If the photo on today's front page of Jean-Pierre Makosso embracing Roberts Creek artist Gord Halloran in a huge bear hug doesn't scream Olympic spirit, we don't know what will.
Halloran's golden Olympic vision, his gift to the Olympics, opened to much fanfare and praise Tuesday night at Richmond's O Zone. Halloran and a team of volunteers have been working long days and nights for the past several months creating Ice Gate. The monumental ice structure is impressive, not only in stature, but also in the amount of blood, sweat and frozen tears that have gone into creating an enduring image of all that is good about the Olympic Games. Halloran is an artist of great passion and vision, and his work is a testament to the heart of the Olympic spirit and his love of the Sunshine Coast. An estimated 400,000 visitors could pass through the O Zone during the two-week Olympic Games. These visitors will come from all over the world and be left with a lasting impression of their Olympic experience, and also an amazing artistic experience. We're so fortunate to have an artist of such talent as Halloran on the Sunshine Coast. He is indeed a champion and one we should celebrate.
We're also toasting the good work of another Coast champion this week.
After 10 years and countless projects, Al Mulholland, the executive director of Community Futures, is taking his talents to Kimberly where he will become the town's city manager. We have a little running joke in our newsroom that Mulholland's picture has appeared more times in our paper than most of the area's politicians over the past few years. That's not a coincidence, because Mulholland certainly has lived, breathed and bled his support for the Sunshine Coast in everything he has set his mind to.
Whether is was soliciting support for worthwhile projects through Community Futures, championing for business with the Chamber of Commerce, fundraising for worthy projects through the Sunshine Coast Rotary Club or moderating provincial, municipal and federal election forums, Mulholland's work has helped shape the Sunshine Coast and made it a better place for all of us to live, work and play.
We wish you well, Al, in your new role. Kimberly's gain is certainly the Sunshine Coast's loss. We'll alert their photographers!
