Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I am wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving a week early, but only because I will not be posting again before the actual Thanksgiving weekend. And because I am sure looking forward to a long relaxing weekend and a trip home. It has been extremely busy lately and a little R&R is definitely needed.

I just got in from a fundraising paint can collection for Positive Recreation Opportunities for Kids. It is a group I have been involved with for quite some time now and basically raises money to allow children to participate in recreational opportunities when they cannot afford it on their own. This is the second time we have done this fundraiser and it was quite successful again. Basically people drop their old household paint off to us for $2/can instead of having to take it all the way out to the landfill.

On my way home from that fundraiser, I stopped by the advanced polls here for the plebiscite that is being held on October 9th. The city is looking at changing it electoral system from an at-large system to a ward system. I voted "yes" because I think this is a superior system and because change from time to time never hurts. Don't forget to get out and vote on this issue on October 9th (or before at the advanced polls).

All last weekend was taken up with Fusion's annual Harvesting the Arts Festival and ArtConnect. This was the first time for ArtConnect. It was a project that the committee I co-chair, Community Engagement, organized to try and promote artists and volunteerism in the city. We got 8 paintings in the end which sponsors purchased from the artists. The paintings were then paired with a local non-profit organization and people bid volunteer hours towards the painting/non-profit. The silent auction was open for Friday night and all day Saturday. It was a tremendous success and in the end 1000 volunteer hours were raised for the 8 non-profit organizations. Don't forget to also look for the Fusion "12 Wonders of Greater Saint John" calendar which will be out in a couple of weeks.

I recently bought a new computer from Dell and have been getting a little annoyed with it. Although it is 7 years newer than my last computer and has much more memory and RAM, I am finding it quite slow and I think it is because of Windows Vista and all the virus/spyware software that they load on it. Everything is scanning and trying to update itself over the Internet at the same time and it bogs it down.

A couple other little things I did over the past few weeks include attending the Dr. David Stephen Memorial Foundation Dinner and attending my first Board meeting with the Saint John Volunteer Centre. The Lebanese dinner was fantastic, as was the Board meeting.

Besides working each day the rest of the time has been taken up getting all the gardens/lawn ready for winter. Lots of bulbs to lift and store, equipment to winterize and service, fertilizer to add, earth to till, plants to cut down, etc...... The other thing taking up a lot of my time is my first distance course for my Masters of Public Administration. There is a lot of reading and posting on the Internet for this course.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I am looking forward to a quiet and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend with family in Charlottetown. I hope you enjoy yours as well!

Welcome to the New School Year

Well this time it has been four weeks since I have blogged but I have a lot of excuses which you can read about below. Lets just say it has been extra busy in August and more importantly, during my vacation. However, I have been enjoying most of the projects.

A lot of the time has been spent with several Fusion projects and events. One major event that I have been working on is the Harvesting the Arts Festival featuring ArtConnect which will take place on September 21st-22nd. This will be a great event which will highlight the Arts community in Saint John. A large project that has been taking a lot of time is the Fusion "12 Wonders of Greater Saint John" calendar which will be our first fundraiser. I am hopeful that it will be launched in the next few weeks. A little over a week ago Fusion was also asked to replace a Dragon Boat team in the races in Renforth. That was a lot of fun although with little practise we did not do great! Finally, Fusion has its Annual General Meeting a week ago and we have several new board members and a new employee for the Fall school term. A lot of work, but it is all very positive for Fusion.

Pride Week in Saint John also occurred since my last post. It was an eventful and positive week. There were several events including the flag raising, movie night, boat cruise, parade, auction, etc. I had the opportunity to attend a few of these events. From all accounts, it was a successful week and hopefully some more awareness was raised around issues of sexuality in our society.

A political event that occurred over the past four weeks was the decision by the Council of Saint John to hold a plebiscite on a Ward System of Governance for the City of Saint John. This is a great step forward for the City and hopefully as many of you as possible will get out and vote on the issue. It is important, whether you are for or against wards, to get out and have your voice heard. This is the beauty of democracy and this issue of wards is one that was kept from being a democratic decision for some time now.

I have had some more vacation since my last post. However, during this bout of vacation it seems I worked harder than when I am at work. I made some visits to family and friends in P.E.I. and Fredericton. I did a lot of work in the gardens: weeding, adding new beds, harvesting vegetables (squash, beans, broccoli, lettuce and cucumbers). I also spent some time re-arranging the computer room in the house to get ready for our Fall courses. However, the largest project, which is still ongoing was the construction of a flagstone patio. Next Spring I will also be adding a pond in front of it. I have included a picture so that everyone can see the results thus far. My body is sore, but I am sure I must have lost a few pounds.

As the title of this post suggests, we are now coming into September and the summer is beginning to wind up. For me, this is evident through several events. One is the fact that my tenants started moving in this weekend. We have four for the year and they are all students at the Community College. Another is the fact that my first Master of Public Administration course starts next week. Finally, there is the fact that all the meetings for community boards I sit on are beginning to get underway again. It will be a busy Fall.

An exciting conference that is happening in Saint John this week (at my work) is the Social Enterprise Development Conference. Basically, we are having experts from across Canada coming to Saint John to talk about their successes in having mental health consumers start their own businesses. We are planning on doing the same here in Saint John so it will be a great learning experience.

Finally, and most importantly, on August 29th I became an uncle for the third time. My brother had a healthy baby girl and I cannot wait to get back to P.E.I. to see her.

Take care and have a great week everyone!

New Brunswick Day

Happy New Brunswick Day everyone (a.k.a. my last day of vacation)! Yes that is right, I have been on vacation for the last 18 days and this is my final day. At least it is sunny! Due to my vacation this will be a very short post. I have tried to do as little as possible in terms of my job and my committee involvement. However, I must admit that I still checked work email and phone messages and attended the odd committee meeting. It is must be workaholic syndrome. It was a great vacation and the weather was very nice; too hot for my liking on many occasions.

