This is the week that many of our LynnValleyLife Network members are receiving their Project Sunflower seed packets in the mail or on their doorstep (let’s hope those late-season snow flurries won’t be visiting the Upper Lynn area any more!)
This is the week that many of our LynnValleyLife Network members are receiving their Project Sunflower seed packets in the mail or on their doorstep (let’s hope those late-season snow flurries won’t be visiting the Upper Lynn area any more!)
Breaking news! Consider this: if Vancouver is ranked amongst the Top 3 livable cities in the world, and Lynn Valley has just been picked as the North Shore’s best neighbourhood, does that mean we just might live in what may be the best community on earth?!? We think so!
Lots of people feel that way about their hometown, as they should. But we’re proud to point out that Lynn Valley came out on top in the North Shore News annual Readers’ Choice Awards, which were announced in that newspaper today.
This year over 4,000 North Shore residents cast their votes in the Readers’ Choice Award categories, via print and online ballots. We’d like to send our congratulations to the many Lynn Valley winners and finalists, and our thanks to our readers. Your support meant that LynnValleyLife.com was voted the North Shore’s Best Website!
Here is the list of local luminaries, who work hard to make our neighbourhood #1:
If you haven’t tried out the above merchants or attractions, maybe now’s the time – your neighbours know what they’re talking about!
This past couple of weeks, our Facebook friends seemed to be multiplying by the minute – we were starting to wonder if there was something in the water!
We’re now delighted to announce our 1000th Facebook friend: Mary-Ann Yazedji, who pushed our ‘like’ button on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at about 2:30 p.m. (We love it when people push our buttons!)
Mary-Ann is the manager of Black Bond Books in Lynn Valley Mall, and a new member of the Lynn Valley Community Association. To celebrate our 1,000-friend milestone, we’ll be sending Mary-Ann on a rafting trip for two this summer, courtesy of Hyak River Rafting!
Welcome to the LynnValleyLife Facebook family, Mary- Ann – and have a great day out!
Wow! Lynn Valley, you’ve got what it takes!
Last night’s grand finale of the 12 Days of Christmas in Lynn Valley Village was a labour of love by so many, most particularly the hard-working valley folk in the Lynn Valley Community Association, the Lynn Valley Lions and the fine musicians and actors of Lynn Valley United Church.
The two-hour production featured the young adult and adult community choirs of the church, the church’s Friday Night Live improv team, the singing of valley favourite Bobbi Smith, and a storyline that wove throughout the music to bring the message of Christmas home.
One definite highlight of the evening was an unscripted marriage proposal, ring and all, sung on stage with harmonic back-up from the FNL crew! Many congratulations to the happy couple, and thanks for sharing your Big Moment with all of us!
That was a tough act to follow, but Bobbi Smith managed it just fine, and after a few songs gave a tribute to Lynn Valley’s community values, giving LynnValleyLife the perfect opportunity to announce the winner of this year’s Good Neighbour Award.
Lynn Valley United Church parishioners in the crowd went wild when they heard that one of their own had won the honour, which was awarded to the person who won the draw of all our top Good Neighbour nominees.
photo courtesy Linda Mackie
We were delighted to give the Good Neighbour Award 2012 plaque and prize package to Rosemary Postlethwaite, a church elder who has spent a decade collecting bottles and cans to help fund the church’s program that makes sandwiches for the homeless. You can read more about Rosemary here, in the nomination that was submitted by Kelly Jenner (who won a gift certificate to the Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub for having nominated the award winner!)
The Good Neighbour Award, launched this year, gave us a very welcome opportunity to share stories about many of the people here in Lynn Valley who reach out to help others in quiet ways, large ways, public ways and private ways. We know there are a lot more fine folks out there, so we hope you keep our Good Neighbour Award in mind over the year to come, so you’ll have someoneto nominate when we launch the award again in November 2013.
In the meantime, we would like to take this year-end opportunity to thank all those community volunteers, especially those people in the groups mentioned above, for putting so much time and effort into the Christmas Tree Walk, the 12 Days of Christmas entertainment, and the first-ever Christmas tree at the corner of Mountain Highway and Lynn Valley Road.
We know it will be a busy year ahead with Lynn Valley Day and other community celebrations, so please consider becoming an active member of one of these organizations, or looking for different ways to support them. Check out their websites, above, and look here for information about joining the community choir that was featured last night.
Wouldn’t that make a great New Year’s resolution?
Merry Christmas, Lynn Valley!
photo courtesy Linda Mackie
We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.
This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].
ADRIENNE COUSINS NOMINATES TRAVIS SPENCER:
“So, my friend is the best neighbor and boyfriend I’ve known … I’ll tell you why he’s the best neighbor I’ve known.. I suffer from anxiety and SAD (seasonal affective disorder). So since the winter months began, and last year as well, he made it a point of his to invite me up to Lynn Valley square for a tea or a latte at Delany’s to take in the beautiful Christmas trees, shops, and people… and lift my spirits, even while tackling his busy school and youth volunteer schedule.
He is a child at heart with an old soul if that were possible. A perfect combination. Thanks for considering him for the award.”
We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.
This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].
SOHAIL KAMAL NOMINATES PAIGE LARSON:
“Here is my nomination for Paige Larson, who just won a Western Canada Women Entrepreneur Award, but missed by a whisker to winning the National Award for the HKMB HUB Impact Award. The award goes to the woman entrepreneur who has had a significant positive impact on the community (Lynn Valley and the North Shore) and there were 3,500 women nominated for the six awards. I think she would be a glowing recipient of this award for Lynn Valley!”
