About Us
A.P.P.E.A.L. stands for Apprentissage Pratique Perfectionnement Enrichissement Anglais Loisir.
In the summer of 1983, three English teachers had the idea to start an "English Club" for francophones who simply wished to speak their second language in the company of anglophones. They figured they’d just rent a hall, find some members of Québec City’s anglophone community who were looking for a night out, tell their students, then sit back and relax.
A.P.P.E.A.L.’s first meetings were held at the Château Frontenac, found home later on at different locations as we outgrew accommodations and moved to the present local on Joli Bois St.
In the fall of 1985, our membership was twelve francophones, and about five monitors (an excellent ratio). After an article appeared in Le Soleil in November of that year, we were up to 100 francophones. We received over 700 phone calls after the newspaper article.
From the relatively simple idea of bringing the two linguistic communities together for language practice, the present-day structure of A.P.P.E.A.L. evolved. The evenings became more organized, Workshops and Social activities Calendar were put out, members added side activities such as Book club, Movie nights and on and on.
Today, A.P.P.E.A.L. is unique in Québec City and perhaps in the world, who knows? Even though, we have been through some hard times and were not always sure we would survive, so many people have put so much into A.P.P.E.A.L. for so long that our membership is currently over 200 and we continue to grow and evolve according to the needs of the members it serves. Due to their success, activities such as our regular Happy Hours and Brunches have become traditions with members who turn out for these events in high numbers. With the creation of our web site and the new symbol which captures the essence of our organization, A.P.P.E.A.L. is increasing its profile in the community.
Our Board of Directors
2011 - 2012
A.P.P.E.A.L. is a nonprofit organization managed by a board of directors who volunteer their services.
Don Harriet Peter Stuart
Jacques Gagnon Geneviève Crispo |
President Vice-president
and
Director
of Director of
Director of Social Activities Treasurer Secretary |
