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• with our revenues from operating parking lots during the CNE and other events having ceased, we moved to invest our accumulated cash surplus so we can continue to support the Fort York Guard in partnership with other sponsors. • marked the first anniversary of our new website www. fortyork.ca, which had over 67,000 hits this year, 108,000 hits since it went online in May 2012. Some 265 people subscribed to our Fife and Drum newsletter there, dozens of new members joined, and many donations were received. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) resulted in substantially higher traffic to the site. • published four issues of The Fife and Drum, which now reaches about 3700 readers a quarter. Articles on the bicentennial of the Battle of York in 1813, on heroes like Laura Secord and Tecumseh, and reports on the new Visitor Centre were included. The March issue highlighting the Battle bicentennial went to about 25,000 readers thanks to our co-operating partners. • advertised in four issues of Spacing magazine, capping a five-year series. • inaugurated a mapping website for Fort York and Military Reserve jointly with Nathan Ng who has two other city-wide mapping sites. Over 100 plans, all enlargeable for better study, are posted at fortyorkmaps.blogspot.ca The site has had some 32,000 hits since this spring. • held eleven monthly board meetings. One or more directors also attended every public event and function at the fort. • re-established a Precinct Advisory Committee of experts to help us take positions on the many planning studies, public works, and private developments in the fort’s vicinity queuing up for official approval. • framed several more images showing 19th century soldiers at their ease. In early 2014 more than two dozen of these pictures will be hung in the main room in the Blue Barracks. • co-sponsored ceremonies in April and November where 80 people received their Canadian citizenship in an auspicious setting in front of family and friends. • held our fifteenth Georgian Dinner in support of the Fort York Guard. As is customary the menu included dishes of the period prepared by the fort’s Volunteer Cooks under the direction of Bridget Wranich who runs the fort’s culinary programs.
• sponsored two evenings in the ongoing Parler Fort series. • added more than two dozen recently published titles on the War of 1812 to the collections in the fort’s Resource Centre which is funded by The Friends and staffed by volunteers. • funded most of the cost for a twelve-person Guard and a Drum Corps of six in 2013. The 200th anniversary of the Battle of York on April 27 and the Fort York Festival in mid-June provided them with record-breaking audiences. More evidence of the Guard’s precision and polish came when it won the inter-site guard competition at Fort George in August. In October a portion of the Guard attended the Tecumseh celebrations in London. • saw three senior members of the Guard retire at the end of the season: Colour Sergeant Mark Riches, Lance Corporal Samantha Horne, and Fifer/Bugler Graeme Sylvia whose contributions will be greatly missed. • saw the Drum Corps’ repertoire and drilling skills expanded under Drum-Major Baknel Macz. • co-operated with Palatine Hills Winery in a special promotion of its 1812-brand wines using neck-tags and point-of-sale materials in over 300 LCBO stores from February through June. • partnered with the City to develop a new brochure for visitors. It will be ready in early 2014 in advance of the opening of the new Visitor Centre. • raised strong objections to a casino at Exhibition Place in a letter to the Mayor and Council. • revised our bylaws as required by new government regulations and submitted them for approval. • maintained a watching brief on the Fort York Armoury and adjacent area at 800 Fleet Street. While recognizing that things will be in flux as the neighbourhood surrounding the site develops, we are opposed to anything that compromises permanently Fort York’s integrity. • saw the Fort York Volunteers flourish in their second year as partners in helping guide visitors around the fort, particularly on high traffic occasions. • welcomed the chance for more people to get to know the fort when they attended summer concerts on the Common which attracted more than 50,000 people in 2013. For comparison, our accomplishments for 1994-2012 can be found on our website http://www.fortyork.ca/about-us/ouraccomplishments.html
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