So what did I do? I spent most of my time relaxing and gardening. My parents came for a visit on the first day of my vacation. We took a trip to Halifax to see my dental specialist and it looks like they want to do Botox injections for the pain in my jaw. From Halifax we went to Charlottetown for a few days and finally back to Saint John with a quick stop in Fredericton to pick up my sister who spent a few days with us. It was great to relax and spend lots of time with my family. I value family very much and try to spend as much time as possible with them. Everyone is doing well and I look forward to my next week of vacation at the end of the month to spend more time with them and more time in the garden.

Some of my vacation time was spent organizing the "12 Wonders of Greater Saint John" project. This is a fundraising project that Fusion Saint John Inc. has created. We have surveyed the Greater Saint John area and compiled a list of the "12 Wonders" of Greater Saint John. This list will be unveiled this Wednesday at 7:00 P.M. at the Call Box on Charlotte Street. The "12 Wonders" will be photographed by local artist, Jason Harper. We will then produce a calendar and sell it to the public. A portion of the proceeds from the calendar will also benefit a local charity. I think this is a wonderful project because it highlights many of the great features of Greater Saint John. It focuses on the positive and reminds people of why we love it here and what people are missing out on when they move away. Hopefully it will be used as a tool for retention and repatriation efforts.

I also spent some of my vacation time emailing, calling and meeting with people who may be interested in helping me with a Municipal Council campaign in May 2008. If I feel I have enough support then I will be running for a Councillor position in the next Municipal election. So far there seems to be a lot of support which is great. I will continue to get feedback and make my final decision in the coming months.

Finally, as it will be another few weeks before I post here, I thought I better advertise some events for the upcoming Pride Week Festivities in Saint John. Here is a listing:

PRIDE FESTIVAL 2007 SCHEDULE

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12
CHURCH SERVICE
When: 10:30 am
Where: CQS United Church, 215 Wentworth Street

THEATRE OUT ON THE EDGE
When: 2:00 pm
Where: New Brunswick Museum, Mary Oland Theatre
Cost: $10 per person
Saint John Theatre Company presents as part of their “Theatre on the Edge” series stories from the Saint John’s GLBT Community.
Tickets available at Mahogany Manor, New Brunswick Museum and Feel Good Store (Other showings August 7, 8 pm & August 10, 8 pm)

MONDAY, AUGUST 13
FLAG RAISING
When: 12 Noon
Where: Front of City Hall
Watch the Pride flag rise up over the city

PROCLAMATION
When: 7:00pm
Where: City Hall
Cost: Free
Reading of the Proclamation at Common Council - afterward gather at (7:30 pm) Happinez Wine Bar Princess Street for munchies & cash bar

TUESDAY, AUGUST 14
WAY BACK WHEN
When: 8 pm
Where: Impulse Bar, 14 – 16 Charlotte Street
Cost: None
This is a night for anyone born before the 70’s – 70s & 80s tunes, lounge atmosphere

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15
MUSICAL NIGHT AT MAHOGANY MANOR
When: 7-9 pm
Where: Mahogany Manor, 220 Germain Street
Cost: Donation to the food bank
With the Aussie Scots, ERA and more
Munchies & cash bar

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16
Q-COLLECTIVE MOVIE NIGHT
When: 7pm
Where: UNBSJ Oland Hall, Room 104
Cost: Free will donation
Relax and enjoy Southern Comfort – a transgendered film of woman to man

FRIDAY, AUGUST 17
RIVER CRUISE ON THE VOYAGEUR II
When: 6:30pm (3 hours )
Where: Indiantown Wharf, Bridge St (North End)
Cost: $50 per person
A special evening of dining, entertainment with the Aussie Scots and cruising down the Kennebecasis River Space is limited so don’t wait – get your tickets at Mahogany Manor, The Feel Good Store and the Princess Street Laundry
Continue the fun at Impluse Bar with DJ NEXUS6ix $2 or free if you are wearing “Impluse Green”

SATURDAY, AUGUST 18
AUCTION AND BREAKFAST
When: 9am – 11am breakfast
11:00am - Auction
Where: Mahogany Manor, 220 Germain Street
Cost: $5.00 for breakfast

PRIDE PARADE
When: 1:00pm
Where: Queen Square Park
Show your pride – and enjoy friendship, food and fun!

PRIDE DANCE
When: 9:00pm - 1:30am
Where: Kent Theatre, Chinese Commerce Centre, 24 Coburg Street
Cost: $10 in advance; $12 at the door Tickets available at: Mahogany Manor, The Feel Good Store and the Princess Street Laundry

Have a great week!

Four Days Until Vacation

I love my job but still can't help being excited about the fact that in four days I will be on vacation for two weeks. On July 17th it will be one year since beginning my new position. I have not missed a single day of work during my first year so I believe that I am due for a little break. The past few weeks have been a little more relaxed than normal. I seem to be reading more and spending more time socializing at friends' homes. Two books I am currently reading include "21st Century Irvings" by Harvey Sawler and "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs. I would recommend both of these books to anyone looking for some "heavier" summer reading. After working, reading and socializing, any remaining time has been spent gardening and in meetings. The gardens are doing great despite the poor gardening weather this summer.

Most of my meetings over the past three weeks have been split between FUSION Saint John Inc. and P.R.O. Kids. Both groups have some special initiatives on the go. I spent all day yesterday (and I have the sunburn to prove it) at the Dickie Crossman Memorial Golf Tournament which is held the second weekend in July each year. The organizers always do a great job and proceeds are donated to P.R.O. Kids. It was a beautiful day for it but I am sorry to say that no one got a hole-in-one on the hole (#6 at Rockwood) I was judging. The other great fundraiser happening for P.R.O. Kids this summer is through a partnership with Baxter. Money will be donated to P.R.O. Kids from every 2L container of milk sold during July and August.

