I just got back home from the four-day SILGA AGM and Conference in Salmon Arm. SILGA is the Southern Interior Local Government Association which is comprised of elected officials representing 37 South-Central BC villages, towns, cities, districts, and regional districts. The group hosts an annual event that was postponed the past couple of years due to COVID-19. The last event was in April 2019 in Penticton. I also attended that one.

The main framework of a SILGA AGM and Conference is to provide local elected officials with a “safe place” to gather, network, share ideas, learn new things, meet like-minded individuals, and (as someone explained to me one evening) find support. 

Let’s face it, it is not an easy job being a Mayor, Councillor, Director, or CAO for a municipality. You can’t please everyone and there are times when it is easy to feel unappreciated doing what often becomes a thankless job trying to make your community better for all who live there now and will live there years after we are all gone and forgotten.

So…to help elected officials in the region regain focus on the jobs we were put in office to do, SILGA is there.

The first day (April 26, 2022) is mostly fun, with social activities to help us all unwind. There are usually a handful of selections and we all get to pick which we want to participate in, in advance. I chose to go lawn bowling. It is something I have never done before and sounded like a lot of fun. Well, let me tell you…lawn bowling, if you have never participated, is sort of a hybrid between bocce and curling that is played on a huge golf green. 

The Salmon Arm Lawn Bowling Club welcomed a small group of us SILGA delegates and showed us the mechanics of the game. I picked it up quickly and soon it was apparent that this was going to be a fun afternoon. I even did my share of trash-talking the opponents to throw them off of their shots. I was told it was part of the game by one lawn bowling club member who was obviously pulling my leg as another elderly member took me aside at one point and explained that the game is much more dignified than that. It was a funny moment.

The group fed us an assortment of homemade sandwiches and I made new friends from Lake Country, Lillooet, and even stayed behind to hang out with the cool lawn bowling club members from Salmon Arm. I also represented SILGA in a small presentation of a donation to the club thanking them for letting us throw off their schedule.

The evening included another social gathering at the Salmon Arm Legion (Branch #62) where I renewed connections with colleagues from Peachland and Lake Country. 

Days 2 and 3 were loaded with presentations, guest speakers, a trade show, food, special events, and a lot of networking. I visited the Salmon Arm Art Gallery to see the solar power installation there, went downtown for something called “Lunch on The Town” which was paid for by the City of Salmon Arm, and sat through PowerPoints and video presentations with such titles as, “Turn When Into Now - Making Infrastructure Projects Feasible,” “Emerging Issues with States of Emergency,” “Trans Mountain Expansion Project Update,” and “Heat Domes, Atmospheric Rivers, Supply-Chain Disruptions, Regulatory Barriers, Surging Inflation, Pandemics: Why We Need Radical Advances in Community Food System Resiliency,” to name a few.

I socialized with MLAs, Mayors, Councillors, Directors, and CAOs from Summerland, Okanagan Falls, Squamish, West Kelowna, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton, Kamloops, and so many other areas. Many I have met before and several new faces to me who will all form part of my networking circle. I trade business cards and give mine away “like candy” (my words) and use them to my advantage as an ice breaker or form of introduction to someone I’ve just met. It is old-school, I know, but it still works.

I also took advantage of the hotel location on the waterfront of Shuswap Lake and went for walks each afternoon/evening on the Boat Basin Nature Trail (which passed by my room), and the Salmon Arm Wharf - the longest, wooden, curved wharf in North America. After all, I still have to pay attention to my health on these things. I should also mention that I was not alone at this event. Mayor Coyne also attended.

Princeton and Merritt were acknowledged frequently and I got asked several times a day about our local flood recovery efforts. I can tell you, that we have a lot of support out there from other communities who truly care about our wellbeing. Plus, I can assure you that many of the delegates there will be voting for Princeton to win Hockeyville. We got a lot of attention during the SILGA event on that one.

What are the burning issues in other communities? It may not surprise you to know that regardless of the size of the community, infrastructure (water/sewer) and housing are the top priorities across the SILGA region. It's not restricted to Princeton. 

