Beaudry takes the helm at SFM

St. Boniface

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/08/2024 (598 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jean-Michel Beaudry has been named the new executive director of the Société de la francophonie manitobaine (SFM).

After serving as assistant executive director for the last five years, Beaudry takes the helm after being unanimously approved by SFM’s board of directors.

Beaudry replaces Daniel Boucher, who held the position for nearly 30 years. Boucher will officially retire on Aug. 30.

“It feels great,” said Beaudry, 36, whose first official day in the ED’s chair was Aug. 6.

No stranger to being a strong advocate for Manitoba’s francophone population and being committed to ensuring a more inclusive francophone community, Beaudry has been involved with the local Franco-Manitoban community in numerous ways for the past two decades.

“I’ve been involved with the francophone non-profit sector at the board level since I was 14,” Beaudry said.

Since joining SFM, Beaudry has been involved with the restructuring and reorganization of the organization’s administrative model and financial management, and he said some of his first priorities now involve administrative affairs. One task, based on a report from last year’s annual general meeting, is to reduce SFM’s 22-member board to “no more than nine members.”

Beaudry said working with such a large board can have its challenges, such as whether some directors fully understand the role, and trying to align the schedules of 22 people.

“We need the right model in place,” he said.

A former commissioner of the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine, he said he’s also committed to working on the mandates set out in the organization’s strategic plan, which addresses what the future in Manitoba will look like for francophones.

“I come from a background in the francophone community that’s very inclusive, which includes all the people learning French as an additional language, or French immersion graduates. Also — there are the historical francophone populations that might be self-marginalized in the last 50 years, such as the Métis population. There’s still much progress to go,” Beaudry said.

“As well, government relations are always ongoing, at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels. I want to continue to build on these relationships that are here, and also build stronger relations.”

Beaudry said he’s strongly encouraged by Premier Wab Kinew’s desire that Manitoba becomes “a truly bilingual province.”

Visit www.sfm.mb.ca for more information.