Mayor's Report for July 2, 2024

June 18th

Our regular Council Meeting

June 24th

I attended the official opening of the new Ambulance Facility in Stirling. It is state of the art and is equipped to address present and future demands for ambulance and emergency response services for the Hastings County catchment area.

June 26th

Municipalities of Marmara and Lake and Centre Hastings engaged Redbrick Communications to provide training for members of Council and staff. We participated in workshops and discussions regarding internal communication, the importance of social media in today's world. The Public expect to be able to communicate and also to provide their input. Facebook and other platforms are a powerful communication tool and increasingly used to keep the public informed in the event of an emergency, public notifications, efficient meetings and personal family/friend intercommunication and media relations and reporting. Newspapers were considered a reliable and effective form of communications and now they are being phased out.

On the down side the misuse and abuse when social media is used inappropriately to highlight damaging topics, often the information is incorrect and the negative impact on employees/staff, businesses and the general public can be damaging and catastrophic. Professional reporters have a code of ethics to report accurately and can be held accountable for the delivery of information; people who partake in conversations or chats that merely deliver a topic without scrutiny have no consequences for distributing wrong information and often it is their personal viewpoint or interpretation that is conveyed. It can be very helpful and/or it can be very hurtful.

We learned certain methods of communicating effectively and respectfully. Thank you to staff for arranging this training and thank you to Andrea and Meagan from Redbrick. It was a very informative and educational day.

In the evening I attended the Heart of Hastings Hospice AGM and Appreciation Dinner. Board Members and Staff spoke on the successes and fund raising efforts and provided statistics on their operations. Their fund raising efforts are unbelievable. Thank you for a great dinner and evening and for all the work that you do to provide palliative and end of life services. We are very fortunate to have the services you provide in our community. Thank you to the Board Members, Staff and Volunteers for your work.

June 29th

I attended the 100th Anniversary and Air Show at the Trenton Air Base complements of Hastings County. It was an extreme wet weather event. Although most of the actual air show was cancelled, they did manage later in the afternoon to do some airplane maneuvers and search and rescue demonstrations. There were displays in the hangers and planes on the tarmac that you could sit in or tour through. It was a good day and there was still a big crowd so it was well attended.

That evening I was invited to do an official kick off to the first Homecoming Event at the Mighty Crowe Bar and Grill, music was sponsored by Mary Provost and Russ Broadbent. Council declared the week of June 24 - 29th Homecoming Week. This is the first event and hopefully it will become an annual event. The event was free and food was available by the Mighty Crowe. It was a well-attended event. Thanks to Mary Provost, Russ Broadbent and their teams/volunteers for providing the entertainment, thanks to the Mighty Crowe for providing the grounds and food and to everyone who attended and celebrated their relationship and connection to Marmara.

July 1st

I participated in the Crowe Valley Lion's Club Annual Canada Day Parade. Deputy Mayor Stevens and I were chauffeured in a lovely red convertible, provided by Matt. President Henry Toews and Matt from the Classic Cruisers Car Club made the arrangements and we had a great time.

Thank you to the Lions Club members and volunteers for organizing the parade, for the barbeque and entertainment. The parade was a huge success and the crowds seemed to enjoy it. Many were dressed in red and white and demonstrated their Canadian patriotism with flags and tattoos. MP Shelby Kramp-Neiman and MPP Ric Bresee and their partners walked the entire parade in support of Marmara and Lake and Canada Day. Thank you to the members of the Classic Car Club of Marmara for providing the ride. Thank you to all organizers, sponsors, volunteers and participants in the parade.

A special thank you to the Lions Club for their continuous work to make the Park beautiful as always. I also noticed that the gazebo had been freshly painted.

Thank you to the Parks and Rec for their part in preparing the park for the celebration and to our student Jess for being available in the Information Centre. Due to their dedication for the park and the municipality, we definitely have the most beautiful town on Highway 7.

Awarding the Senior of the Year Certificate is part of the Canada Day Celebrations. I had the honour and pleasure to present the Senior of the Year Award to Molly Chard. Molly and Morley have been life time residents of Marmora. Molly was a teacher and she is an avid gardener. Molly was a member of the Marmara Horticultural Society. A number of Molly's family were in attendance to share in the celebration. Congratulations Molly.

July 2nd

Tonight is our regular meeting of Council.

Tomorrow I will be attending the South East Triboard Team merger meeting in Kingston.