Editor:
Jenny Wagler's column, "Where are the Coast's visionaries?" (Coast Reporter, April 2) struck a chord. She is absolutely correct about what is happening here on the Coast. We're all getting greyer, and we're doing little to keep our young people from leaving; we're providing very few jobs or housing for this group.
However, the Pender Harbour and Egmont Chamber of Commerce is, in fact, doing something. On April 22, we will host the first "Live, Work, Stay" (as in "live here, work here, stay here") evening at the Madeira Park Legion, from 7 to 10 p.m. The event will provide a forum where people of all ages, with good ideas and decent business plans, can present their ideas to lenders and investors.
This program, geared to the Pender Harbour area, could be a model for other communities on the Coast. We know of many worthy projects in need of financing; at the same time, we believe many private individuals who have been successful in their lives would like to invest in our community's future.
Our economic future will not be in the hands of the retired - it will be up to the under-40s to do that. Thanks for the view. We wholeheartedly concur!
Rick Harmer
President, Pender Harbour and Egmont Chamber of Commerce
