MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Hello everyone,

At this time of the year, which was very emotional for the association, the holidays are a time of rest, reflection and family reunion.

Also, I would like to take this opportunity through our site to wish you, on behalf of the members of the Board of Directors, a happy holiday season and a year filled with happiness, health and peace.

My wish for this year 2019 would be to meet all the members of your respective families in our Association.

Michel Racette,
President

We regret to announce the death of Sylvain L. Racette following a devastating illness. He was currently the Bulletin Editor and Administrator of the Association. He has been president of the Association twice for a total of 10 years. He has always been very active and his contribution to the Association of Rasset's families was considerable. The Association would not be this advanced without him. We will miss him terribly.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

September 15, 2018 in St-Élie-de-Caxton

It is with pleasure but also with great emotion that I present to you the review of this past year's activities of the Association.

Before I go any further, I would like to thank my colleagues on the board for their work and support over the past year.

ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY

First of all, on September 24, 2017, we held our Annual General Assembly in L'Assomption as part of the 350th anniversary of the City of the L'Assomption. Nearly thirty members participated.

It was also during this meeting that I gladly agreed to become the president of the association for two years. I thank you again for your support and you confidence.

Promotion 25 years

The year 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Rasset Family Association. The board decided to promote it with a distinctive logo and benefits when renewing membership. This promotion was a great success as all members minus one whose membership expired renewed for two years. Our goal for 201 7 was 125 members. To date, the Association has 95 members in good standing.

Board meeting / dates

During the past year, the board of directors met four times :

December 15 in Laval

March 24 in St-Jérome

May 26 in Repentigny

August 25 in Ste-Agathe

Bulletins / release date

Regarding the newsletter, it has been published twice :

December / January 2018

And

February / March 2018

Thank you posthumously to Sylvain Racette for the writing as well as Claude Racette for their work in preparing and sending the bulletins.

Website / Facebook

In 2017-2018, Claude Racette regularly updated our website while Nicole Racette was responsible for publishing relevant information on our Facebook site.

Projects 2018 (Park bench / Publication directory)

Two projects are still on the drawing board for the next year: namely the purchase of a Rasset park bench in Saint-Jacques and the publication of a Rasset directory in Quebec.

Park bench

In Saint-Jacques, there is a memorial park of certain families. The Parc des Cultures consist of the creation of thematic spaces. In order to furnish the Parc des Cultures, project for the installation of benches is underway. These benches made by local craftsmen are financed by the families. On each bench there is a plaque that indicates the name of the family, its origin (Acadian, Quebecois or others) and the date of arrival of this family in Nouvelle-Acadie. Fifteen (15) benches are already installed and fifteen (15) others art to be planned for the coming years. Eventually, each family with a bench will be able to put genealogical information, if it wishes, on the website of the Municipality of Saint-Jacques.

Publication of a Rasset Directory in Québec

The publication of a repertory of baptisms, marriages and burials of the Rassets in Quebec is piloted by Sylvain Racette as will as Lise Saint-André and Claude Racette.

AGA 2018

Finally, members of the board decided to hold the next major gathering in the Mauricie region, right here in St-Élie-de-Caxton. That's basically my report.

Thank you for your attention. I am ready to answer your questions.

Michel Racette, President

Welcome to the Rasset Family Association website

In 1664, the French carpenter Jean Rasset landed in America. He is one of the 5,000 bold and tenacious pioneers who, through their work and perseverance, have enabled the settlement of a French-speaking nation on the continent. Three and a half centuries later, thousands of Quebecers, Canadians and Americans proudly stand among his descendants and continue to spread his surname in its various forms.

We also invite you to take a few minutes to visit our new website. You will discover a wealth of information about the first generation of Racettes and our family association active since 1992. In our new PUBLICATIONS section, you will find a brief summary of all articles published in our newsletter for the past 20 years. Do not hesitate to order the issues you want. And come back regularly. We will add content throughout the year.

We hope to see you at our next meeting.