For FUSION Saint John Inc., I have been busy with several special events as well. The most exciting involves are very recent launch of the "12 Wonders of Greater Saint John". We are asking people to submit what they feel are the 12 Wonders of Greater Saint John. We are then going to produce a 12 month calendar using the top 12 picks and sell them as a fundraiser for FUSION Saint John Inc. I love this idea for several reasons: it celebrates the positives of Greater Saint John for once, it can be used as a retention and repatriation tool, it helps FUSION to become more sustainable and it engages the community in very important dialogue (i.e. the quality of life in Greater Saint John). Please vote here for your 12 Wonders! I will be on CBC radio tomorrow morning promoting it. Along the same line, FUSION Saint John Inc. was involved in presenting to the Population Growth Secretariat who had public consultations in Saint John earlier this month. Finally, through the Community Engagement Committee of FUSION which I co-chair, we are working away on the ArtConnect event which will happen in September. This is another great idea that will see corporate sponsors purchase artwork from emerging artists which will then be auctioned off to the public in exchange for volunteer hours committed to a local non-profit organization. Both the ArtConnect and 12 Wonders event are looking for corporate involvement so if you are interested please call us at 693-6810.

The highlight of the past three weeks was a trip to Fredericton to see the play entitled "Lyric". This was a two hour play that my younger sister wrote, directed and produced. It played for three evenings on the St. Thomas University campus. It was a very thought provoking play that was superbly written. She has wonderful talent and I look forward to the day she becomes famous and I can retire :-)

As I said in the opening, the weeks ahead contain nothing but vacation and thus relaxation. My parents will be arriving on Thursday of this week. I will probably end up making some short trips to Halifax and Charlottetown during my vacation, but will be staying in Saint John for the most part. I may also spend some time researching a new hobby I want to begin: playing the violin. If anyone has any tips or advice, feel free to contact me. Have a great three weeks!

Maritime Traveler

It has been a busy three weeks. During the past three weeks I have been in each Maritime province for one reason or another. I was in Charlottetown to visit family one weekend as it was Father's Day and my parents 35th anniversary. We had a great time and my gift was one of labour. I got their flower beds back into shape for the summer months. They deserve a lot more but you can only do so much in one weekend. My sister, who lives in Fredericton now, also celebrated her birthday last week. She, as well, deserves a lot more than I can give but I will find a way to let her know that she is a wonderful sister and person. I also found myself in Dartmouth for a couple of reasons as well. One was the Nova Scotia Chapter of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Canada's conference entitled "Supporting Choices for Wellness and Recovery". This was an excellent conference that focused on helping those with mental illness begin their recovery journey. The recovery model represents a new way of looking at mental illness and their were some inspirational presenters at the conference that explained the model well. The other reason I was in Dartmouth was to see a specialist regarding my tooth that you have all heard so much about in prior posts. Well, she injected needles into my jaw and neck muscles, got out knots in these muscles and put me on muscle relaxants. Unfortunately, I must say that nothing has changed and therefore it may be nerve damage which means another trip back to Dartmouth.

Last week also marked the official beginning of summer! This means my time spent in the garden triples! Many things are in bloom right now (irises, phlox, dianthus, lupins, etc.) which means there is also lots of weeds that need pulled. I could spend every day in the gardens between fertilizing, watering, mowing, weeding, mulching and pruning. I will include a picture or two in this post so that someone else can appreciate all our hard work!

Groups in the community have also been very busy having their last meetings before summer and their annual general meetings. I attended the Canadian Mental Health Association - Saint John Chapter, the Saint John Federal Liberal Riding Association and the Self-Help A Rewarding Experience (SHARE) Activity Centre Annual General Meeting in the past three weeks. It was a chance for me to be reminded of all the great work these organizations do in our community each year. I also attended committee meetings for the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative Education to Employment Committee, Centenary-Queen Square Care Centre and FUSION Saint John Inc. These groups focus on poverty, intellectual and mental illness and youth retention respectively. These issues are very important to me. I also helped organize a Youth Art Gala hosted by the Many Faces of Violence 2007 group that featured art by local youth. The art showed what violence was like through the eyes of the youth. It was a very successful event. Upon returning from Dartmouth I went right to a 3 year planning session that the Salvation Army - Booth Residential Services invited me to attend. They do wonderful work for homeless men in our city and everyone should support them as much as possible because the need is always increasing.

A few highlights of the past three weeks included the provincial government's community schools announcement, my acceptance into Dalhousie's Master of Public Administration program and the day I spent in Saint John's Mental Health Court. The Community Schools concept is one that I had envisioned for some time. Hopefully, the days will return, where a village raises a child and we all support each other. My day in Mental Health Court was inspirational because I got to witness first hand the love, understanding and support that community members have for people with mental illness. The judge, lawyers, families and service providers have created a model whereby people with mental illness are given the help they need to get their lives back on track. I commend everyone responsible for creating and administering the program on a job well done. You should all be very proud of what you have created.

Over the next few weeks, I will be waiting for the results of the post-energy audit that I had completed on my home last week. I recommend everyone to take a look at the programs created by Efficiency New Brunswick and try and do your part for our fragile environment. I also hope to purchase a violin soon and begin lessons. If anyone knows of some good teachers, I would appreciate the information. Finally, I must remind everyone that Coverdale Centre for Women's Annual General Meeting is Wednesday, June 27th at 11:30 A.M. at Germain Street Baptist Church.

Have a great few weeks!!

Summer is just around the corner.......

You can always tell when summer is approaching because it gets very busy all of a sudden. Groups I am involved with, as well as work, all try to have a last meeting, project or event happen before the summer slow down. So, the last few weeks have been extra busy. On top of the pre-summer rush, I have been busy with my spring garden chores. As I mentioned in the previous post, I am also filling in for my manager while they are on vacation. All of these things together have made the past few weeks extra busy and so I will be looking forward to my own vacation soon!
The spring garden chores included weeding many of the existing flower beds, dealing with the annual mass of dandelions, tilling the vegetable garden, planting the vegetable garden, splitting some perennials and spreading lime and fertilizer. I am trying some new veggies this year such as buttercup squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes and parsnips. After my experience with blight last year I thought I better stay away from regular potatoes for this year. Of course, my tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and bugle weed are already blooming. See the inserted picture.

