Best of luck to all our grads

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/07/2016 (3681 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Choose kindness. It is a very simple and yet overwhelmingly sentiment.

It is a sentiment that was on full display this past week as graduates throughout our community took the final steps in their journey toward completing high school. I was overwhelmed with joy as I watched our young people celebrate and cheer on their fellow classmates receiving diplomas and scholarships and together planting the seeds for tomorrow.

I fully believe that if the young people of our community continue to carry that same spirit of generosity and kindness and compassion as they have right now, our world will be a better place. Their sense of camaraderie and care for one another is truly commendable.

I wish all the graduates of 2016 the very best as they move forward into tomorrow. I would also like to share a few words that have become a guiding light in my own life, words by a Manitoba farmer named Nelson Henderson who once said, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit,” as quoted in Wesley Henderson’s book, Under Whose Shade: A Story of a Pioneer in the Swan River Valley of Manitoba. Congratulations graduates.

Speaking of trees, it was an absolute honour to spend a morning with Yude Henteleff and his entire group of tree planters one morning in June as we planted an entire new stretch of trees at the historic Henteleff homestead site in South St. Vital. Also, please mark your calendars on Sat., Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. and join the Henteleff Park Foundation for its official opening ceremony and dedication of the new Henteleff Park Interpretive Centre.

This new interpretive centre is located beside the park’s entrance near St. Mary’s Road and will feature a shelter building that will display panels of information that will lead to a new circular pathway, bench seating, and landscaping. I hope to see you there.

I also want to thank the many volunteers who attended the annual cleanup on Bishop Grandin Greenway in May, and helped pick up nearly 100 bags of debris off this beautiful community green space. The dedicated board and volunteer group have done an outstanding job in making this community gem even more spectacular. Thank you for your amazing dedication.

In closing, let me say that it was a tremendous honour to become the elected representative for Riel in the April 19 election. I look forward to serving all of you in the coming years. Please contact me at 204-615-5241 should you need any assistance with provincial government programs and services.

Have a safe and happy summer.