In the early hours of March 12th 2012, southeast winds of up to 137 km/h (recorded at the Maritime Heritage Centre) hit Campbell River, BC causing road closures, damage to homes and parks, and power outages that lasted for 60 hours or more. Here’s some of the footage of the storm I caught on video.
What has been said by many a person is that what makes Campbell River stand apart from many other communities is it’s volunteers… the people who commit their time to making the city an amazing place to live.
It’s with a very heavy heart that I write about the news that Campbell River has lost one of it’s substantial citizens and volunteers.
Fred Rose was not only a fantastic caterer you saw everywhere…whether it was at a wedding, a community function, or a fundraiser. Fred was also an incredible volunteer. I witnessed Fred in action on behalf of the Maritime Heritage Society at the first several years of the Campbell River Boat Rodeo when I MCed the event. Over the years the rodeo grew into a fantastic day of fun and education for locals and tourists, showcasing some of the activities that take place on the water in our community. Every year that event was what it was, first and foremost, because of Fred Rose. Each year took months of planning, and each day was a very long one.
On behalf of everyone who enjoyed those events and the many other functions Fred helped turn into a success, I’d like to take this moment to recognize Fred’s substantial contributions to the City of Campbell River, and offer condolences to his family.
The best way I can sum it up is… the fabric that makes up the quilt that is Campbell River has a very noticeable hole in it today.
http://www.campbellrivermirror.com/news/138787689.html
Here is a video (not done by me) of Fred in action at a very special event 10 years ago.
Today’s a big day! It’s officially TWO MONTHS since election day in Campbell River, and I’m very excited to find myself a city councillor representing you once again. Two months is a long time without a post, and I apologize. This blog hasn’t been silent because of a lack of things to talk about. On the contrary, there’s been a substantial amount of activity in that time… I just didn’t know what I should write about! Well, that’s changed, thanks to some fantastic stuff going on in our city that I wanted to share.
First, a short summary before I get into the events you want to check out. Since elected for a second term, I’ve been appointed as a full time director with the Strathcona Regional District, as well as the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital Board, and the Comox Strathcona Waste Management committee. As a councillor, I’ve been given the Public Safety (Crime Reduction) and Youth portfolios, as well as School/City liaison. For ALL the councillor portfolio and liaison appointments go here:
2011-2014 CAMPBELL RIVER CITY COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS
Okay, now for the inspiration for this post… Campbell River YOUTH!
A young Carihi student by the name of Emily Koopman took on a fundraising initiative for the organization Spread The Net. Spread The Net provides treated mosquito nets to protect children and pregnant women in African countries. It was Emily’s idea to put on a music concert at the Tidemark Theatre in Campbell River Saturday, January 21st 2012 to raise some money! Listen to my interview with Emily Koopman and celebrity MC Gig Morton from the YTV show “Mr. Young” in the video below.
There was an embarassing amount of congratulations to Emily on my part in the interview, but when someone takes the time to make the world a better place, they deserve some recognition. Especially when that someone is a young member of our community who could easily be distracted with a million other things at the moment in their teenage life. Show your support for Spread The Net and Emily’s hard work. To get YOUR tickets to the show go to www.tidemarktheatre.com and click on “Spread The Net”. To get you even more excited, here’s a video of Brock Zanrosso, one of the entertainers of the night. I’ll see you there!
Today’s the big day folks! The day when you pick the people who will be your voice in the city hall council chambers for the next three years. A HUGE thank you to everyone who got involved, engaged, informed, and inspired about what we can accomplish in Campbell River! VOTING RESULTS for ALL COMMUNITIES and ALL CATEGORIES can be seen at this site after the polls close at 8pm.
CIVIC INFO (CAMPBELL RIVER AND OTHER COMMUNITY VOTING RESULTS)
-Campbell River’s results will first be posted at www.campbellriver.ca
–97.3 The Eagle (streamed live at http://www.973theeagle.com) will have coverage of our entire region starting at 8pm.
-SHAW channel 4 will have coverage starting at 8pm.
Thank you again for caring about our community’s future and VOTING in the 2011 MUNICIPAL ELECTION!
Ryan Mennie and his family thank you for voting! It's about our PRESENT and our children's FUTURE!