A quite a bit of time during the past several weeks was devoted to my involvement with Fusion Saint John Inc. We were allocated a summer SEED student through the provincial government. Therefore we had to do a lot of interviews in the evenings and find new office space. We also had to meet with the successful candidate and discuss some of the projects we want him to work on over the summer. Having the student will be a great addition to Fusion and I hope he will help us to market Fusion better and look into some new funding streams. Fusion also had a reception with Fusion Bangor representatives at City Hall in May. Fusion Bangor was modeled off of Fusion Saint John Inc. and a couple of times a year the groups get a chance to get together to discuss issues.

I attended the Human Development Council's Annual General Meeting in May. They had some representatives from Irving Oil as their guest speakers. The representatives talked about the new refinery that may be built in Saint John. I found it refreshing to see Irving Oil speaking to a social development group about how to potentially deal with the unintended social effects of a possible new refinery. I guarantee you that I will write more about this in future postings.

Other events that I attended in May included the Annual Harbour Passage Gardening Party, St. Joseph's Community Health Centre Community Health Fair and the AIDS Saint John fundraising auction. All of these events were great successes. The Garden Party had over 300 people show up and it was the hottest day of the year yet. I was involved in the Community Health Fair as the Many Faces of Violence Project was doing some public awareness during the fair. There were also many people at the AIDS Saint John auction. I am not sure how much money they raised but when I find out I will be sure to post it.

Probably the most important event over the past three weeks was last week. It was the Provincial Disability Awareness Week. Locally, the Saint John Ability Advisory Committee had many events including an employer luncheon, a town hall meeting with politicians, a kick-off on the waterfront and much more. I attended a couple of these events. I am passionate about helping people with disabilities because I feel that every single one of us is equal and therefore when policies, infrastructure, events, etc. are developed they should attempt to have every single one of us in mind. Anything less is unfair!

Finally, I had my graduation from the Canadian Healthcare Association Modern Management Program on Friday. I was honored to receive 2 awards: the highest mark on the final exam and the highest mark in the program overall. I found it amusing though that because I got the highest mark overall I was asked to do a 15 minute speech at the graduation. That was like giving me an extra assignment! A bottle of wine would have sufficed. Anyway, it was a good day and I hope everyone enjoyed my speech.

Have a great few weeks!

Remember Your Mother!

For the first time in awhile I am late in my blogging. It has been 3 weeks since I last blogged. To be honest, I think it is because there has not been enough happening to blog about. As summer approaches everything begins to move at a slower pace. It might be that I only blog every 3 weeks for the summer months. On a more important topic, it is Mother's Day on Sunday! I have a huge respect for parents/guardians/grandparents. I would love to be in Charlottetown visiting with my own but was there just a couple weeks ago. Ensure that you take some time this weekend to let the person who raised you know how much they mean to you. We are all who we are today because of those who gave their time and hearts to us over the years. I will be making a couple of calls to P.E.I. this weekend as today is also my niece's 1st birthday.

Over the past several weeks there has been quite a number of events. On May 9th I got to work at McDonald's during the supper hour rush. It was McHappy Day and proceeds from certain food items as well as donations were going to the local Boys and Girls Club. It seems that the media created a stir over the fact that politicians and others should not be supporting fast food restaurants in light of growing obesity rates. I believe this is a charity fundraiser like any other and it is important to support our non-profit sector. It is also important to remember that everyone has two choices: whether to go to a fast food restaurant or not and once there, whether to select a healthy menu item or not.

I have had several meetings with our Many Faces of Violence Awareness Project committee. Our next event will be a strictly awareness raising event. We will join St. Joseph's Community Health Centre at their Health Fair in King's Square at lunch on May 25th. We will be handing out information and promotional items to raise awareness on domestic violence.

I had my management course exam on the 27th of April and received my mark yesterday. It was fine so I am glad that chapter is over. Now, I will be awaiting a response from Dalhousie University to find out if I have been accepted into their Master of Public Administration distance degree program for the Fall. Please keep your fingers crossed! Not that I really need the extra work.

Today, I will be attending a gathering to discuss and plan the 4th Annual Harbour Passage Gardening Party. This is an annual event that has been organized by the Greater Saint John Community Foundation and the Saint John Waterfront Development Partnership. I have taken part since its inception. It is a great opportunity for people to get out in their community and take part in cleaning up a well-used community asset. It is also a lot of fun and a great family event. Especially if you trying to teach your children to become involved in their community. This years Gardening Party begins at 9:00 A.M. on May 26th.

A couple of weeks ago I also had the opportunity to have input into the New Brunswick Southwestern Community Needs Assessment. Every 5 years the Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation assesses health needs, capacities, and status of the residents of Region 2 and identifies which needs are a priority. I helped organize a small group of youth to have input into this assessment.

A couple of small updates include being referred to a Temporo-Mandibular Joint Disorder expert in Halifax to try and finally put an end to my jaw pain. I will let you know how it works out. Work has been extremely busy especially since I have been acting in my manager's position since he went on vacation. On May 7th I celebrated my 6th anniversary and will be surprised if my partner can put up with me for 6 more years! This past week I also had my bag stolen out of the back seat of my car while it was parked on Germain Street, near the Aliant building, during rush hour traffic. Obviously I should have locked my door but I think it should also serve as a warning to everyone of how today's thieves can be quite brazen. Remember to lock your doors!

Finally I would like to highlight an important event coming up next week. The UNBSJ Q-Collective and PFLAG Canada-Saint John Chapter along with like minded individuals and groups will commemorate the “International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia” with the Third Annual Rainbow Peace March commencing at 6:00 p.m. on Harbour Passage underneath the Harbour Bridge (off of Chesley Drive, behind the HMCS Brunswicker), Thursday, May 17, 2007 (Rain or Shine)

The Rainbow Peace March will travel along the beautiful Harbour Passage, passing the boardwalk, up King Street to King Square and follow the route to Centenary Queen Square United Church at 215 Wentworth Street. At 7:00 p.m. the Rev. Don Uhryniw will then conduct a Service of Prayer and Hope followed by the lighting of luminaries to recognise Champions Against Homophobia, a fundraiser for PFLAG Canada.

