Dear Editor
As my first term comes to an end I wanted to thank all those who have made the journey very rewarding and those who helped me navigate a very intense learning curve.
The constituents: you engaged time and again and I believe most often I was able to help - keep engaging! The TNRD staff: my question were answered within hours most often.
My fellow Directors: answering my barrage of questions. My wife: enduring hours a finger pounding nights on the computer.
Thank you!
What is most significant? Hard to say. A lot got done, over 25 projects, yet there is much more to do.
However, what is just as significant is my 25 years of community service prior to being elected.
I traveled the highway attending tourism, economic development, highways meetings with no compensation, no gas mileage, fueled by the passion to move our communities forward.
I remember Lloyd Samaha at my side, advocating for Spences Bridge. I remember the frustration of time and again dealing with our failures. Celebrating our occasional triumph. I remember writing article after article for the Ashcroft Journal. We tried. We engaged. We fought... That is what I am most proud of, and we did it simply because we wanted to. It felt good. It was the right thing to do.
Being elected has not changed my habits or lessened my passion. It has just given me the means to work from the inside out. Throw in a bit of cash and you can make things happen.
Not a magic formula, but funding does make a difference if you want to put in the time! I want!
Steve Rice
TNRD Director, Area I