Well, it’s advance voting day today in Campbell River at the Baptist Church on Dogwood (across from the RCMP building) til 8pm tonight. And Saturday Nov. 19th is general voting day at Discovery Passage, Phoenix, and Southgate Schools from 8am to 8pm.
If you’d like to hear more from me prior to voting, please read these articles. Thanks to both the Campbell River Mirror and the Courier Islander for the opportunities to be heard!
CAMPBELL RIVER MIRROR: A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE DESIRES TO BE-RYAN MENNIE ANSWERS THREE QUESTIONS
1. I envision a community that takes care of it’s citizens equally, no matter what age. Support for our children, making sure all are ready to enter the school system, helping them become our future productive citizens in a city with less crime. I envision a thriving economy where those who want to raise their families here will have the means to do so. I envision Campbell River being a place where everyone desires to be, not a place that people come from.
2. I’m still the highly positive, motivated and community minded person I was three years ago when I was first voted in. And now I have three years of municipal government experience under my belt to help navigate the financial challenges of the 2012 budget and beyond. Every Tuesday in the council chambers I look for balance and do my best to keep perspective on behalf of the entire community. Albert Einstein sums it up best as to how to tackle the next three years and beyond: “Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Hope for tomorrow.”
3. Three years ago I ran specifically to improve communication between City Hall and the community. We now have a corporate communications strategy, and staff continue to work on ways to improve their messaging and engagement. This year my word is “clarity.” Moving forward, I want you to know why something is being done. This also requires work on your part. Be prepared to listen.
Most importantly, if you need clarification, go to the source, your council. Your neighbour may have the best intentions, you may enjoy the heated discussions in the newspaper, but your council has the facts.
COURIER ISLANDER NOV. 16TH 2011 EDITION
With this being one of my last chances to talk to you prior to voting day, I’d like to sum up the last three years of work I’ve done on council and emphasize two key things to focus on in the next three.
Being elected to council in 2008 was one of the most exciting things I’ve experienced in my life. Learning what it means to be a good councillor has been mind expanding. The job itself has been very challenging and rewarding. The scope of the job and the scale of representing 32,000 citizens is immense. And my municipal education came during a global economic downturn and time of substantial change locally. But what an education! I’ve officially graduated from the school of hard knocks, and me and my young family are ready to commit to another three years of serving you.
In that time, I’ve learned that two things get you by when money is tight. Creative thinking and collaboration. This is the era of collaboration…finding partners within the community who believe in the same goals, and being creative in achieving those goals. Collaborative achievements in the last three years include the community garden, greenways loop and lacrosse box. Just wait for the next one…the spray park!
This quote from Albert Einstein has guided me on council the last three years and I will use it to guide me again. Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Ryan Mennie stands by photos of others who have served on Campbell River city council
p.s. This photo and others used in my campaign thanks to my fantastic wife Ludy from www.menniememories.com
The first opportunity to vote for Campbell River’s next mayor and six councillors is today at the Baptist Church on Dogwood. I took some video of my experience, and added some sobering statistics from the 2008 election in our city, showing that more people need to get involved in our community’s future and have their voice heard. Check it out!
If we’ve never had the chance to meet in the last 13 years, now’s a great time! If we haven’t talked since I’ve been on council the last 3 years, here’s the place! Hope you can make it. Please “share” at the bottom of this article if you know anyone else who might be interested!
Hello! If you’re visiting my blog for the very first time after typing in the website on my campaign brochure, WELCOME! Feel free to skip the info on this pic and scroll further down to my press release and other information that I’ve blogged about for the past three years as a member of council. Some items are of special interest to me, some are issues I’ve tried to provide further information about when both sides of the story weren’t being shared through other outlets. ALSO… you can visit my facebook page HERE: RE-ELECT RYAN MENNIE FACEBOOK PAGE
The Campbell River Chamber of Commerce recently held an all-candidates business forum, and posted candidate answers to their nine business related questions. You can READ MINE HERE.
Finally, if you would like a snapshot of what I’ve done with my time as a volunteer in Campbell River the last 13 years, please click on RYAN MENNIE’S BIO (or at the top of the page)!
Ryan Mennie in the Campbell River council chambers
This year the voting locations in Campbell River have CHANGED. Below are the new locations and times, as taken from the City of Campbell River website.