Happy Earth Day!

I am going to try to blog today. I must admit my arms are still shaking from having just spent 2.5 hours cleaning up the Cromwell Court area off of Grandview Avenue. I, the lone volunteer, managed to fill 9 garbage bags and collected various other items including a bike, tire, entertainment centre, carpet and a plastic tub full of action hero figurines. It is really mind boggling that in the year 2007 people can just throw this stuff in the woods. They should be ashamed. Anyhow, in case you didn't figure it out, I helped with ACAP Saint John's annual Earth Day cleanup. Happy Earth Day! I need a sleep now.

To update anyone who cares about my jaw pain you will remember in my last blog that I had a scheduled appointment with an orthodontist. Well, that was useless as well. It is still a mystery and I am still popping Advil and muscle relaxants like they were candy. I am sure there must be some long term health risks associated with this behaviour.

I watched the last City Council meeting with interest as they debated the value of a Ward System in Saint John. Having run for City Council last election and thinking about running again, I must say that I believe there are more benefits to a ward system than disadvantages. I did a lot of research during the last election and the majority of the research I came across showed that a Ward System was at least as beneficial as a At-Large System. Therefore, I believe that there is no risk in at least trying the system for a mandate and then re-evaluating down the road.

The past week could be called the week of dinners. I had 3 back to back dinners. The Chicken Noodle Soup Club Dinner, the 3rd Annual Lawson and Creamer Faces of Fusion Dinner and the P.R.O. Kids Dinner. The Chicken Noodle Soup Club Dinner was a lot of fun as you got to chat with kids all night and they kept me well entertained. Congratulations to the organizing committee. Perhaps it was more fun, as well, because it was the only dinner of the 3 that I didn't have to do any work. The Faces of Fusion Dinner was also a large success with about 200 people attending along with our Premier Shawn Graham. People have said they had a great time and hopefully they will check out our Facebook group and provide us with your input. The P.R.O. Kids Dinner took the most time as I was the Chair for the dinner this year. I arrived at lunch time and went home at 11:00 P.M. However, it was also very successful with 215 attending and raising just under $13,000. This is enough to place about 40 children into recreational programs. A big thank you to that organizing committee as well. All in all, I probably gained about 10 pounds over those 3 days!

Yesterday I attended the "Industrial City in Transition" conference at the N.B. Museum. It was a day long event highlighting the work to date of the Community University Research Alliance (CURA). I found it very interesting as I am not a native of Saint John and lacked some of the rich history until yesterday. It is also great to see the University working with the other community organizations on research initiatives. The keynote speakers were quite interesting, especially the gentleman who spoke about using cultural assets to grow a city. This is something that I believe in very strongly and have advocated for in the past.

Last night ended with a nice Mount Allison Alumni gathering at O'Leary's Pub. I was one of the organizers and we had about 20 people show up. Therefore, if you are a Mount Allison Alumnus and are reading this, be sure to come out to any events that we do in the future.

The rest of this weekend and most evenings next week I will be studying for my final exam for the Management Course I was enrolled in for the past year. The final is on Friday. Therefore, have a great week and if you are not having a great week just think about me studying and this should provide an immediate boost in mood!

Happy Easter!

Well, I must say that I am really enjoying this long weekend. It has been very busy since starting my new job in July and this was the first extended break that I have had. However, the weather could have been better. Happy Easter to all!

The past couple of weeks have been filled with several different meetings and events. I don't believe there is any one theme. Work has been busy but it has been going well and I am really enjoying the challenges. At the end of this post I want to inform everyone of a couple great events coming up next weekend.

I had a committee meeting with the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative Education to Employment group last week. We have been looking at different models of alternative high school completion. For example, there is a high school classroom at First Steps Housing Project Inc., where young mothers can complete their high school diploma. We are surveying the community to determine whether their might be some opportunities to develop this model in other areas.

As part of my employment, I attended a one day conference in Fredericton last week that examined the community re-integration of mental health consumers with past convictions. It was sponsored by the John Howard Society, the Canadian Mental Health Association and Correctional Services Canada. The federal government is beginning to put money into this vital community issue. After the conference, I also had the chance to have supper with my wonderful sister who is attending St. Thomas University so that was an added bonus.

The only other committee meeting I had was with the Sex Trade Action Committee and not much new came out of that meeting. However, we will be having a strategic planning day within the next month that will help us to outline our priorities for the next year.

After a root canal, extraction, family doctor visit, several emergency room visits, specialist visit, ten bottles of Advil, x-rays and CAT Scan over the past two years, I think I have temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ). I now have an appointment with an orthodontist scheduled for Tuesday. I am not sure what this says about our medical or dental system, except that maybe they should be linked better than they are currently. It has been a painful and costly ordeal and it is not over yet.

On Monday night of last week I attended the Annual Saint John Police Force Volunteer Recognition Dinner. I, of course, volunteer with their Victim Services Unit. It was a nice evening and I got my pewter pin for over a year of service. I also won a door prize, which never happens. Although, they did have about 20 prizes and there was only about 30 people at the dinner.

On Wednesday night I attended Paul Zed's Town Hall Meeting in the North End of Saint John. I went simply to hear people's concerns and they seemed to mostly revolve around housing and recreation opportunities. Issues that have been problems for many years. Although, PRO Kids (see event below) does help with recreational activities for those that cannot these activities. But I think the point of the people was that these are social issues that the government should deal with instead of downloading them to the not-for-profit sector.

My only other news is my new addiction to FaceBook. It is an online program that allows you to catch up with old friends and it is extremely addictive (this is a warning).

Don't forget to start giving your dog heartworm medication next month!

Take care and have a great week!

