Notable Neighbours

It takes a village to raise a child, they say, and we’ve found the very same philosophy applies to a new business.

So we wanted to thank some of the young people in our village who have helped us spread the word about the launch of LynnValleyLife, our community website and real estate partnership.

Left to Right: Jim Lanctot, Conner & Dalan Cruickshank, Kelly Gardiner, Jason Pascoe.

We asked the Lynn Valley North Shore News carriers to distribute the two Sunday door-hangers that were delivered to your home last month. The notices announced that local residents could receive a coupon – one at Delany’s, or one at Lynn Valley Meats – for signing up for our free LynnValleyLife Network.

Hanging our notices on each and every doorknob in town definitely took some extra effort by the carriers, and we wanted to thank those kids who took the time to do a good job.

So the North Shore News distribution department performed a telephone survey to find out which routes had had their door hangers delivered properly, and entered those carriers in a random draw for prizes supplied by LynnValleyLife.

We were delighted to give the awards (giftcards to Lynn Valley’s Browns Social House and Romance Jewellers) to brothers Conner and Dalan Cruickshank – who share the Laura Lynn townhouse route – and Jason Pascoe, whose beat includes 80-odd homes on Dempsey, Hoskins, Evelyn and Underwood.

We complimented all the boys on going the extra mile to make sure the notices were hung on the doors as requested – not stuffed in the paper, or left on the step – but they shrugged off the praise. “Just part of the job” was the common refrain.

But jobs can be done well, or they can be done poorly, and we were proud of these guys for choosing to do theirs well. And grateful – because a community website isn’t much use unless the community knows about it!

We’ll be counting on carriers like Jason, Dalan and Conner to deliver a third coupon that’s coming to your door in late January. Thanks to the first two doorhanger campaigns, we were able to meet with hundreds of new LynnValleyLife Network members when Kelly and Jim dropped off their coupons.

If you missed out on the chance to get your coupon, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help you out if quantities allow. And if you know a person, young or old, who would bring the same high standards to a newspaper route, the North Shore News invites you to fill out this application!

FROM THE DESK OF LYNN O’MALLEY:

Here at LynnValleyLife, we are grateful to the North Shore News for running our editor’s story about the amazing mission of Lynn Valley resident Sally Livingstone.

When you meet someone like Sally, you tend to want to do everything you can to spread the word about the work done by Spectrum, a charity she founded to match up struggling moms with caregivers and volunteer mentors.

As you can see in the story, the support the moms receive (whether it is a ride to a doctor’s appointment, a listening ear, or hands-on childcare help) has in many cases made the difference between the mom being able to successfully care for her child herself, or having to surrender her infant to foster care. In fact, two of Spectrum’s former clients are now mentors themselves!

Sally may already be familiar to some of you as she was the founding manager of the Lynn Valley Medical Clinic and worked there for ten years before becoming a full-time instructor at Capilano University.

Donations of time, money, and hampers at Christmas are always needed to help further Spectrum’s fine work amongst mothers who have few other resources. For more information, visit Spectrum Mothers Support Society.

So what’s it like running for municipal council for the very first time? To find out, I cornered Lynn Valley’s John Gilmour in Delany’s and convinced him to take a break from pressing the flesh and handing out election brochures.

We found a corner table and he told me what his life’s been like ever since he stepped down as president of the Lynn Valley Community Association and threw his hat into the ring for North Van District council.

In some ways, this is nothing new for John – he grew up at the knee of mother Sheila Gilmour, a widely accomplished community volunteer in her own right, and John has spent many of his recent years helping usher events such as ValleyFest 2010, Lynn Valley Days, and community-planning workshops into our neighbourhood.

But North Vancouver District is a big place, and during his campaign John has learned the importance of having a team. “I have to really rely on them,” he said over ginger peppermint green tea (he’s currently abstaining from sugar and caffeine in a bid to keep his immune system strong in the lead-up to the election), “I just can’t be everywhere myself.”

Which is too bad, because John clearly enjoys meeting new people. He spends a lot of time in Delany’s North Vancouver locations, talking to people about their thoughts on civic issues, and is never happier than when he’s out knocking on doors. He’s been pleasantly surprised by the almost universally positive reception he’s received from strangers.

John thinks running for municipal office is actually quite welcoming to newcomers like him. There is no fee to run, and you need only two people to nominate you to get yourself on the ballot.

The big hurdle, of course, is unseating an incumbent. In municipal politics especially, voters often cast a ballot based solely on name recognition, despite not knowing a thing about that councillor’s views or track record. (Remember, you don’t HAVE to tick off six names on the ballot … if there are only one or two people you are familiar with and want to support, you are able to mark off their names only and leave the rest blank.)

But John does have a leg up in another area. Thanks to a random draw, his name will be at the top of the ballot, an advantage that is said to boost one’s tally by as much as five per cent.

But here at LynnValleyLife, we’re hoping citizens won’t be voting by name recognition or ballot position, but a good understanding of the candidates and their views on local issues.

Information about all-candidates’ meetings and advance polls can be found on the municipal website here: http://www.dnv.org/article.asp?c=764, and John will be holding a casual meet-and-greet at the Lynn Valley Delany’s Tuesday night (the 15^th) from 7 to 8:30 p.m. You can learn more about his views on helping residents live, work, play and retire all within their North Vancouver town centres, and check out his website www.vote4John.net for more information.

Running a campaign, whether for the first time or the fourteenth, takes a big investment of time and resources. Hats off to all the candidates, especially the new kids on the block.