Communities in Bloom

I had a visit a few days ago… one which was a great surprise and made my day! Ivan & Margaret Stinson, leaders in the National Communities in Bloom organization, dropped in to the Historic Gardens during a visit to Nova Scotia. It was wonderful to see them, and it reminded me of all that is good about my community.

Annapolis Royal (which is truly much more than its 500 citizens and one square mile of land) won the International Challenge of the 2008 Communities in Bloom awards. Judges came to our fair town, toured, met people, drank lemonade in back yards, walked gardens, saw museums, learned about our history, experienced our culture… and no surprise to many of us, they loved it all. And they thought so much of our community that we beat out several other small communities worldwide to win top honours.

All of our citizens share in this award. So do all those who work and play here. And all those who came before us, my parents included, who had the foresight to build towards a better community. No single person or group can take credit – the honour belongs to everyone.

So just when I get totally discouraged with some of the small town politics and the general “negtivity” that seems to be ever present in our streets sometimes, I have two old friends walk into my office and make everything OK again. Thanks Margaret and Ivan! I needed that!