Annual Lawson & Creamer FACES of FUSION Networking Dinner!
Join us and Premier Shawn Graham.
What's your greater VISION for Saint John?
We want your ideas on how WE best best Build, Grow and Sustain our Community.

Friday April 13, 2007, 6:00 pm Tickets $40
Cocktails and ChitChat in the Great Whale Room at NB Museum followed by a 3 Course dinner at Hilton Trade and Convention Centre.
Dress Code?--think Spring.

Stay tuned for more deets!
You can confirm your registration online by using PayPal (it's easy). Or go to the Business Resource Centre on 40 King Street between 8:30am-5:00pm and register at the front desk--ONLY REGISTRATIONS THAT ARE PAID FOR IN ADVANCE ARE CONFIRMED. This event is expected to sell out. If you have seating request(s) let us know - info@fusionsj.com

Three C's Night Out
Curry, Cantonese & Canadian Cuisine
Proudly sponsored by Aliant in support of P.R.O. Kids (Positive Recreation Opportunities for Kids)

An evening of international cuisine, award presentations, silent and open auctions and an inspirational guest speaker.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Delta Brunswick Hotel
Cash Bar: 6:00 pm
Dinner: 7:00 pm
Award Presentations: 8:00 p.m.
Guest Speaker Hon. Roly McIntyre: 8:20 p.m.
Silent & Open Auction to follow

2007 P.R.O. Kids Sponsor Recognition Award Recipients:
The Greater Saint John Community Foundation
The New Brunswick Children's Foundation (NBPOH)
The Dickie Crossman Memorial Foundation

Tickets: $60 per person
For further information and table reservations, please call 658-2909.
Tickets may be purchased at:
Kennebecasis Valley Drugs, 1 Marr Road
The Saint John YM-YWCA, 18 Hazen Avenue
City of Saint John Leisure Services Department, 171 Adelaide Street
For information on P.R.O. Kids please call 642-7529

We are officially into gardening season now!

I have been sitting here debating whether to put off this post until next week. It seems that there is not much new to post since two weeks ago. I just returned from P.E.I. a few hours ago. I went home for my older brother's birthday. It was a beautiful weekend on the Island and from what I see it appears that the weather was the same in Saint John. I have actually noticed some of my spring bulbs starting to sprout some new growth. Soon I will be able to get to work on the stone patio and pond which I promised myself (and others) I would complete this summer. Not too mention all the other recurring spring work that needs to be completed.

The past couple of weeks have been filled with many of the usual commitments. I was on call for the Victim Services Unit for a few nights. I attended meetings for Fusion Saint John Inc., CQS Care Centres, Domestic Violence Community Action Group and the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative. In fact, now that I am writing about it, I am pleased to say that the Domestic Violence Community Action Group received about $35,000 to do a "Mother/Child Educational Program" on domestic violence. I helped with the proposal and budget.

We are now in the final weeks before the annual P.R.O. Kids dinner. Being chair of this year's dinner, I urge everyone to come out and support us. As always, it is one of the cheapest fundraising dinners in terms of ticket prices. There will be a silent and live auction. See the plug below. Anyone can obtain tickets by sending me an email at dannyj@nbnet.nb.ca.

One obvious event that I wanted to speak to in my post this week is the fact that CommunityLens.com in closing down. CommunityLens was an excellent service for the Greater Saint John community. For may years now, it highlighted all the wonderful events in the area and was a portal through which people could view the many wonderful aspects of the Greater Saint John community. I am sure I will not be the only one to miss this coverage. I want to commend CommunityLens on their many years of excellent service. On a more personal note, I have decided to continue my blog. It can be reached through my personal website at personal.nbnet.nb.ca/kjd or directly at dannyjardine.blogspot.com.

After completing my management certificate course recently, I have decided to apply to Dalhousie to do a Master of Public Administration through distance learning program. Therefore, if any of you thought you were finished hearing of my educational endeavors, you're not! French will be starting again soon as well!

Well, like I said at the beginning, there is not a whole lot to report this week. I hope everyone has a great week and that the weather remains beautiful. On a side note, I would love to hear if anyone has any pumpkin growing tips as I think I will attempt to grow some this summer.

Three C's Night Out
Curry, Cantonese & Canadian Cuisine

Proudly sponsored by Aliant in support of P.R.O. Kids (Positive Recreation Opportunities for Kids)

An evening of international cuisine, award presentations, silent and open auctions and an inspirational guest speaker.

Saturday, April 14, 2007 Delta Brunswick Hotel

Cash Bar: 6:00 pm

Dinner: 7:00 pm

Award Presentations: 8:00 p.m.

Guest Speaker Hon. Roly McIntyre: 8:20 p.m.

Silent & Open Auction to follow

2007 P.R.O. Kids Sponsor Recognition Award Recipients:

The Greater Saint John Community Foundation

The New Brunswick Children's Foundation (NBPOH)

The Dickie Crossman Memorial Foundation

Tickets: $60 per person

Springing Ahead......Very Appropriate

Spring ahead..........yes as I was writing the title it became apparent that this is exactly what I wish some of the Members of our Legislative Assembly would do.......spring ahead to the 21st Century. Obviously, I was unimpressed by the actions of a Conservative MLA who attempted to re-introduce a piece of divisive legislation last week. In fact I want to use this blog to publish a letter that I sent to all the MLAs in the province. The letter also appeared in the Telegraph Journal last week.