Advance and Special Voting Opportunities
Advance Voting Opportunities will be provided on Wednesday, November 9th and Wednesday, November 16th at the Baptist Church, 260 Dogwood Street, main entrance from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for those persons unable to vote on November 19th .
Special Voting Opportunity will be provided at the Campbell River General Hospital Thursday, November 17th 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Campbell River Voting Places
The following Campbell River Voting Places will be open on Saturday, November 19, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Ecole Phoenix Middle School 400 – 7th Avenue
Southgate Middle School 740 Holm Road
Discovery Passage Elementary School 2050 Pengelly Road
Councillor Ryan Mennie at work in the Campbell River council chambers
Can you believe it? Three years have passed since the 2008 municipal election in Campbell River. It’s time once again to select a group of seven individuals who will represent your interests as a team in the council chambers at city hall and at large in the community, the province, and the country. It’s been an honour to do just that in my first council term. It’s also been one of the most incredible learning experiences of my life. I’m looking forward to putting three years of municipal governance experience and an even stronger understanding and connection to the community to effective use in another term. And it definitely hasn’t been just any three years of our city’s history to come to grasp with the true job of being on council. It’s been the official school of hard knocks. We’ve all lived the upheaval and transition our city has had to face the last several years in our daily lives. In my press release sent to the media today, I reflect on some of the challenges we’ve had to face as a community, and the kind of environment I entered into at city hall as a new councillor. But I also want to remind us all of some of our achievements during that time, and move forward with a sense of satisfaction and optimism that if we can survive those past few difficult years, we can survive anything.
PRESS RELEASE OCTOBER 7, 2011
Incumbent councillor Ryan Mennie has officially put his hat in the ring once again. As his first term on council comes to an end, he puts the last three years into perspective.
“It’s been an incredibly challenging time to come on as a new councillor. In three years, I’ve worked alongside three different city managers. As part of council, I helped to almost completely rebuild our economic development office Rivercorp, revitalizing their board with representatives from all areas of business in our community and helping them find a new CEO. The city was also severely short-staffed in several departments, including finance, making the first two budget sessions very challenging. And all of this took place while our community was losing millions of dollars worth of tax revenue with the closure of the Timberwest sawmill and the Catalyst pulp and paper mill.”
In spite of the hurdles in his first three years, Mennie remains positive about his time spent on council and optimistic about the future. “During those challenges of inner turmoil at the city and the loss of a substantial amount of tax revenue and local jobs, there were some major achievements. We extended our runway and made improvements to our airport. We replaced a massive amount of aging water and sewer infrastructure on the highway in Willow Point on time and on budget . Both of these projects, totaling about $22 million, were done without borrowing thanks to the majority of funding coming from the provincial and federal governments. In the end we have a new airport authority promoting the facility as an industrial investment opportunity that can attract larger aircraft, and the seawalk was made even more beautiful and enjoyable as part of the highway project. Now imagine what we can achieve as our city gets on it’s feet again!” Amongst all the work done in the city the last three years, there’s one project Mennie is most proud of. “Being the voice of young families in the community, I fought hard in my very first budget session to make sure the rest of council was aware of the need for replacing the playground at Willow Point Park. Seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids enjoying that new playground as I push my daughter on the swings made those long, late night budget sessions all worth it.”
With election day looming, Mennie has some thoughts on how to move forward as a community. “We have a soon to be adopted sustainable official community plan that many people provided input into. That maps out the direction Campbell River needs to go over the next 25 years or so. In the short term, the city needs to continue to work on public engagement and communication. Improved communication was a big key piece of why I ran three years ago, and although we’ve made some big steps in the right direction, we need to continue working on that. The engagement side really paid off with some smaller projects in partnership with folks in the community like the Laughing Willow community garden, the building of the lacrosse box and the continuation of the Greenways Loop. I’m really excited about working with other community members who come forward in the next three years to help them achieve their goals.”
You can read more of what Mennie has been up to in the community during his time on council at www.ryanmennie.com.
Join the discussion on the Re-elect Ryan Mennie for Campbell River City Council facebook page.
Follow on twitter at www.twitter.com/ryanmennie
the Municipal Musings of Ryan Mennie 