"A special invitation to all
residents of Valley East to join together in celebrating a hundred
years of history as we take a giant leap into a bright and
exciting future!"
One day in March 2003 I decided to take part in the
celebration of our 100th year of existence by creating this web site. It
was to become a web site which would be a "Living History" for
all people to share in years to come. I wasn't sure why I wanted to do
this, but then I came across the following passage which I would like to
share with you:
The air we breathe is so freely available that we take
it for granted. Yet without it we could not survive more than a few
minutes. For the most part, the same air is available to everyone, and
everyone needs it. Some people use the air to sustain them while they sit
around and feel sorry for themselves. Others breathe in the air and use
the energy it provides to make a magnificent life for themselves.
Opportunity is the same way. It is everywhere.
Opportunity is so freely available that we take it for granted. Yet
opportunity alone is not enough to create success. Opportunity must be
seized and acted upon in order to have value. So many people are so
anxious to "get in" on a "ground floor opportunity,"
as if the opportunity will do all the work. That's impossible. Just as you
need air to breathe, you need opportunity to succeed. It takes more than
just breathing in the fresh air of opportunity, however. You must make use
of that opportunity. That's not up to the opportunity. That's up to you.
It doesn't matter what "floor" the opportunity is on. What
matters is what you do with it.
After reading this passage I understood what I had to
do. I realized that CELEBRATION 2004 is the ‘Opportunity" we have
been waiting for in Valley East. It is our chance to come together as a
community, to return to the spirit which once permeated all of our
subdivisions many years ago. In recent times our ‘sense of community’
has disappeared. Valley East lost its identity with the amalgamation into
the City of Greater Sudbury. Many feel that the City of Greater Sudbury
itself has been searching unsuccessfully for a sense of identity. It is
now clear to me that the people of Valley East have an opportunity of a
lifetime to bring that community spirit to life and to take a leadership
role in the entire region.
What is important is that everyone in Valley East take
advantage of the opportunity. It is time for all organizations, religious
groups, schools, sports associations, playgrounds, senior citizens and
people who care about the future of this great community to come together
and share in more than merely a 100th Birthday celebration -
this is a CELEBRATION OF LIFE, YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW - and it
starts now!
Let the CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE - FOREVER!