Dear Members of the Legislative Assembly,

I wish to express my outrage over the piece of legislation (Bill 37) being introduced into the Legislature around civil servants being allowed to pick and choose who they marry. While I completely agree with religious institutions being able to pick and choose who they marry as they run their own “business”, I cannot agree with civil servants being able to pick and choose. A civil service is not a religious service so religious beliefs should not be a factor here. These civil servants are paid by the tax dollars of many New Brunswickers (around 50% according to recent polls) who support same sex marriages. If they can pick and choose who to marry then I should be able to pick and choose where my tax dollars go and I think that you would agree that this makes no sense. The Conservatives are simply wasting everyone’s tax dollars introducing legislation, to protect a few, that will be defeated by human rights tribunals in a matter of months. A better idea would be to simply offer the few civil servants that are affected jobs in other government departments. When individuals become civil servants they should be required to leave all prejudice and racist attitudes at home. It only makes sense. If we had to create legislation for all the civil servants in this province to protect their religious rights in the workplace we would have a mess. There are a lot of different religions in existence and I would hate to see Department of Health employees refusing condoms to teens or Department of Education refusing to teach health curriculum. Everyone in this province should be treated equally by government and this is clearly not the case. Creating public policy that puts one individual’s rights above another is risky business. As politically advantageous as the Conservatives might think it is for them to introduce this legislation, I would suggest reconsidering. It may back fire when all minorities in the province realize that this could potentially impact them (e.g. civil servants rejecting Muslims due to religious beliefs) and the everyday citizen finds out the cost to introduce the legislation and then fight it at a human rights level. It’s no wonder why people (especially youth) are leaving our province in droves. I hope and urge the Liberals do the right thing and oppose Bill 37.

In addition, I quickly wanted to mention that I have finished my Management course so I will have a little more free time. However, I have been looking into the possibility of beginning a Masters in Public Administration through Dalhousie distance learning. If anyone has had any experience with this program I would love to hear from you.

A couple of nights ago I attended the 2007 International Women's Day celebrations in Saint John. We had a table for our Many Faces of Violence initiative. There were many tables at the event representing the many organizations in our city that offer services to women. It was a good event although it appeared that there were fewer people in attendance than in the past. Coverdale Centre for Women organizes the event each year and let's hope that attendance increases next year.

Do not forget to move your clocks ahead this weekend and check your fire alarm batteries. It will be great to have light longer in the evenings. However, I think the U.S. claim of saving on energy is flawed in that most of us will now require extra light in the morning plus other studies have found the costs and savings to equal out in the long run. Oh well, what can you expect, it was probably Bush who thought of it.

Have a great week!

Brrrrr.....

The past couple of weeks have been very cold. This is the main fact that keeps popping into my mind as I sit down to write this post. I suppose we have been spoiled with mild weather up to this point. It has also been very busy at work and perhaps this is why the coldness sticks out in my mind. I was constantly running from one meeting to the next and every time I got into the car it was freezing and of course it never warmed up by the time I got to the next meeting. A viscous cycle of coldness but it's better than global warming.

The last couple of weeks have been spent working on my final assignment for my Management course and compiling tax information so I could get that out of the way. I sent off my taxes last night so I will not have to think about them anymore.

On Valentine's evening (yes the night of the big storm) I attended a Dinner and Auction at the Water Street Dinner Theatre. It was a fundraising event for the local chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association. They had a great crowd out for the event considering the weather. I had a great time and they raised much needed money. The organization does great work but is extremely under funded as is the case with many non-profit groups. If you live in Greater Saint John remember to take advantage of the opportunity to do a presentation to the newly formed Premier's Task Force on the Community Non-Profit Sector chaired by Claudette Bradshaw that will be in the area this coming week. The more information they receive about the critical financial situation the non-profit community faces the better. For a listing of dates, click here.

The following evening I went to Fredericton to attend the Premier's State of the Province Address. It was a good evening and I enjoyed the fact that much of the speech focused on social issues in the province and the declining population. I believe these to be some of the more urgent issues in the province. We need to attract and retain youth in the province and better fund the many non-profit groups that are effectively addressing the variety of social issues facing the province. Other than being overcrowded it was a great evening.

The following day I attended a presentation at UNBSJ by a prosecutor from Idaho who prosecutes perpetrators of domestic violence. It was an informative presentation but of course there is always someone around to ruin it. In this case it was a male in the audience who continually claimed that he had research to prove that just as many females perpetrate violence against their partners as males. He obviously must have made up the research himself because all kinds of researchers would prove him wrong it a minute. Obviously it is not always males perpetrating the violence but the split is more like 85% to 15% not 50/50. Anyway, he had his word and we must encourage freedom of speech in this country.

Those were some highlights from my past two weeks. I hope everyone has a great rest of February. I will leave you with an event that is happening on Monday of this coming week:

"Saint John Powers Up"
"Energy Fuels Up Expansion"
"Head East"

What's up with all the Energy talk?
Join us for Appetizers and Discussion that has Kick!

Fusion's Energy Forum & Mixer
Sebastian, 43 Princess Street (across from O'Leary's)
Monday, February 26, 2007
5:30 - 7:00 pm

To register please visit here.

1st Year Blogging Anniversary

This is my 42nd post and marks a year since I began blogging. I hope that everyone reading the blogs have found some useful information that they could take away and think about. My aim has always been to try and let the greater community know about some of the initiatives going on in Greater Saint John. Some of these initiatives do not get the publicity they deserve. My goal is to bring more awareness to this issues through this online forum. Please let me know if you have any comments or would like me to highlight something in the community.

The past two weeks have been pretty typical. I have had my usual round of work and volunteer meetings. In fact, out of curiosity, I tallied up the amount of meetings I attended this week. There were 22 meetings in all. They range from work related ones to ones about poverty, the sex trade, domestic violence, youth retention, recreation and affordable housing. I sometimes sit back and wonder if all these meetings accomplish anything but then I look at the data and successes to date and I realize they definitely do. If they were not accomplishing anything I would bring this up to the committee so that it could be addressed.

Today is MindCare's annual Skate to Care fundraiser at Harbour Station. I was part of the Centracare team this year. Annually, the overall campaign raises around $200,000 for mental health programs and services in the region. It is a very worthwhile fundraiser. I had hoped to make it out today for the actual event but have been left without a car today. One of MindCare's current initiatives is a public awareness campaign around depression and I am sure you have seen the signs somewhere.

