Pierre Charette, owner of The Vision Paper, and I were
talking the other week about Valley East. Both of us have been in the
publication business for some time and it is our job to be aware of the
pulse of the community.
As we spoke, we both agreed that the community spirit
which seemed to peak when we became the "City of Valley East"
has gone downhill since amalgamation. Now don’t get me wrong. This is
not an article that is intended to be a comment on the political state of
the region, but more of an article to demonstrate a real need in our
community. A need to make some serious choices today that we can live with
tomorrow. It is a time for business owners and community leaders to step
forward and build a better future for our children by taking some action
today.
To illustrate the point, let me share a little story
that is a real favourite of mine. It is called, The Carpenter. I don’t
know who the original author was, but it was obviously a very wise person.
THE CARPENTER
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his
employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and
live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He
would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The
contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build
just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, but in
time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to
shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way
to end a dedicated career. When the carpenter finished his work the
employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the
carpenter. "This is your house," he said. "My gift to
you."
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only
known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so
differently."
A GREAT STORY! A GREAT LESSON!
We all build our life one day at a time. Often we make
poor decisions or do things that we regret and then realize that we have
to suffer the consequences of those decisions. We know that if we had it
to do all over again we would, but we can’t turn back the clock. We are
forced to live with our decisions - good or bad. Each and every one of us
is a carpenter, building our own house. The sooner we realize that it is
our house and that we will have to live in it for the rest of our life,
the sooner we will start weighing the consequences of our
"construction". We will then put our best efforts into the
building so that we will be able to enjoy the comforts and security of
these good decisions and choices. Each day of your life you are hammering
nails, placing boards or erecting walls in your personal
"house".
IT’S TIME TO RENOVATE VALLEY EAST
Before amalgamation, people were generally proud to
call Valley East home. Valley East meant something, especially since we
could call ourselves the City of Valley East. And then we were asked to
build another house. That house was called The City of Greater Sudbury.
This was not something we wanted, and most of us were not really excited
about constructing this new home.
Now, however, we must realize that regardless of what
has happened in the past, we still have to live here. There is no way that
we will ever rediscover that strong sense of community we once had in the
larger City of Greater Sudbury. It is just too big. We have waited three
years and it hasn’t happened. Instead, we have witnessed a deterioration
of enthusiasm and an exodus of good young people who feel that there is no
future here.
CELEBRATION 2004 IS A CELEBRATION OF OUR FUTURE
Next year we will be celebrating our 100th
Anniversary as a community. It is now time for everyone in Valley East to
get up, dust off our clothes, and get busy rebuilding our home. It is time
to become truly aware of the good things that are going on in Valley East
and to support our friends and neighbours in their efforts at improving
the quality of life of those around us.
We don’t have to wait any longer for things to happen
in the Greater Sudbury Area. It is time for Valley East to take the lead
and rekindle the kind of community spirit for which we were once known
throughout the province.
COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY!
We have two very effective communication tools at our
disposal with which to create the level of awareness which is necessary to
develop a strong community spirit. The Vision Paper comes into your home
every week. Read it carefully. It contains information about people who
make a real difference in the community. It also contains information
about the goods and services available from local businesses.
This web site contains a wealth of information about Valley East and
should be used by all community leaders to let everyone know about their
activities and projects. It is time for us to set the building blocks for
a community in which we want to remain for the rest of our lives. Let’s
build a proud and strong Valley East today that we can be proud of
tomorrow!