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Our
“Connected Communities” are blooming
It was here at the UBCM Municipal Marketplace in the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Center that I first heard about Communities in Bloom, an idea that had its roots in Canada. It's a cause I've been championing ever since, in places as far away as Africa. . It is here that we get the chance to speak first hand with mayors and get an insight you won't find anywhere else. Before I forget, congratulations to the City of Kelowna, host of the UBCM's 101st Convention next fall. We've been covering activities at the UBCM for many years and plan to expand our "BC Scene" news profiles for 2004. On a sad note, we lost a wonderful friend recently in Joe Whitehead, who helped found BC Scene and served as Chairman of the magazine's Editorial Board. Former publisher of the Journal of Commerce and BC Lumberman, Joe was my mentor for decades . Yellow
Gold! In his honour some major strides were made,
including my second profile of the Trans Canada Yellowhead
Highway. Over 400,000 copies of an earlier version were
printed in French and English, and this much bigger version
is also reaching large numbers. Beautifully illustrated, it
covers every community along the 2600 km route from Winnipeg
to Haida Gwa'ii and southwest to Hope. A similar labour of
love, was a Canadian government video, I wrote for the
Alaska Highway. In the aviation filed, our profile of over
30 BC Gateway Airports was proof that travel and
transportation rank high on our agenda. While that's true,
all aspects of BC's economy - tourism - hotels - resource
industries - real estate development -automotive -are
important to us and our readers. Good reasons why you will
meet us every year at the UBCM Conference. We consider it
among the top three events of the year. Background
This annual event is the largest meting of local government officials and is the primary policy setting forum for municipalities and regional districts. The convention connects communities with one other, speaks with one voice on common concerns, allows communities to share experiences, and connects communities with other levels of government. About UBCM The UBCM was formed to provide a common voice for local government and reflects the truth in the old adages "strength in numbers" - "united we stand - divided we fall." The UBCM Convention continues to be the main forum for policy-making. It provides an from all areas of the province to come together, share their experiences and take a united position. Positions developed by the members are carried to other orders of governments and others involved in local affairs. Policy implementation activities have expanded from annual presentations to Cabinet to present day where UBCM is involved in intergovernmental committees, regular meetings with Ministers and contact on a daily basis with senior government. In today's ever-changing world, where shifts in senior government policies, or in economic, social or political conditions can have an immediate effect on local government, UBCM stands as a "listening post." UBCM initiates, monitors, interprets and reacts where such changes could have an effect on local government and the communities they serve. The result is that local government is better and BC communities are the real winners. Through the UBCM local government has achieved a lot, and the potential is there to achieve even more in the future. Web Site: http://www.civicnet.bc.ca/siteengine/activepage.asp We
love Communities in Bloom!
A fresh idea whose time has come. We saw its introduction
several years ago at the UBCM Municipal Marketplace.
http://www.communitiesinbloom.ca/ |
