Community Updates – August 3, 2012

Community Updates – August 3, 2012


1) Nominations for the Annual Provincial Nesika Awards (forwarded package is attached & available online).

Dear members,

I am please to inform you that nominations are now open for the annual Provincial Nesika Awards 2012 and I would like your help in spreading the word to all you municipal members and encouraging their constituents to participate!

The Provincial Nesika Awards started in 2008 and recognize the people, organizations and businesses whose exceptional work helps bring our diverse cultures together. The Provincial Multicultural Advisory Council organizes and sponsors the Awards to honor and celebrate British Columbia’s cultural diversity and indigenous communities.

There are four categories open for nomination – Individual, Youth, Business and Organization. Winners in each category will receive and award trophy and $5000 to be donated to a non-profit organization of their choice to further support the work of multiculturalism in the province. Four Awards winners will be recognized at the Award Event during BC Multiculturalism week in November 2012.

Attached is a nomination form that you can distribute. The nomination form can also be downloaded online at www.EmbraceBC.ca

2) City of Williams Lake invites High School Students to apply to serve on Junior Council (deadline August 15).

Williams Lake high school students are invited to submit an application to serve on the Williams Lake Junior Council for the September 2012 to September 2013 term. The deadline for applications is August 15, 2012.

The Junior Council is a group of seven high school students from Grades 10-12 that suggest ideas that could enhance life for youth in the city. Junior Council members are appointed by City Council and provide a youth voice to decisions made by the city. It is an opportunity to learn about and participate in the process of local government.

Junior Councillors will attend 2-4 meetings a month, will take turns attending City Council meetings, and help plan activities to engage youth in civic affairs, among other duties. Requirements to serve on the Junior Council are that the person be a student at a Williams Lake high school, is 18 years old or younger, and must be able to attend at least 75% of Junior Council meetings.
Applications can be submitted by e-mail to juniorcouncil@williamslake.ca or by dropping off the application form at the city or giving it to one of the current Junior Council members: Talia Baptiste, Cody Haley-York, Ivona Ognjanova, Abbi Taylor, Patrick Newsome, and Ana Lomavatu.
For more information, contact Manager of Social Development Anne Burrill at 250-392-8480.
3) Start training for the Annual Tour de Cariboo on September 8th
It’s time now to start seriously training for the 20th Annual Tour de Cariboo coming up on Sept 8th. The tour is a bicycle ride, race or relay from Williams Lake to Gavin Lake to raise funds for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Williams Lake. The ride is supported by recovery vehicles in case people have to cut their ride short. Free overnight accommodation is also provided at Gavin Lake for participants. Contact Big Brothers and Big Sisters for more information at 250-398-8391.
4) Local Mountain Bike Events Bring Over $45,000 to the Community in 2012

The Williams Lake Cycling Club hosts two annual events in Williams Lake each summer that attract mountain bikers from across British Columbia (“Pedal By the Puddle” and “Peel Out”). This year the events attracted 347 competitors, and more than half of those were from out of the Cariboo region.

“Our goal is to contribute to the diversification of the Cariboo regional economy as we realize the effects of the mountain pine beetle. We are continuously interested in partnerships with governments and business that can help achieve this goal,” says Justin Calof, Executive Director of the Cariboo Mountain Bike Consortium.

Events that attract out of region tourists have a significant impact on the economy. City staff, using the Sport Tourism Economic Assessment Model, has calculated that the economic impact of the 2012 events resulted in more than $45,000 of new money being spent in Williams Lake.
“Partnering with the Williams Lake Cycling Club and Cariboo Mountain Biking Consortium helps to maximize marketing dollars and reach tens of thousands of potential cycling tourists,” says Councillor Laurie Walters, chair of the Community Services Committee. “Strategic promotion of these world class recreation assets and local events is proving to be a great return on investment for our community.”
The City of Williams Lake continues to be a supporter of Mountain Biking and has an official partnership with the Williams Lake Cycling Club. The City and Club, along with the Cariboo Mountain Bike Consortium, Cariboo Regional District, Tourism BC, Northern Development Initiative Trust and the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition has launched a comprehensive marketing campaign in an effort to attract even more mountain bike tourists to the region. Since the initiative began in 2012, there has been a substantial increase in mountain bike tourist spending.
5) Installation of utility cabinet wraps underway

Schickworks Signs and Stitches has installed the first of 10 vinyl wraps for City utility cabinets. A Laureen Carruthers photo of an old Chevrolet truck is now installed at the Corner of 2nd and Oliver Street on the larger of the two utility cabinets. This utility cabinet is one of the more complicated cabinets to wrap, due to the dimensions and tricky box layout. In the coming weeks, the remaining nine wraps will be installed on cabinets around the city, weather permitting.

On June 27th a Selection Committee, consisting of three City Council members and three Board members from the Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society, went through the tough process of selecting ten photos out of 120. The ten photos will be printed on vinyl and wrapped around ten City-owned utility cabinets within Williams Lake this month.
“It is a priority for the City of Williams Lake to take proactive measures to manage graffiti and beautifying our community,” says Mayor Kerry Cook. “Programs such as the Cabinet Wrap Initiative for City owned infrastructure is a great start, but we need to work in collaboration with the private sector and other levels of government to implement further successful results in other areas of our community.”
The City hopes to continue this project as partnerships arise.
6) Central Cariboo Arts & Culture Society update (newsletter available online or by request).