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Burns Lake’s economic diversification committee selected

“They are people with the ability to inspire others,” says councillor
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Lakes District News file photo The Village of Burns Lake has secured over $115,000 to develop a project intended to diversify the local economy, moving beyond its reliance on the forest products industry.

Six community members have been selected to join a new committee that will seek to find ways to diversify the local economy, moving beyond its reliance on the forest products industry.

The chosen community members include Jason Llewellyn, Clayton Wainwright, Stephen Burkholder, Lindsay Beedle, Rachelle Van Zanten and Chantal Tom.

According to councillor Riis-Christianson, who’s also a part of the committee along with Burns Lake Mayor Chris Beach, appointing members to the committee was a difficult task.

“We could only choose six at this point; there were so many good candidates,” he said. “It was an enviable position to be in, but it made the selection process somewhat more time-consuming than I think any of us anticipated.”

Although the committee is now complete, Riis-Christianson said there will be opportunities for other community members to get involved.

“I’m hoping everyone in the community will choose to be involved to some degree, because that’s the only way this initiative will succeed,” he said.

“No one individual, organization, or committee is going to solve the challenges facing our community, create a more diversified local economy or make the Lakes District a better place in which to live,” he continued. “There is no magic bullet here; tasks of this magnitude require action on the part of the entire community.”

Riis-Christianson added that the individuals appointed will “bring a lot to the table.”

“We have planners, small business owners, artists, community activists, agriculturists, educators, and others with valuable knowledge and experience in a variety of fields,” he said. “They’re progressive thinkers; they’re people who care passionately about the future of our community and have shown by their actions that they care enough to act.”

“I also believe they are people with the ability to inspire others, and that’s important.”

The committee will use an approach called Asset Based Community Development (ABCD).

“ABCD isn’t about gathering a group of experts or leaders to consider issues in a vacuum and then decide what the community needs to do to be successful, prosperous, healthy and sustainable,” explained Riis-Christianson. ‘That approach doesn’t work.”

“ABCD is about getting citizens to identify the issues important to them, and then inspiring people to act on those issues. To be successful, we need to mobilize our community – or at least all the people in it who care enough to act.”

The first meeting of the new committee has not been scheduled. The village currently has a request for proposals (RFP) that seeks a qualified practitioner to facilitate their exercise in ABCD.

“How we proceed will depend in part on the results of that RFP,” said Riis-Christianson.

Earlier this year the Village of Burns Lake secured over $115,000 from grants and its own funds to develop this project.


 


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