One of the best things that will happen in this, the Howe Sound Pulp and Paper (HSPP) centennial year, is the celebration of 10 years as sponsor of the Gibsons Landing Fibre Arts Festival.
Although this year has provided more than its share of challenges for the mill, Al Strang, manager of environment and external relations, said the company chose to honour its obligation to the Fibre Arts folks.
As with most events in our small community, sponsorship goes beyond a public relations exercise to one where the participants are friends. In her remarks at the 2008 festival, Nicki Grafton spoke from the heart when she acknowledged the ongoing support of the mill and Strang. There's a good chance the Fibre Arts festival would never have become the amazing success it is without that support. One of the premiere festivals of Gibsons, the festival attracts people from all over Canada and even international participants.
And while the mill itself has often been a sponsor of civic events, arguably without many of the employees and their generosity of both time and money, other charitable causes would have collapsed long ago.
One longtime supporter of the Elves Club, the Christmas charity, is retired worker Joan Molidegei. She has spent many an hour collecting donations for the yearly hampers, putting the hampers together and then co-ordinating the delivery of the hampers. As is the case with most giving folks, only Molidegei's modesty matches her hard work. What tickled her more than anything else was the generosity at her former work place. She told Coast Reporter of a fellow from HSPP who had one year donated about $500 in food and diapers - not what most of us would put at the top of our Christmas list, but for poor families, expensive diapers were a godsend.
Generosity is a hallmark of the mill and its workers.
Two years ago, the employees established an endowment with the Sunshine Coast Community Foundation. And one of the employees of the mill has more than a little knowledge of the foundation; Elfie Hoffman has been a director of the organization for many years. For several years she was part of the communications arm of the foundation, a natural continuation of her former position with the mill in community relations. And although she changed jobs at the mill and at the foundation, her expertise and charm continue to be great assets for both organizations.
Another employee who has given greatly to his community is Jim Ling. An engineer by trade, Ling is a lifelong Rotarian. A driving force behind many young people's projects of the Gibsons Rotary Club, Ling organized the high school chapter of Rotary, Interact, at Elphinstone Secondary School many years ago. He's raised funds for bursaries through golf tournaments and other endeavours. A past president of the Gibsons Rotary, Ling has been a part of many community enhancements including the Field of Dreams project and the Gibsons Heritage Playhouse. And he's also been the unofficial historian of the club since he came to the group; in fact, at any Rotary function if you see a camera, the chances are good that Ling is looking through the viewfinder.
Fortunate is the Sunshine Coast to have these stellar citizens and the many more unsung heroes of the HSPP. Here's to another 100 years of their contributions.
