Extra garbage collection the first week of 2013 in Campbell River!

Sleep in during the holidays and miss your garbage pickup in Campbell River like me?! Check this out from www.campbellriver.ca

“The tradition of extra garbage collection over the holidays will also continue this year. From Dec. 26 to Jan. 7, Emterra will accept extra trash for curbside collection to help people clear away after the holidays.   No tags will be required for extra containers, but the weight limit still applies. Each container must weigh no more than 20 kg or 44 pounds.

Questions about waste collection? Please contact Emterra at 250-286-0211.”

Canada Day 2012 in Campbell River or “7 Months Of Fun With The Campbell River Canada Day Committee!”

As the title suggests, we’re on the eve of another fantastic day for the whole community of Campbell River and guests with the arrival of July 1st!  As the second part of the title clarifies, it took a few months of meetings prior to the big day to make it all happen!  Enthusiastic, committed volunteers on their own or representing a wide range of organizations and businesses have been meeting in the early hours every Thursday since January at Firehall #1 to make Canada Day happen.  It’s been an honour to witness that dedication to the community and to add my own energy on behalf of 97.3 The Eagle in helping make the Eagle Telus Stage entertainment in Ostler Park a reality.

Now that the day is almost upon us, there is a TON of information to share.  Enjoy the videos of some of the entertainers you’ll see on the Eagle Telus Stage starting at 2:30pm below.  I’ll also provide the link to the full list of entertainers.  A HUGE thanks to BAMM Media for creating the Canada Day committee’s website for 2012.  There, you’ll find the new parade route (and LAST MINUTE parade entry forms!), details on Kidsfest, and much, much more.  Also, share with everyone that it’s FREE TRANSIT til 7pm on Canada Day in Campbell River!

Finally, if you’re ever thinking of putting on an event and want to know how to make it a success, here’s a fantastic article by one of the great new members of the committee, Mark Myles.  HIGHLY recommended read:   MARK MYLES: HOW TO PULL OFF A GREAT EVENT

Without further ado, here are the very informative Canada Day links for the fun this Sunday in Campbell River!

EAGLE TELUS STAGE PERFORMERS AND TIMES

NEW 2012 PARADE ROUTE

QUALITY FOODS KIDSFEST TIMES AND EVENTS

CAMPBELL RIVER CANADA DAY WEBSITE

….and here are some of the Eagle Telus Stage performer videos:

CRUEL YOUNG HEART

THE LEFT

ELLISA HARTMAN

Campbell River Fire Department’s first ever Orientation/Media Day

Holding the Public Safety portfolio on Campbell River City Council, I was invited along with members of the local media and some city staff to learn more about our fire department at their first ever Orientation/Media Day. Yes, their job is tough, but pretending to be a firefighter for a day was a lot of fun! There are many recognizable faces from the community in this video… enjoy! And thanks to Chief Dean Spry and everyone at Firehall #1 and #2 for the up close ‘n personal education!

The Campbell River Wind Storm of March 12th 2012

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.

 

Recognizing a substantial volunteer in the community…

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.

Two months into my second term on Campbell River City Council…

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!

VOTING RESULTS for CAMPBELL RIVER can be seen here after 8pm tonight…

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!

Articles from incumbent Councillor Ryan Mennie to read prior to the Campbell River election!

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 

You’ve heard from the candidates, you’ve seen the signs, now GET OUT AND VOTE!

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!

 

Campbell River votes: A short summary of Ryan Mennie’s 2011 municipal election platform…

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)!