In 1995 I wrote my first proposal to deliver the federal government’s self employment assistance program in this region. I had some questions and as I worked on my document I called the person named as contact in the newspaper ad. I got a soft voice, a bit clipped at the edges of her words,…

Twenty-two families are now home owners in the past 16 years, thanks to Habitat for Humanity Huronia. This is no hand-out, either. Families apply for a Habitat home, and they put in 500 hours of sweat equity as their home is being built. They also take an interest-free mortgage on their house and pay it…

At a baby shower for my daughter’s lifelong friend last week, I was surprised at how quickly women remember infants, pregnancies, funny times, challenging times. With the pull of a ribbon on a package, memories trigger back and group energy is there to catch the thought and cushion the blows. It used to be, in…

It was on my bucket list. One of many items. Join a book club. It would be likely the first activity I would take up when I retire. That was my plan, at least. In my mind’s eye it would be a gentle exchange of perceptions and ideas and challenges among kindly people who appreciated…

 It was almost an accident, really. A snowflake on a mitten and a guy with real curiosity. Don Komarechka came from Sudbury to Barrie at age 7 and loved winter. As a kid he loved snowflakes. He still does. And his interest in photography coupled with his father’s ability to infuse curiosity with research lead…

Many, many businesses today stage events. Promotion events, fundraisers, product and service launches… you get the picture. Charities stage events all the time. New businesses build events around their official openings. Schools, organizations, community groups, retirement homes… the ‘event’ is turning into an industry all on its own. So Georgian College decided to add an…

It all began with a tiny red crocheted sweater and little pants. My first baby (Kid One) had outgrown them and at four months old was into other cute treasures. Kid One is almost 34 today. Like it was yesterday, I remember this moment. A group of us passed around clothes and toys to each…

Val Garner Emms was a no-nonsense kind of woman. She had to be, as the oldest sister of 10 Garner kids and then mother of three of her own. Of course with that kind of family dynamic, she was pretty direct and very definite. You get the picture. People reminisced about Val, enjoying her uniqueness…

When Megan Kirk was researching for her Masters degree thesis, what she discovered was like a huge wakeup call!  And, not content to just publish her findings and get her degree (in Exercise Technology), she’s now doing something about it. She was a student at University of Victoria, living in one of Canada’s most health-conscious…

At first, it seemed like a petty game that would play itself out. But no; the issue of Ron Baird’s remarkable steel sculpture, The Spirit Catcher, is on full boil, a sign of a shift in thinking. When The Spirit Catcher was erected at Expo in Vancouver in 1986 it was the artist’s monument to…