ADEDA News

Last Thursday evening the ADEDA Chair, Warden Peter Newton, hosted our Annual General Meeting with fiscal reports, remarks from special guests and highlight presentations by the agency’s Managing Director and staff. The Garden Room at the Digby Pines was filled to capacity. The turnout was an encouraging indicator of the interest in the work we’re doing, and the comments a show of encouragement for our efforts. The successes of the past year, and the opportunities - as well as the challenges – facing the upcoming term were outlined and discussed.

On Friday we were busy hosting a public Renewable Energy Briefing in partnership with the Nova Scotia department of Energy; and we were delighted with the number of participants and the range of interests that were represented. Today is Digby Port Day, which we have been organizing and promoting on behalf of the Digby Harbour Port Association. It’s a new initiative designed to focus on the future opportunities for the Port of Digby, described by many maritime analysts as “Nova Scotia’s face on the Fundy”. The historical as well as the present significance of the Port of Digby was well considered recently in a piece by local newspaper columnist Kristy Herron.

Membertou Re-enactment a Moving Experience
Messages of peace and harmony between peoples permeated a dramatic re-enactment next to the Habitation in Port Royal, home to the first French settlers on these shores. The event began the much anticipated celebrations associated with Membertou 400. Almost 500 people representing the Mi’kmaq, French and English attended the event, the first of five days of celebrations marking the great chief’s life.

Keeping a Light
With the loss of the much loved, if short-lived, windmill in Bear River reported recently, it’s great to be able to report that community restoration efforts have succeeded in maintaining and preserving a landmark structure in another of our scenic locales. An appreciative and admiring group of “Hamptonians”, and particularly the Hampton Lighthouse and Historical Society, gathered to watch as a newly renovated lamp room was gently lowered atop the 30 metre structure.

Youth Will be Served – And in Turn So Will Our Community
News abounded from one end of Annapolis Digby to the other this past week as the achievements of our area’s young achievers took to the fore in their reported accomplishments. While the preservation of our heritage landmark structures and celebrations honouring generations past are certainly much deserving of note (hey, that’s why they’re in the newsletter this week), we are wise to remember that the look of our future is on the faces of our next generation.

Collectively there was no better illustration of that fact that the many awards and accomplishments recognized recently at the Valley campus of the Nova Scotia Community College as 205 graduates were honoured. The NSCC Valley Campus continues to be an invaluable educational and training resource for our community, and we should also recognize the educators and administrators who continue to produce scholars of excellence.

An exceptional individual academic achievement was recognized by the Province of Nova Scotia when a local high school student was recently honoured as one of the select winners of the Premier’s Power of Positive Change Award. Congratulations to Grade 11 Bridgetown regional High School student Carsten MacLean. At ADEDA we like to think that the power of positive change is what we should be about – thanks Carsten for showing us the way to get it done.

Moving out of the classroom, we see another local student achieving on the athletic field. Digby’s Anne Balser, a student at the University of Victoria, recently won the women’s individual championship at the Canadian University College golf competition. To follow it off she immediately jetted off to Spain where she finished among the top dozen contestants at the World University games. I play the same home course as Anne but perhaps not so well.

Getting HIP to Health
And so with all these super achieving young people in our area, it’s important that their physical and personal health needs don’t miss a beat – even over the summer months. So it’s good to know that a number of student oriented Health Information Places (HIP) will be open across the Annapolis Digby region during the next couple of months.

Well, I’m off today to the Digby Port Day event, try and join us if you’re in the area and get this newsletter in time. By the way, inspired by Ms. Balser, I took to the links this past weekend. Regret to inform you I will not be going to Spain as a result.

Till next week;

Peter

Peter MacLellan
Annapolis Digby EDA