– Kim Smythe is CEO of the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at ceo@nanaimochamber.bc.ca.
NANAIMO – Summer living on Vancouver Island is nothing less than great. The weather has been fantastic since spring, business seems to have found a good groove locally, and there is much going on to entertain ourselves in our communities.
The best part of summer seems to start on the weekend of the Save On Foods Dragonboat Festival – always the weekend after Canada Day. I participated in planning this event during its earliest years, we were mainly made up of a group of business colleagues who simply thought “what a good cause, what a good party”!
That team has evolved and transformed, the event has grown into one of the premier annual special events in our community, contributing nearly a million dollars to the Hospital Foundation, and impacting the local economy by untold millions with the 80 or so teams of paddlers and supporters participating each year.
Nanaimo Child Development Centre’s Silly Boat Regatta followed the next weekend with teams of businesses, community groups and families whipping up vessels in a few hours that were expected to float, move forward and stay under control for a hundred meters or so.
Few finish, but the experience of working together to attempt that, plus the experience of the organizers and volunteers who are successful in raising over $100,000 on that day, makes it about as rewarding as it can get for a team.
The Great Bathtub Race is the final jewel in the crown of Nanaimo’s Marine Festival month. A lot of reorganization went into celebrating the 50th anniversary of this iconic, exclusive event in 2016.
Now, the race starts and finishes in the same Maffeo-Sutton Park location, a festival has regrown around race weekend, and a concert featuring the likes of Trooper, Chilliwack and Valdy launched the celebration in the park this year. Sunday, what looks like a solo sport due to the single occupant in the ‘tub’, is actually a team sport with a big group of supporters getting each racer to the start line!
The season carries on with numerous major events and festivals like VIEX – our own country fair – the Blues Festival, car shows… you get the idea. A common thread running through the success of all these events and activities is the committed and enthusiastic teams it takes to make them happen.
Teamwork is obviously the key to success in so many endeavours in our community, in fact throughout our lives. All of these successful events that benefit community services and our quality-of-life in Nanaimo should be honoured for the collaborative efforts produced by teams of tireless workers. I hope you’re part of one of these so you can enjoy the rewards that teamwork delivers and the resulting pride in your community.