THE ASSOCIATION HAS JOINED
THE FÉDÉRATION HISTOIRE QUÉBEC

On January 14, 2017, the members of the Board of Directors unanimously adopted a resolution to join the Fédération Histoire Québec. Founded in 1965, formerly known as the Federation of Quebec History Societies, it has more than 266 associations representing more than forty thousand people.
    Since its founding, the Rasset Family Association was a member of the Federation of Quebec Family Associations (FFSQ), which later became the Federation of Family Associations of Quebec (FAFQ). The Federation provided member associations with a range of services ranging from affordable liability insurance to web hosting, printing and storage services.
    In recent years, the Government of Quebec, the Federation's principal donor, has considerably reduced the amount it has paid. The situation has become so critical that the FAFQ has dismissed its four employees and terminated several of its services a few months ago.
    In a letter sent to member associations on November 30, 2016, the president of the Federation, Claude Trudel, said that it was necessary to "redefine the role of the FAFQ". "The vision for the future" he proposes, is to make the Federation "a privileged interlocutor with the governmental bodies and other organizations or companies interested in the family heritage and its enhancement". In addition, it will no longer directly support member associations as it did before, but simply direct them to resource persons. In short, the FAFQ becomes a voice rather than an actor.
    It is for these reasons that members of the council of the Association des familles Rasset have decided to join the Fédération Histoire Québec.

The Board of Directors 2017-2018 of the Rasset Family Association

Born in Montreal, he studied at Université de Montréal in Communications where he obtained a Baccalaureat Es Art. Maried to Nicole Sénécal, he is the father of two children. He lives in Repentigny. He is also president of Aramusique and the Lions club La Seigneurie in Repentigny. His hobbies are sailing, reading, traveling and the Rasset Association.

Born in Brébeuf in 1942 (eldest of a family of five), elementary school from 1948
to 1957  in Brébeuf, high school from 1958 to 1961 at the Écoles des métiers in
Mont-Laurier, holder of a diploma in automobile mechanics from the Montreal Institute
of Thechnology, work for UPA from 1962 to 1974, founder of Autoparts Deslaurier & 
Racette inc. under the banner Uniselect from 1974 to 1998, construction project 
manager from 1998 to 2018, president of the Optimist Club of Ste-Agathe-des-Monts.

Born in Montreal, he studied at Notre-Dame College where he obtained a Baccalaureat Es Art. Then he completed his studies at Université of Montréal in Dental Medecine which he practised in Montreal. Now his hobbies are genealogy, the Rasset Association and travelling.

Born in Saint-Roch-Ouest, he attended Notre-Dame primary school, high school at l'Achigan school, college at CEGEP Bois-de-Boulogne, then he finished his studies at the University of Montreal with a degre in Political Science. He has always practiced agriculture while being a provincial candidate. For four and a half years, he has been Mayor of Saint-Roch-Ouest.

Married for 44 years to Michel Racette, current president of the Racette families, Nicole is retired from the public sector, Health field for eleven years. Mother of Julie and Jean-François, she is happy to be grandmother of three wonderfull little girls : Julianne, Laurence and Béatrice. Her main hobbies are crosswords, sudoku, knitting, reading, sailing and cross-country skiing.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she moved around the world with her family whose father was an officer in the Canadian Army. Then her family moved to Montreal where she studied and make carreer. She meet her husband, Claude Racette, and is happy with her new family and her grand son, Louis-Maxime. She continues to travel.

Louise Racette Lecocq, born and from Montreal, daughter of Paul-Émile Racette and Marguerite Chayer of Montreal, mother of Valérie. Her father was a police officer for the city of Montreal. Her grandfather was originally from Montreal. Her husband, Daniel Lecocq, is from Vire in Normandy. Retired after forty years at National Bank and Desjardins.

To reach, click on the name

President :                       Michel J.P. Racette
Vice-President :              François A. Racette
Secretary-treasurer :       Claude M. Racette
Administrator :                Nicole Sénécal Racette
Administrator :                Sherry Simard
Administrator :                  Mario S. Racette
Administrator :                  Louise E. Y. Racette

Journal

Editor : Claude M. Racette

up-date 2018/11/21