Directors' Corner: Geneviève Côte



Is it a year already? Wow, that went by quickly! I remember, when I got the call from France Lafleur to tell me I was elected to SOCAN’s board, my first thought was to put it up on Facebook. My status must have read something like “…elected to the SOCAN board, woot-woot!”

When I decided to run in the election, I wanted to represent young creators and small publishers as best as I could, to bring the voice of the upcoming generation to the table. So I was happy I was given that chance.

I feel very proud to be on this board. There are 18 of us; I’m the second youngest at the table and one of the two women; my casting is Quebec French Publisher (there are nine writers and nine publishers).

When I walked into the first meeting, in June 2009 in Montreal, I felt like I was walking into a legislative committee hearing. With a huge table, microphones and headsets for everyone (we have simultaneous translation during board meetings), the atmosphere was almost bewildering. I knew most of the Quebec directors and Earl Rosen, who was to be elected president at that board meeting, but I was meeting 11 new directors all at once. Not much was said on my part that day except, during the period called “Directors’ concerns,” when I mustered every bit of courage to raise a simple issue: “Why is there bottled water on these tables instead of pitchers and glasses?” My casting was changed to “Greeny Quebec French…,” which I have no problem with, I must add.

A year later in Vancouver, after attending three subsequent board meetings in Toronto and Montreal, walking into the overly air-conditioned room, with the same huge-table set-up, was not so overwhelming any more. By now, I know everybody’s name and what they do. I’ve also figured out that the board meetings are where we receive information on your behalf to make sure the ship is going in the right direction.

As your representatives, we on the board are your eyes and ears. We are your guard dogs. A year later I also know the committees (there are five in all; I sit on the Membership committee) are where we get a chance to exchange ideas, think ahead and maybe influence decision-making. I’m glad I was assigned to Membership. It allows for almost direct interaction with you, the members, and it makes my work as a director so tangible. Directors are assigned to a committee for a three-year period. I sometimes find myself wishing I were on two committees so I’d understand every detail of the overviews we hear at the board meetings. Overachiever, me? Nah!

At the most recent SOCAN board meeting in June, I found myself posting “… at SOCAN board meeting and proud to be here.” I now feel certain this will be the case throughout my mandate.

Directors' Corner 2010

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Directors' Corner 2009

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Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
Send them to Rick MacMillan, Words + Music Corporate Editor, at wordsandmusic@socan.ca.

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