Last week I attended an adoption information session for the Saint John area. It is the second time I have attended an information session and I have yet to adopt. There is a huge need in the province for adoptive families. It is a major commitment though and you have to be ready and prepared and I feel I am not quite there yet. People tell me I am still young. I will wait another year to see how I feel about it at that point. I encourage anyone else who is thinking about it to seriously consider it as these children need and deserve a loving home.

Last Thursday night I had the opportunity to attend an apartment warming service at the apartment buildings that Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation has renovated to house the medical residents and students that come through the Saint John Regional Hospital. I attended on behalf of FUSION Saint John Inc. and got meet some of the current residents/students. Now we just have to convince them to stay in the region.

A couple of events coming up next week include FUSION Saint John Inc.'s Community Engagement Committee meeting. It will be held on Tuesday, February 13th at 6 P.M. at 157 Duke Street.

Also, the Many Faces of Violence 2007 committee will launch there first awareness poster on Valentine's Day. It will be distributed to over 100 work places in the Greater Saint John region and has valuable information on upcoming events, statistics on violence, resource numbers and more. Look out for it in your workplace.

Hope you all have a great week and Happy Valentine's Day!

The Days are Getting Longer...............

I just arrived back in Saint John from a weekend trip to Charlottetown. I noticed that the light was staying around for longer as I would normally be in darkness by the time I pulled into Saint John. It was a great weekend trip. I try to make it home for all the birthdays and it was my Dad's birthday on Saturday. We went out and had "all you can eat" Chinese food. It seemed like a good idea at the time but I think I am beginning to regret it today. Unfortunately, I was assaulted in Saint John on my Dad's birthday 6 years ago so it is also the anniversary for that incident. It seems like so long ago now. I had my cheekbone busted in three places and required emergency plastic surgery in the middle of the night. All that for leaving a gay bar at the wrong time. It is funny to think back now because I feel that Saint John (and even the world) has come a long way since that night. Things are beginning to get better for marginalized folks.

On a more positive note, I spent a lot of time over the past couple weeks working on my term paper for the management course I am taking. I can proudly say that I mailed it last week. I thought it was great so hopefully the marker does as well. It was titled, "Does political decision content alter the decision making process: decision making in the political charged health care environment." I also had a successful FUSION Saint John Inc. Community Engagement Committee meeting last week. Our committee has decided to move forward with an idea around engaging young people in the City in volunteering. The idea is borrowed from Ontario but essentially involves having businesses purchase art from emerging artists and then putting each piece of art up for auction with the bidding being volunteer hours to a specific not-for-profit organization in the City. If you want to get involved then give me a shout.

A little over a week ago I had the opportunity to attend a photo exhibit by the Urban Core Support Network. The exhibit took place at the Saint John Arts Centre and featured works by local women living in poverty. They took pictures of what poverty was to them. It was a very powerful look at poverty through the eyes of those living the experience. A great chance for people to remind themselves of the human beings behind some of these social issues. Often, I find that people get caught up in the work around making changes and forget about the people affected by the work.

Last week I also began physiotherapy for my back and neck. I have already tried massages, acupuncture, chiropractors and yoga so I thought I would experiment with something new. Now I have a bunch of exercises I have to do each day. I figured that would happen but it seems sort of weird to be paying someone to give you exercises to do. On another health note, this past weekend has marked one month of not smoking. Hopefully this is the time that I stick with it.

Some highlights of the coming week include a FUSION Saint John Inc. Steering Committee meeting tomorrow night. It will be the first one since the new committee has taken over so it will be a long one but very positive I think. On Tuesday at work I will be followed by an Occupational Therapy and Social Work student so I will have to be on my best behaviour.

There has been much media coverage lately on the topic of retention, repatriation and attraction of youth to our province. I would enjoy hearing people's ideas on how to solve this problem in the province.

Have a great week everyone!! If you have an comments or suggestions on my posts please feel free to contact me.

January, 13th, +5 degrees Celsius???

Happy New Year to everyone!! It is hard to believe that 2006 went by so fast. It is also hard to believe that it is mid-January and it is +5 degrees Celsius. Unlike many others, I would not say it is great but that perhaps we should start paying more attention to our environment. I recently watched the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth" and would recommend it to everyone. It is a real eye opener.

The first week of January was fairly slow with regard to meetings and work as I found that a lot of people took extended holidays. However, due to the ongoing renovations in my basement I could not go away for very long. They actually finished on January 6th which was exactly two months since the flood took place. Two of my tenants have returned and settled back in while I still have two open spots if anyone knows of any Community College Students looking for a place for this semester. I must admit the basement looks very good but I still would not ever want to go through this ordeal again. The City of Saint John has still not accepted liability for water main break.

I have been busy working on my term paper for my management course which is due at the end of January. I have also been trying to decide whether to go back into French this semester or take one semester off and begin again in April. By that time my management course will be done and I will not be juggling two courses and my job.

Last Tuesday, I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative at the Delta. It was my third year attending and this year I really enjoyed the speaker, Claudette Bradshaw. She spoke passionately of the need to help young children living in poverty, especially those with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effects. She believes that these two conditions are the greatest social challenge facing Canada today and that there needs to be much more education and help. She was a very inspirational speaker.

On Thursday, I had a P.R.O. Kids Meeting. We had several new board members appointed and are currently beginning planning for our largest fundraiser, the annual dinner. I have been selected chair of the committee so if you have anything you want to donate for our silent auction or if you want to sponsor the dinner feel free to give me a call (643-2044). All the money raised goes to the wonderful cause of helping kids participate in recreation opportunities where money is a barrier.

I also attended a meeting last Wednesday on early psychosis and how the numbers are increasing with time. The group is looking at creating an early psychosis program in Saint John which would be very valuable to the community. Again, as with most things I write about, education is the key. We have to open society's eyes to the many social needs in our community if we are to become a productive and positive community.

On Tuesday of this coming week I have my FUSION Community Engagement Committee Meeting and I am always looking for new members so if you are interested in attending them please get hold of me (dannyj@nbnet.nb.ca).

Have a great week!