History of l’Association des familles Proulx d’Amérique

In 1996, during the 300th anniversary celebrations of the City of Rimouski, an interim committee was formed to set up an association of the Proulx families. This 13-person committee consisted of 7 people from outside the region, 4 of whom lived in provinces other than Quebec.

Efforts deployed to organize the Proulx Gathering in July 1996 had undermined energies and few were ready to embark on a new adventure.

Then, before we knew it, the flame rekindled. Some of the actors of the 1996 gathering re-acquainted. So that by the end of 2004 the unthinkable will become feasible.

The year 2005 is marked by the desire of some members of the interim committee to relaunch the work to form an association bringing together families bearing the name Proulx.

Several informal meetings and a search for volunteers who are available and ready to commit themselves to achieving this objective mobilized the directors during the year 2004.

Informal exchanges make it possible to establish a coherent action plan. The whole process of setting up an association is analyzed. The steps to apply for our Letters Patent are under discussion. The search for a name for the future association raises questions. The creation of a Web site specific to the new association as well as its contents mobilizes many efforts.

The interim committee met formally on November 23rd, 2005. The official balance sheet of the future association covering the period from November 1st, 1996 to November 23rd, 2005 was adopted unanimously. The bank balance is $5,509.69.

Referring to the work of genealogist Antonin Proulx on the various strains of Proulx which were a considerable contribution to the settlement of New France, the committee, after deliberation, unanimously agreed to retain the following corporate name: Association des familles Proulx d’Amérique.

Then, on December 8th, 2005, our treasurer Langis Proulx tabled an official document requesting a corporate name search with the Inspector General of Financial Institutions of the Government of Quebec.

This will be the first legal step towards the establishment of our Association.

On January 6th, 2006, the secretary of the interim committee submitted a request for a corporate name reservation: Association des familles Proulx d’Amérique following the positive receipt of the name search report with the Registraire des entreprises, Direction des entreprises, Gouvernement du Québec.

The interim committee met on March 24th, 2006, at the Résidence Lionel-Roy, Rimouski. It proceeds to the request for incorporation as a non-profit legal entity for our future association.

To obtain our letters patent, the applicants are Joseph Proulx, Martin Proulx, and Langis Proulx. The other applicants were Serge Proulx, Jeanine Proulx, Lucette Proulx/Lepage, Nicole Proulx, Christiane Brisson, Claude Brisson and Jean-Paul Guévin.

The head office of our Association shall be in Rimouski, Quebec.

The first directors unanimously proposed were: Joseph Proulx, Martin Proulx, Langis Proulx, Serge Proulx, Jeanine Proulx, Lucette Proulx/Lepage, Nicole Proulx, Christiane Brisson.

The amount that our Association can own is limited to $500,000.

The mission and objectives listed in the application are listed in the “Bylaws” document that has been distributed to all members in good standing of the Association.

Our sworn application was sent on April 28th, 2006. Our letters patent are dated May 12th, 2006.

The Caisse Populaire de St-Anaclet is retained to carry out our banking transactions.

No formal meetings of the Association were held during 2007. At informal meetings, the directors considered the content of future by-laws, the elements to be taken into account in designing a Web site and its hosting, the question of having a coat of arms, the membership fee, the recruitment of members and the opportunity to write a journal as well as the organization and convening of a general meeting of the members of the Association.

Your directors met six times during the year at the Résidence Lionel Roy in Rimouski. Two major objectives: the by-laws and the holding of a general assembly.

The by-laws were finalized at a By-laws Committee meeting held on August 21st, 2008. Then the form and content were revised by Mrs. Georgette Lévesque and Mr. Pierre Proulx. On September 10th, 2008, your directors, after further reading, accepted them in the wording to be presented at the September 2008 general meeting.

All meetings held in 2008 focused on organizing the first annual meeting.

The whole issue surrounding the creation of our own Web site had a happy ending with Mr. Gilles Proulx’s offer to host us on his Web site. See www.gilles-proulx.com. He even had to build us our own web page. It has been done since then.

The question of the intellectual property of our coat of arms was settled by the gift of Mrs. Lucette Proulx/Lepage of the right she had to our Association at the meeting of September 10th, 2008.

Making a banner and pins are other visual measures taken to mark our annual meeting.

We hope that the Association des familles Proulx d’Amérique will become a unifying force and that many people bearing the name Proulx or others will join our ranks to energize its action.