HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-05-10, Page 3434 Signal Star • Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Western Ontario
Athletic Association
seeking sport photos
lk For the Diamond Jubilee 75th
anniversary, the WOAA is seeking
Goderich and West Huron area
championship team photos
The Host Organizing Com-
mittee of the Diamond Jubi-
lee 75th anniversary of the
Western Ontario Athletic
Association (WOAA) is seek-
ing local sports champion-
ship team photos for possi-
ble inclusion in the
organization's historical 75th
Anniversary printed
program.
Local photos from
Goderich and surrounding
West Huron area depicting
historic Ontario provincial
sports championships
(hockey - OMHA and soft-
ball - OASA) are sought for
the publication. Other vin-
tage sports photos from the
1940s - 50s and 60s that
have historical merit are
also welcome for
consideration.
Gary Gravett of Goder-
ich, chair of the organizing
committee is pleased to
announce that Harriston
native Neil Aitchison, pop-
ular actor, media personal-
ity and sportsman will
serve as Master of Ceremo-
nies for the WOAA 75th
Anniversary Celebratory
dinner on Saturday July 22,
2017.
Allan Dickson of
Wingham, WOAA president
and co-chair of the 75th
Anniversary enthusiastically
stated, "The confirmation of
Neil as the host and MC for
the anniversary dinner has
just taken the event `up a
notch Neil's personality and
ability to keep an event on
track will certainly ensure
added fun to the evening."
Aitchison, an experienced
MC and gifted speaker
renowned for his quick wit
and contagious enthusiasm,
was recently honored at the
2017 Mayors' Dinner in
Kitchener with the largest
attendance (900 guests) in
the 30 -year history of the
event.
The WOAA keynote
speaker for the evening is
NHL alumnus Dennis Hull,
generally regarded as one of,
and possibly the best,
hockey -themed speaker who
will ensure the evening is
memorable.
Other sports notables
attending the dinner after
participating in the annual
Jon Bateson Memorial
Celebrity Golf Tournament
(SOLD OUT) include Les
Binkley, Jeff Bloemberg,
Scott Driscoll, Dave
Contributed photo
Neil Aitchison, popular MCI
Host
Farrish, Brett MacLean, Jeff
MacMillan, Wayne Maxner,
Ken Murray, Cal & Ryan
O'Reilly, Justin Peters,
Kevin Pollock, and Roy
Roedger with others being
confirmed weekly.
Tickets for the dinner at
the Goderich Knights of
Columbus Centre are $50/
person and sales have been
brisk. It's anticipated to be a
sell-out as well.
To provide the photos
(requested response date is
May 31 or earlier) or for
information about the
WOAA Diamond Jubilee
75th Anniversary, please
contact Linda Espensen,
Executive Administrator, at
the WOAA office at 519-
357-3512 or by email
through the website www.
woaa.on.ca.
Arbour Day in Goderich
CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 26
Contributed photo
A $1, 000 grant from Union Gas was presented to the Town of Goderich, in an effort to purchase
and plant trees.
Team Blyth brings
message of rural revitalization
1116 Canadian Centre for Rural
Ar Creativity reached out to MPs,
Senators and media in Ottawa
The team behind the
innovative Canadian Cen-
tre for Rural Creativity,
based in Blyth, took its
message to the corridors of
Parliament Hill May 4 and
had the chance to interact
with scores of MPs, Sena-
tors, cabinet ministers,
government officials and
journalists.
Scores of people packed
into a reception room just
down the hall from the
House of
Commons on Thursday
evening for an event
dubbed "A Taste of Rural,"
hosted by the centre and
project partners Cowbell
Brewing Co., the Blyth
Centre for the Arts, the
Guelph to Goderich Rail
Trail and Regional Tourism
Organization 4.
The delegation began its
day meeting with T.J. Har-
vey (Tobique—Macta-
quac), the recently elected
Chair of the Liberal party's
rural caucus and vice -chair
Will Amos, MP for Pontiac
in West Quebec. The dele-
gation also held meetings
with government officials
and attended the daily
Question Period in the
House of Commons before
the main event, the Taste of
Rural reception on Parlia-
ment Hill.
T.J. Harvey helped to
host the reception along
with Kim Rudd, MP for
Northumberland -Peter-
borough South and Harvey
lauded the rural revitaliza-
tion project in his remarks.
"It was really interesting
to have the opportunity to
interact with this group
and to see the passion they
bring to the table with this
project," Harvey said.
"What we're seeing with
them and this project is
something that is truly
remarkable, the resurgence
of a rural community and
how collective passions
from different areas can
come together with a com-
mon vision," Harvey said.
"It is really going to be
amazing to see the impact
it is going to have on their
community," Harvey con-
tinued. "What you're doing
is something that we hope-
fully will be able to take
and utilize in other rural
communities across the
country:'
Among those to attend
the reception were Cana-
dian Heritage Minister
Melanie Joly, Liberal
House Leader and Minister
of Small Business and
Tourism Bardish Chagger,
Treasury Board President
Scott Brison and a number
of other MPs, including
Huron -Bruce MP Ben
Lobb.
The rural project team's
visit to Ottawa was
reported on by The Hill
Times newspaper, Metro
Ottawa and CBC -Radio's
afternoon show All in a
Day.
(http://www.cbc.ca/
news/canada/ottawa/pro-
grams/ allinaday/a- new-
way- to- boost - rural -
communities -1.4099907)
"The Canadian Centre
for Rural Creativity is a
rural lab. We're looking at
innovation,
challenges that are fac-
ing rural communities and
doing research and devel-
opment that we can share
with other rural communi-
ties across the country,"
said Peter Smith, head of
the delegation and director
of the Canadian Centre for
Rural Creativity.
"It's a think tank, it's an
arts and culture centre,
there's a fashion artists and
creative textile component
to it as well. And we're try-
ing to attract the younger
demographic, which is one
of the factors in rural
communities."
Throughout the day the
Blyth delegation spread its
message about a unique
rural
revitalization project -
the Canadian Centre for
Rural Creativity - that is
exploding in a village of
1005 people - a village that
is fast becoming an exam-
ple for rural community
development across the
country.
The Canadian Centre
for Rural Creativity
(CCRC) delegation
included: Steven Spading,
CEO/President and
Founder, from Cowbell
Brewing Co.; Pete Smith,
Project Director and
Karen Stewart, Director of
Operations, from the
Canadian Centre for Rural
Creativity; Gil Garratt,
Artistic Director, from the
award-winning national
theatre company, the
Blyth Festival; Chris Lee,
Director, Guelph to
Goderich Rail Trail (G2G);
David Peacock, CEO of
Regional Tourism Organi-
zation 4; Allan Thompson,
journalism professor at
Carleton University and
the federal liberal candi-
date in Huron -Bruce in
the 2015 election.
Dreams are Bigger in
Blyth: The Canadian Cen-
tre for Rural Creativity is a
rural arts,
educational and inno-
vation hub created to
drive social renewal and
economic growth. The
111 -acre Cowbell Farm is
under construction as
the dream to build a
state of the art destina-
tion brewery, local farm -
to -table restaurant and
entertainment venue
becomes a reality. Cow-
bell is the World's First
Closed Loop Brewery
and North America's
First Carbon Ne.utral
Brewery and was chosen
"Ontario's Favourite New
Craft Brewery" in.2016.
The team from Blyth was
excited to share their story
with Canada's rural leaders
in Ottawa, setting them-
selves as just one example
for rural prosperity.
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