This is post 1 of 6 related posts which together make up our April 10, 2021 DIY, Virtual MonSFFA Meeting.

1) WITH HEAVY HEARTS DO WE CONVENE…

One year ago this month, MonSFFA hosted its first virtual meeting. Today’s online gathering was to have been something of a celebratory anniversary of that first meeting. It will be anything but, for no one of us is in any kind of mood for celebration. We have lost another of our own to COVID-19. We will offer no word games, or trivia quizzes, or parody songs. Not today.

The unbearably sad news of our cherished friend and fellow club member Sylvain St-Pierre’s recent and so very sudden passing has shaken our group to the core. He was only 64, relatively healthy, and had been exceptionally careful with regard to COVID-19 safety protocols in that he was caring for his elderly mother at home.

Of the sequence of events that led to his passing, details are scant at this time. We know only that about mid-March, he and his mother where experiencing symptoms which he thought related to the common cold or flu. But given the ongoing pandemic, he felt it would be prudent to book an appointment for a COVID test.

In the meantime, Sylvain had been in communication regarding preparations for our then-upcoming April 10, 2021 meeting, had been working on content for said meeting, and for the next issue of the club’s fanzine, Warp. Shortly after he posted on his Facebook page that he had tested positive for COVID-19, communication eerily ceased and we were unable to reach him via any channel.

We soon learned that on March 25, he succumbed to the virus, and that within a few days of his passing, his mother, too, died. His brother, Marc, we understand, is currently in precautionary self-isolation. Reeling from this devastating turn of events, Sylvain’s family have yet to formerly announce any plans regarding a memorial and funeral services. Family, friends, and those who knew Sylvain through local fandom and beyond have begun leaving messages of condolence on his Facebook page. To his family, we offer our sincere sympathies, as well.

Sylvain was a long-time member of MonSFFA, and in fact, served on the club’s Executive Committee for decades as treasurer. He was an erudite and creative fellow truly passionate about science fiction and fantasy, and he greatly enjoyed sharing his interest in this or that aspect of the genre with fellow SF/F aficionados. One of our most devoted members, Sylvain tirelessly dedicated himself to club operations, and to major projects like our MonSFFilms productions and ConCept, Montreal’s venerable, MonSFFA-founded, fan-run SF/F convention. He was especially committed to the club’s meeting programming, producing over the decades countless extensive, well-researched, lavishly illustrated A/V presentations on a wide variety of genre topics. Rare was the MonSFFA meeting that he did not attend and to which he did not contribute. This same zeal he applied to Warp, as well, authoring numerous feature articles for the publication over the years.

Sylvain was one of the principal architects of that first virtual MonSFFA meeting of April 2020 (and of the 11 that followed), and none of those who put the meeting together imagined that the club would still be holding its monthly get-togethers online a full year later. But here we are, diminished by the loss of friends to this insidious virus, but carrying on as best we can.

What had originally been scheduled for today’s meeting has been postponed so that we may convene by way of our usual Zoom session to mourn our beloved friend and fondly remember the many moments we have enjoyed in his company. Also, we have chosen to honour Sylvain by rerunning a few of the wonderful presentations he produced this past year so that his fellow MonSFFen may revisit his exceptional work on behalf of this club, and so that anyone unfamiliar with his contributions to our virtual meetings may have opportunity to enjoy and benefit from that which he brought to the table.

Sylvain, you will be missed not just for such efforts, but far more for your kindness, warmth, generosity, sense of humour… Simply put, for your friendship… And for so much more than you could possibly have imagined. Rest in peace amongst the stars, dear friend.

 

2) TODAY’S MEETING: IN MEMORIAM

As we gather online for this month’s virtual club meeting, we take a moment to reiterate to MonSFFen: please take all precautions to keep as safe as is possible from this lethal virus.

This is our 13th virtual MonSFFA meeting. It will unfold here on the club’s Web site over the course of the next few hours, beginning with this first post, and followed by subsequent posts at 1:30PM, 2:30PM, 3:00PM, and 4:00PM, with a concluding post at 4:30PM. All content will also be available concurrently on MonSFFA’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MonSFFA), however, note that the interface best suited for taking in our virtual meetings is this very Web site.

We’ll be Zooming from 1:30PM on until the meeting concludes. As always, Web site-based content will be posted at intervals throughout the course of the afternoon while our Zoom gathering progresses. Circumstances are unique today; the Zoom session will provide club members and others joining us an opportunity to mourn and reminisce about our dear friend and fellow MonSFFan, Sylvain St-Pierre, in light of his recent passing.

As aforementioned, in his honour, we are rerunning on the site a few of Sylvain’s excellent presentations, selected from among the many he produced this past year for our series of virtual meetings. Whether live-and-in-person at a real, face-to-face club meeting, or here online, his presentations have always been exceptionally entertaining and educational. So have another look, or, if you have yet to enjoy one of Sylvain’s “MonSFFA Virtual Presentations,” check out this sampling of the content he produced for the club over these previous 12 months. Take in each of the afternoon’s posts, scrolling down leisurely through the proffered content, and delight in what you discover.

We welcome comment on our virtual meetings; let us know what you think of specific topics or the meeting overall. Your input is valued and helps us to better tailor future virtual events.

If you wish to Zoom with us during the course of the meeting, click here: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA Zoom

If you’re not fully equipped to Zoom by computer, you can also join in by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is: 1-438-809-7799. If you’re from out of town, find your Zoom call-in number here: International Call-In Numbers

Also, have this information on hand as you may be asked to enter it:

Meeting ID: 720 226 5075
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3) MEETING AGENDA

In This Afternoon’s Virtual Meeting:

1:00PM, Post 1 of 6 (Opening)

1) With Heavy Hearts Do We Convene…

2) Today’s Meeting: In Memoriam

3) Meeting Agenda

1:30PM, Post 2 of 6 (Zoom; Hailing Frequencies Open!)

4) Zoom Session Begins (Runs Concurrently Until End of Meeting)

5) Web Site Presentation: Communication in SF&F, Parts 1 and 2

2:30PM, Post 3 of 6 (Break)

6) Mid-Meeting Break (Announcements, Zoom Continues)

3:00PM, Post 4 of 6 (For the Love of Books!)

7) Presentation: A Compendium of Unusual Books 

4:00PM, Post 5 of 6 (Back-Yard Bugs Equals BEMs!)

8) Gallery: It Came From the Garden!

4:30PM, Post 6 of 6 (Closing)

9) Thank-You

10) Wish You Were Here: A Final Remembrance

 

Next Post: 1:30PM—Zoom Begins; Communication in SF&F (Parts 1 and 2)