We've made the final cut in the TSN Kraft Celebration Tour and are competing against the City of Pembroke in the voting to win our segment of the population. On July 14 - til noon the next day, please go to the TSN-Kraft voting website and help us win this David & Goliath competition to bring the TSN Sportscentre crew to Mattawa... and the $25,000 they will grant the winner to help us develop a water park for our local kids.
We have suffered greatly during this 'Great Recession' with the complete collapse of the forest industries that sustained employment for the past 150 years. Unemployment runs into the 20% range with many people having to leave their families behind in search of work so that they can financially help their family (and by extension the whole town) survive, keeping their families sheltered and fed. We could really use the boost that winning this competition will bring. The project we are planning will be environmentally friendly and will help our citizens, both young and old to have a public, free place to enjoy themselves as a family.
Mattawa is an amazing town. In the six years that I have searched here as pastor, I have not only witnessed the hardships that the economic collapse has wrought. I have also witnessed and participated in many community activities in which we come together to celebrate (as in Voyageur Days) and support each other. There have been numerous pot-luck fund raisers to assist families in crisis. Many times each year service clubs and others have organized free activities to entertain and lift each others spirits. For example, Denis Janveaux, proprietor of the local cinema occasionally offers free showings of movies so that families who can't afford to drive to North Bay to see recent releases will have the chance to see them on the 'big screen' at no cost. Even major hockey games were sometimes projected on to the big screen so that we could cheer our heroes on to gold during the Vancouver Olympics. The local churches, under the leadership of the Pentecostals are working to facilitate where we will provide a one day celebration of our town by offering free services to everyone in the town. Everything from beauticians offering free manicures and pedicures, crews organized to offer free repairs to seniors and people who lack the means to facilitate them on their own, to a large community pot-luck during which entertainers will perform at different times for young and old audiences alike - all offered without cost so that no one need be denied the joy and fraternal care that we understand that we owe to each other as fellow citizens of our fair town. All of us have put our shoulders to the wheel in pulling together in these hard times. Winning this competition will be a wonderful reward and encouragement to our efforts.
If you click here you will be taken to the TSN site to vote. Click on the link below if you want to read about the contest and Mattawa's entry. Come July 14th, please help support us by voting as often as you can in support of this one little corner of God's most beautiful. Remember... we're Canadians! We always pull for the under-dog. The Pembroke area contains 30,000 people. Mattawa numbers 2000! Help we little guys show that spirit counts in good times and in bad.
Fr. Tim
Mattawa water park makes Top 20 in online contest - The North Bay Nugget - Ontario, CA
Have bookmarked the page Father Tim and, on July 14, Mattawa will get my vote.....hope others will do the same:))
ReplyDeleteFather Tim..i have bookmarked the page and on July 14 Mattawa will get my vote:)
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