Paige, who lives near Ross Road School, is the owner of North Shore Sports Medicine and received the award for contributing to her community prosperity and job creation. She owns three clinics with 20 beds, and employs 13 health care providers. She received her award at a Toronto gala on Nov. 28th.
Thanks for letting us know about this impressive neighbour, Sohail. Good luck to you both in the draw!
We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.
This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].
KELLY JENNER NOMINATES ROSEMARY POSTLEWAITE
AND DARLA AT WAVES:
“We have some amazing folks in this community and I would like to nominate two people who have made a difference to how we are able to serve the neighbourhood….
The first person I would like to nominate is Darla at Waves Lynn Valley. I know she donates to many groups/ organizations, but her generosity with Lynn Valley United Church is awe inspiring. She has provided coffee for every Friday Night Live performance since its inception a year and a half ago. She also contributes coffee to the congregation for Sunday fellowship once a month.
Plus, she donates coffee for special musical and social events, from the monthly drumming circle to the recent “Sounds Like Christmas” community concert. All given with a smile and the request to just ask if more is needed. I am not sure how a business can succeed with that kind of generous spirit, but Darla is doing her best to make it work that way.
The second nomination is for Rosemary Postlethwaite. This shy and unassuming elder in the LVUC community has spent the past 10 years collecting bottles from neighbours for her “sandwich filling fund.” This fund is used to buy meat, bags, condiments and other supplies for the 500 sandwiches that this congregation makes every month.
The sandwiches are shared out to the homeless through a network of social workers with the North Shore branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, ensuring the people in this community are nourished by this community.
Rosemary has had some major health scares this year, and after spending 54 years in a little house on Westover has moved into “Branches”- but has insisted that she be allowed to continue supplying fillings and such for the sandwiches for as long as she is able. Rosemary bears a strong pioneer spirit in the most quiet and gentle person you’ll ever meet. And she is the foundation of a project that feeds hundreds every month. Simply put, she is amazing.
That’s it from me right now, I could go on about lots of the folks I know who make a difference… the truth is that Lynn Valley is an amazing community because there are so many amazing people. (Jim and Peggy- you are in there, too!)
Thanks for giving me this opportunity to do this “shout out”
Kelly
Kelly Jenner- Office Manager
Lynn Valley United Church
Thanks, Kelly, you’re an amazing mover-and-shaker yourself! Thanks for adding so much to our community.
We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.
This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].
CHRIS TRENDELL NOMINATES JIM WRIGHT:
“He was one of the very early settlers in Lynn Valley; one of World War II’s returning vets. It was a time when there was no shopping mall, just a few scattered shops and a goose farm not far from where he still lives on Coleman Street.
Although he asked for little help from those around him, he gave abundantly to anyone who came to his door. (And, after we built our own home across the street in 1965, we knocked on that door often! He was always there to lend a hand, or invite us in to watch the football game, election returns, or moon landing with him on the TV by the fireplace.)
James, Jimmy, Chick or Mr. Wrightman as he was called, depending on your relationship with him, is gifted with the ability to “fix it.” His workshop was a mystery to all who entered. The tools were cleaned, polished and in place. Although the tools looked new, they had by and large been passed on to him by his father who had brought them from England.
During the winter, he would be seen and heard on his small Sears ride-on tractor, clearing the sidewalks of snow in front of Upper Lynn School and for many blocks around.
You don’t see Mr. Wright around much at public events or large gatherings, but I think he is well-known by many people for his repeated acts of kindness over his many decades in Lynn Valley.”
We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.
This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].
ANDREA WINTERBOTTOM NOMINATES GILLIAN KONST:
“Thank you for organizing the first Good Neighbour Award. I would like to nominate my neighbour, Gillian Konst.
On many occasions, Gillian has been a lender of cups of sugar, onions and over-the-fence cuttings of her favourite plants/flowers from her garden. She has invited me inside her home on the spot for a cup of tea or glass of wine, but it’s the greater good that she demonstrates in the community that makes her a Good Neighbour: no matter what committee chair she sits on, her enthusiasm, determination and helping hand is always appreciated.
Gillian recently helped me to establish a Laughter Yoga group at Mollie Nye House and accommodated my newly formed “Write Away” writing group at Mollie Nye House as a great outreach to the Lynn Valley writing community. Gillian and I go way back when we were both parents active at the Eastview Elementary School council spearheading various committees. I would be happy to tell you more about Gillian’s selfless, supportive, neighbourly ways!”
Gillian Konst and Eric Muira represented the Lynn Valley Community Association at last year’s Canada Day festivities in LV Village:
We are collecting nominations for Lynn Valley’s Good Neighbour Award until Dec. 19, 2012. We’d love to hear, and share, stories about good-hearted folks who have gone out of their way to help you or their community, in ways large or small. Nominees don’t have to be your ‘next-door’ neighbour, just a fellow citizen of the Valley.
This contest isn’t about deciding who’s ‘best’ – it’s about celebrating all those kindnesses that we know happen in our neighbourhood every day of the year. The winner of this year’s Good Neighbour prize package will be drawn at random, and announced on Dec. 23. Please send your submissions to [email protected].
CHRISTINE GOOCH NOMINATES HUSBAND WAYNE:
“I would like to nominate my husband, Wayne Gooch.
Wayne is outside more than he is inside. He continually helps our neighbours, whether it’s to put up some siding on their home, de-thach their lawns, give them a Christmas tree or to simply lend an ear.
Wayne has a heart of gold and funnily enough…he doesn’t realize it. It just comes naturally to him.
He is such a humble man and I am so very proud to call him my husband.”