We just got back from the wonderful Party in the Park that is organized by the good folks who belong to the Museum Society. I hope I got that one right. In any event it is organized by a great group of volunteers who slave away to make our Heritage Park look absolutely fantastic. There are flags everywhere and my heart just swells with pride to be a Canadian!
This year I gave greetings from the town. I also did that job last year because our Mayor was unavailable to do so. I don't mind, in fact I kind of enjoy it even though it means writing a speech. Here, in its entirety is the speech I delivered this year, July 1, 2013:
First off a
few words about the terrible flooding and devastation in High River, Alberta. We can only imagine what this has done to
disrupt the lives of all those people who live there. In our community we have caring and
compassionate people who have gathered graduation clothing and accessories to
send to the High River Grade Twelve students who have lost everything. Now they will be able to celebrate their
graduation from high school in style and with the knowledge that we all
care. That is what makes me so proud to
say that I am a Canadian an Albertan and a proud citizen of Coronation.
As the
Deputy Mayor I am very pleased to bring greetings on behalf of the Town of
Coronation on Canada Day.
On July 1st,
1867 Canada was proclaimed a nation. We
have come a long way since 1867 but the basic tenants of freedom have resounded
loud and clear throughout our history. I believe we live in the best country in
the world. We have freedoms that some people
in other parts of the world can only dream about. We can express ourselves, we can vote for
whoever we wish to vote for, we can move about freely; all without fear of
persecution.
In
Coronation we are no different. We are a
safe and caring community and as a town council it is our duty to protect those
freedoms for whoever chooses to live here.
We are diverse, things change and sometimes we don’t always know who our
neighbors are. Celebrations such as
this give us an opportunity to come together and bond as a community. As a town council we have worked very hard to
provide the leadership and encouragement to individuals and groups who wish to
enhance and improve our community.
Our vision
for Coronation is that we are a thriving proud and diverse Community that
promotes positive sustainable growth, provides a safe and healthy environment
and enhances the quality of life for our residents. This was probably true 146 years ago when the
Fathers of Confederation gathered to hammer out the details and provide the
terms of reference for the formation of our nation. As a member of council I
feel it is our responsibility to focus our efforts on this vision that we have
created.
To fulfill
our promise to the people we cannot and should not tolerate nor accept the
actions and views of those whose only interests are selfish in nature and have
the potential to destroy the good will the spirit and the compassionate fabric
of our community. My advice to those who
have these characteristics is to try and do something that will improve their
way of life by looking inwards instead of trying to find fault with
others. You have, after all, chosen to
live here so it would be a good idea to try and make the best of it instead of
trying to define yourself by looking for ways to humiliate and criticize
others. That is not what we are all
about in this community nor is it what Canada stands for.
I share the
wishes and the vision of Town Council and hopefully these are the hopes and
dreams of all citizens of Coronation. We can all live together in harmony with
tolerance, acceptance and a willingness to embrace new ideas that will enhance
and improve our community and our way of life.
So let’s
have fun today. Let’s celebrate and be
proud of who we are and what we can become as a community.
I would be
remiss if I didn’t mention the people who give of their time to provide us with
this wonderful Party in the Park. Thank
you so much for your volunteer efforts, it is appreciated.
On behalf of
the Town of Coronation I would like to welcome you all here today. I would like to wish Canada a very happy
Birthday and let’s all enjoy the day!
So that's it for another year. I am not walking very well right now, have a pinched nerve that is causing my leg to go numb, my back to ache and it is very painful. I am also very impatient with the whole deal because we are getting ready to go on holidays. I think we are just about done. We have the trailer all packed up and I told Bernie that today he should just get it hooked up to the truck and park it out front like everybody else! LOL I think it can sit there for forty-eight hours before it becomes a problem! I wouldn't want to be in violation of some bylaw that I helped to create!
I will be writing a bit more in this blog when I have more time. I kind of suspect it will be while we are on holidays because I can't walk very far to do anything.
I like to share this stuff on Facebook so if you should happen to read it, just share it with all your friends as well - I don't mind.
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