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Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Vol. 14, Issue 52
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Mayors’ breakfast
Local mayors have eye on the future By Mark Ribble The Leamington District Chamber of Commerce held their annual Breakfast with the Mayors Trifecta event on Friday, January 19 with 200 people attending at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens. About 65 local businesses were represented at the event, where the mayors of Kingsville, Leamington and Pelee Island spoke about the past year and what is planned for 2024. Chamber President Chad Robinson welcomed guests and dignitaries and briefly spoke about the optimism in the region. “Our region is poised to lead more than just our local area,” he said. Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers was up first and spoke of the challenges of his first year as Mayor and the triumphs they’ve had along the way. “I stand before you older, wiser and greyer,” he said. Rogers referenced three large storm events that occurred in 2023 and how they made for a challenging year. “I’m a firm believer that 10 percent is what happens to you and 90 percent is how you react to that,” he said. “One thing we did learn is that we have the team for anything thrown at us.” Rogers touched on the town’s long-term strategic plan which was approved in December and the work done by the town during 2023,
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including road resurfacing, town-wide meter upgrade, new heavy equipment, the Lions Park Community Playground, the Mobi-Mat at Cedar Island Beach and the new Have Your Say Kingsville website. “When I say I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, that’s an understatement,” he said. “2024 is going to be a big year for our town. It’s time to execute the plan.” Leamington Mayor — and Essex County Warden — Hilda MacDonald followed with a speech about positivity and building relationships with community partners. “I’m about celebrating all of the things about Leamington from the past and into the future,” she said. MacDonald referred to ongoing plans for Leamington’s 150th birthday celebrations this summer and how far the town has come since the 1974 100th celebration. As for community partnerships, she said it’s important to establish relationships with agencies, groups and neighbours long before you need them. “Relationships we established in 2019 allowed us to reach out to community partners across the region,” she said. She talked about Leamington’s accomplishments in 2023, which included the new boardwalk and basketball courts, regional transit SEE MAYORS - Page 2
ENJOYING WINTER FUN The Sun Parlour enjoyed its first significant snowfall of the season this past weekend and local hills were filled with fun seekers looking for a thrill. Conveniently, Friday, January 19 was a P.A. day for local schools, which made the hills that much busier. Here, nine-year-old Denell Tetreault takes a ride down Seacliff Park hill in Leamington on Friday morning. SUN photo
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