FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Editorials by Robert Kirwan

  

CELEBRATION 2004
MORE THAN JUST A BIRTHDAY PARTY

 

"A special invitation to all residents of Valley East to join together in celebrating a hundred years of history as we take a giant leap into a bright and exciting future!"

One day in March 2003 I decided to take part in the celebration of our 100th year of existence by creating this web site. It was to become a web site which would be a "Living History" for all people to share in years to come. I wasn't sure why I wanted to do this, but then I came across the following passage which I would like to share with you:

The air we breathe is so freely available that we take it for granted. Yet without it we could not survive more than a few minutes. For the most part, the same air is available to everyone, and everyone needs it. Some people use the air to sustain them while they sit around and feel sorry for themselves. Others breathe in the air and use the energy it provides to make a magnificent life for themselves.

Opportunity is the same way. It is everywhere. Opportunity is so freely available that we take it for granted. Yet opportunity alone is not enough to create success. Opportunity must be seized and acted upon in order to have value. So many people are so anxious to "get in" on a "ground floor opportunity," as if the opportunity will do all the work. That's impossible. Just as you need air to breathe, you need opportunity to succeed. It takes more than just breathing in the fresh air of opportunity, however. You must make use of that opportunity. That's not up to the opportunity. That's up to you. It doesn't matter what "floor" the opportunity is on. What matters is what you do with it.

After reading this passage I understood what I had to do. I realized that CELEBRATION 2004 is the ‘Opportunity" we have been waiting for in Valley East. It is our chance to come together as a community, to return to the spirit which once permeated all of our subdivisions many years ago. In recent times our ‘sense of community’ has disappeared. Valley East lost its identity with the amalgamation into the City of Greater Sudbury. Many feel that the City of Greater Sudbury itself has been searching unsuccessfully for a sense of identity. It is now clear to me that the people of Valley East have an opportunity of a lifetime to bring that community spirit to life and to take a leadership role in the entire region.

What is important is that everyone in Valley East take advantage of the opportunity. It is time for all organizations, religious groups, schools, sports associations, playgrounds, senior citizens and people who care about the future of this great community to come together and share in more than merely a 100th Birthday celebration - this is a CELEBRATION OF LIFE, YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW - and it starts now!

Let the CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE - FOREVER!

 
 

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