Welcome to a New Year! Isn’t it great that we continue to be, following all the hype about the end of the world, which in actuality was just the end of the Mayan calendar? I take this time to consider all our accomplishments in Lil’wat over the last year. We did a lot as a community and we have several individuals who did wonderful things that can only make us proud.

There are the many new recruits with the Mount Currie Firefighters who have had a busy year of activities with their learning and with all their efforts in looking after our safety and well being. Along with putting out fires, they were very busy in mid December with cutting down the overhand of branches that hung heavy with snow. The heavy snowfall that left these branches hanging so low proved to be a danger to our community, including bringing down power lines that left us in the dark for several hours on more than one occasion. Thank you for all your hard work, and we look forward to your continued growth and increased involvement in our community.

The Mount Currie Recreation Committee kept us all busy with activities throughout the year, meeting each occasion with family fun that involved all family members. There were great stories following events such as the Valentine’s dinner; the Easter egg hunt for all ages that included a visit from the Easter Bunny; a Christmas community lunch with turkey dinner and all the trimmings and presents for all who attended; and more recently the New Year’s Eve event full of fun for all members of the community. Thank you to all the members of the Recreation Committee for giving their all in the name of community spirit.

Our Elders are a group of very busy people, with their fundraising efforts to help them attend the annual Elder’s Gathering, which takes place in a different location each year. I remember one recent evening of fundraising of a Loonie Auction and drop-in Bingo that was very fast moving, and full of great items that you could acquire with a bid of a Loonie. The volunteer workers for this event were well worn out following the evening.

Our Lil’wat Elders have a monthly gathering with the Pemberton Seniors. They take turns hosting the monthly luncheon and afternoon of activities such as Wii bowling. Can you imaging your Grandma or Grandpa playing on the Nintendo Wii? They have as much fun as you do with the other games. If you see an upcoming Elder’s fundraising event coming up, be sure to check it out, as our Elders are still very active with their crafts and there are many great homemade items to be purchased or won at these events.

We have many young people who are out there competing at many levels in their chosen sport. They are winning top rankings and brining home medals and stories of all the fun they are having meeting new friends.

Elainah Andrew kept busy all year with her Luge competitions, track and field and more recently provincial basketball. She continues to make us proud as she represents us at all these events at a regional, provincial and national level.

Pala Kovacs made us proud with the First Nations Snowboard Team in all the competitions she attended this year. She also kept busy with the high school rodeo circuit, which had her travelling the province to compete with others in this exciting sport.

If you have an upcoming event or would like to acknowledge an accomplishment in our community, forward the information to me at radcase@telus.net.