membership in the Ontario Herbalists Association is open to any herbal enthusiast, and does not imply any fitness to practise herbal medicine. The OHA only supports those members who have met or exceeded the requirements for professional membership, who have been approved, and whose membership is in good standing.