As much as we measure this and quanify that and survey every person on the planet, we can never be absolutely sure what effect our actions will have.
A kind word to this person may sink like a rock into the pit of their depressed soul; a kind word to that person may change their life around - or your own.
Likewise with businesses. In the two years I worked for the BC government, they had us detailing every fact and possibility in order to measure the outcomes. Of course, we spent more time studying and documenting the details and had little time in offering the programs that would yield the outcomes.
But entities like the Ashcroft Terminal... If I was betting on a horse, I’d call this one a sure bet. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of today’s economy and transportation issues have been scratching their heads for years, wondering why it hasn’t taken off as it should.
However, as Mayor Anderson said this week, it looks like the terminal’s time has come. The tracks are laid, the players are signing up and the world is starting to take notice of the Ashcroft Terminal.
Not just Ashcroft. Not just Vancouver (and Delta). Not just B.C. Consul General Johanes Vervloed from the Netherlands spoke at last week’s ribbon-cuttiung ceremony of how he hosted the Landuccis on a trip to his home country to look at how they transported goods. There was an exchange of ideas and information that went both ways.
And like the kind word, you can’t accurately forecast the ripple effects. But you can guess. Contractors from Princeton and Williams Lake have commented on how AT has had a positive influence on their work. As with all things, most people are affected but don’t comment. You can count on another 10 per cent at least as being affected. So... 10 per cent of the Interior? BC? Canada? Perhaps the planet. That’s a lot of positive influence!
It’s likened to casting a pebble into the water and watching the ripples spread out far beyond the original pebble’s influence. It feels good to see it happen.
Wendy Coomber is editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal