With the municipal election in full swing and things starting to take a nasty turn in some circles, it's refreshing to know that it's not all doom and gloom these days on the Coast.
Don't get us wrong, we fully expected that this year's municipal election campaign would get heated and mean. And we know it is our responsibility to offer up balanced and fair coverage on all of the 50-plus candidates who have put their names forward for Gibsons and Sechelt council, school board and regional district. But you have to admit that things are getting a bit rough out there, and we're not just talking about the stormy weather.
We would like to see things handled in a fair and respectful way, but who are we kidding? That just doesn't happen too often in politics, and it certainly isn't happening so far in the first few weeks of this campaign.
With that being said, it's nice that we can offer up a few cheery stories this week - stories of success, stories of human goodwill, stories of people who make us proud to call the Sunshine Coast home.
The first is Debbie Mealia, whose commitment to community involvement and, most importantly, her commitment to working on behalf of developmentally disabled adults on the Coast is truly amazing. And that incredible work has been recognized with the Herbert H. Carnegie Community Service Award from her company, Investors Group.
Mealia, who is the current president of Sunshine Coast Community Living, is helping bring joy and meaning to many people served by SCACL.
Next up is Jordan McCourt, who we first introduced to you a few months ago. McCourt, who suffers from seizures and cerebral palsy and has a hole in his heart, is a man on a mission - a mission to help others.
Not willing to sit idly by and feel sorry for himself, McCourt has raised thousands of dollars through recycling bottles in the community and is giving back to 12-year-old Micaela Martin, who also suffers from cerebral palsy. McCourt's donation will pay for a much-needed tracking lift system not paid for by the provincial government, which will allow young Micaela the freedom to move around her house.
McCourt's efforts to help others are truly remarkable. In our humble opinion, he deserves the Order of B.C. a lot more than any politician ever did.
Our third community champion this week comes in the form of Rotarian Terry Umbach, who travelled some 14,000 km to help bring water to Ndandini, a village in Kenya. And to add to his community spirit and sense of humanity, he worked hard to ensure that the Kenyan manager of the water project be recognized for his untiring work on the project and presented him with one of the highest honours a Rotarian can get - the Paul Harris Fellowship.
Without people like Debbie, Jordan and Terry, where would our community be? We are all better for their efforts and can learn from their caring hearts and generous goodwill.