What about the $1,500? You may be wondering if I’m ever going to get to that, right? Well, the main SILGA banquet was the evening of the last full day (April 28) and it was sponsored by FortisBC. As part of the trade show, FortisBC had a booth set up and each of the approximately 200 delegates present was offered an opportunity to enter a draw. The draw was for a prize of $1,500 that the winner had to donate to a local group or charity. It’s an interesting twist on donations. Essentially, if you win, you give the money away that is supplied by FortisBC.

Near the end of the banquet, the draw was made for the $1,500 cash donation. My name was selected, so I went to the stage to accept. I’m not going to reveal who I gave it to as I’m sure FortisBC wants to make it a big announcement but I want you to think about it for a moment. What if you were given $1,500 to give away to a local group or charity, who would you choose? There are so many worthy choices in the Princeton area. It’s not an easy one, is it?

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Typically, this is the time of year I pour through piles of notes and try to put together a lengthy blog post that equates to nothing more than a year in review-style article with a happy Christmas greeting tacked on for good measure. This year is different. I can’t do that. It doesn’t feel right.

To be honest with you, since the flood on November 14, 2021, where portions of Princeton were devastated and close to 300 homes were impacted, I have been struggling with finding the right words. Once I get to that place, I realize that for many right now, whatever I’m going to say is just going to be words.

That bothers me to no end.

I know many local residents personally who are currently displaced. Some are in local hotels, others in hotels out of town, some are lucky enough to have family near and far to stay with. Christmas for all of these people is going to be very, very different and probably not nearly as merry as it could be.

I know some of the impacted residents who are moving forward with restoration efforts. The costs are staggering and causing some to dip deeply into their savings and investments. Calling the Tulameen River Flood a life-changing experience is putting it lightly.

In comparison, all I need to do is keep a supply of bottled water in my house. I feel bad that this is the only inconvenience I’m dealing with. Even early in the aftermath of the flood when natural gas service had been cut off to the community, I stuck it out for a couple of nights then went to stay with friends in Kamloops for a week. Considering that I am a firm believer in relating to others because I have “been there, done that” this situation is so foreign to me. I quite literally didn’t even get my feet wet so how am I going to share with the community an upbeat, positive message of hope and happiness if I have only been a spectator to the devastation?

It bothers me to no end.

Sure, I have been quietly involved in some of the post-flood activities. I even got to MC the Light-Up event downtown earlier this month that did not involve a light-up because most of the Town’s decorations were swept down the Tulameen River on November 14. That put it into perspective for me. However, that night I saw something else. Something I've witnessed frequently since the flood.

Through thick and thin, and most recently a flood that has altered the lives of many in Princeton, and Area H, the spirit of our community was not diminished. Friends, neighbours, and strangers have all banded together to help rebuild shattered futures on many of our local streets. Others have sent help, supplies, food, and so much more just to let us know that they care and they want Princeton to keep growing and remain on the map. Volunteers of all walks of life have stepped up and gotten involved.

For many new to the area, that outpouring of love has taken them by surprise. For those of us who have lived here for years - myself included - we mentally go over a list of the last half dozen times we’ve seen this happen here in the past. We know it’s there. Sometimes it’s not quite so obvious, but when something kicks our community down, it rises. The spirit of Princeton takes over and engulfs us like a protective shield.

However, there are still locals who will be displaced this holiday season with nowhere to go and will be left to sort out what the next steps of their future will be. Some, I’m sure are going to choose to leave Princeton for good. Others will decide to tough it out. As I said, the events of November 14 were life-changing.

This bothers me to no end.

Through all of this, I do have a message. I’m staying home this holiday. Changes in my life the past year have rearranged how I usually celebrate and quite honestly, I’m not in a celebrating mood these days thinking about the kind of Christmas some of my friends and other residents are going to have. So, instead, I’m offering myself.

If you need someone to listen to you for a while, whether it's to vent, cry, or just chat…I’m available to you. You can call my cell anytime at 250-295-2201. If I don’t answer, it's only because I'm in the middle of something but I will get back to you right away. If you want to get together for a coffee, or join me on a walk along the KVR to chat, vent, or whatever, I’m available.

Although I can’t speak from experience to what you may be feeling this holiday season, I am a good listener. Feel free to bend my ear.

So this is Christmas. A very different Christmas.

Let’s make it one where we continue to reach out and help our friends and neighbours get through it as best they can.