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BEST CRISIS-TIME FACEBOOKER #1 Joseph McLean – no one else was even close
Go Go Go Joseph BY JOSEPH MCLEAN
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rom the beginning, the most troubling thing about COVID-19 was how much we didn’t know. To me it felt like the worst kind of fire season, when we can smell the smoke but we can’t tell where the fires are. Rumours and misinformation swirl. Anxiety runs high. During one such summer, I started a Facebook group called Fire Watch Powell River. My idea was to exchange credible information from residents and authorities, cutting through the smoke to help each other learn. I started Powell River COVID-19 Awareness for the same reason. With a background in data analysis and writing, I felt like I had something useful to offer our community. Every day we’re exposed to a huge amount of information. All too often, there is little separating fact from fiction. Creating these groups forced me to read carefully and consciously. It has to be credible, it has to be relevant, it has to be grounded in reality. Early on, our provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reminded us that “all tragedy is a failure of communication.” I took that to heart, along with her challenge to us all: Be kind, be calm, and be safe. Winning at Facebook is like getting a high score in a video game everyone loves to hate. But social media can also bring us together, at a time when social distance holds us apart.
USING HIS POWERS FOR GOOD: Usually Joseph McLean takes the top Facebooker spot in PRL’s Best of Powell River contest. This year, he stepped it up and used his powers of communication and articulation to help this community stay sane during COVID-19. I was surprised and honoured to be chosen not only as a good Facebooker, but also as a leader in our fight against COVID. To me, the real heroes are the medical workers, the front line staff, the parents holding their homes together, the officials making hard choices every day. We’ve all given something in this fight. If I can help bring these voices together, I feel that I have done my part.
Times have changed. So has planning for retirement. Planning for retirement used to require little more than the Canada Pension Plan and a company pension. These days retirement requires much more.
We can help create a plan focused on your goals. Contact us for
a comprehensive review. LIFE WELL PLANNED. RENE BABIN, CFP & LESLIE ECKLAND, PFP Financial Advisors Raymond James Ltd. rene.babin@raymondjames.ca leslie.eckland@raymondjames.ca
LISA BOESE
Administrative Assistant lisa.boese@raymondjames.ca Unit D - 4670 Marine Avenue, Powell River, BC, CA V8A 2L1
T: 604.489.9797
© 2020 Raymond James Ltd., Member – Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
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• July 2020 • prliving.ca
