THE www.keremeosreview.com PM Agreement #40012521
Review Vol.16 Number 44
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Thursday, October 30, 2014
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Serving the communities of Keremeos, Cawston, Okanagan Falls and Kaleden
Volunteers make village work Tara Bowie Review Staff
It was a night for local volunteers to sit down, relax and be thanked for all their efforts. Angelique Wood, director of Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen held the annual volunteer appreciation night at Samosa Gardens. “We wouldn’t be able to do the things we do in our communities if it weren’t for all of you who regularly give and give,” Wood said during a brief speech the night of the event. The first-term regional district director, who is up for re-election next month, took a quick poll with the volunteers to see how many worked with more than one organization. Out of the 60 people in attendance the majority volunteered with at least three different groups. Wood, an avid volunteer herself, spoke from the heart about the selflessness of volunteers. “They do so much for everyone else. I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to them,” she said. “Given the chance a lot of these people would get and start doing dishes and cleaning things up because that’s just who they are. They see things that need to be done and they do them.” Over the last three years, Wood has held volunteer appreciation nights annually generally splitting the district up into three geographic areas. Usually the nights are held in December but she decided to switch it up this year as many volunteers were not able to attend during the Christmas holiday season because of prior commitments, Wood said. About $500 per event is taken from the district’s Rural Projects fund. Wood throws in about $500 of her own money to cover the costs. A spokesperson from the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, which oversees Elections B.C. said there are no rules in place regarding elected officials spending taxpayer money on events during an election period. “What people need to understand is that even though there is an election going on these people still have a job to do and they need to do it,” the spokesperson said during a brief phone interview.
Tara Bowie
A Volunteer Appreciation Night was held in Regional District Okanagan Similkameen G last week at Samosa Garden in Keremeos. RDOS G paid for the food while director Angelique Wood paid for the wine bought from Robin Ridge. About 50 dedicated volunteers turned out for the event including Ron Shonk, Sharon Moore, and Flo Winfrey pictured above.