The Village of Harrison Hot Springs has won a prestigious national award that celebrates excellence in communities.
The goal of the Communities in Bloom organization is to get people involved in making their community a better place in which to live, work and visit. The CIB Harrison Hot Springs volunteer committee has been working towards this goal for five years in the provincial category.
However in 2011, HHS was encouraged to enter the national competition. Judging occurred in July, and at that time Judges Lorna and Joanne advised the committee to apply for Special Awards in the Environment and Landscape categories, competing against all national entrants.
It turned out to be a very good recommendation, say committee members.
Harrison CIB representatives attended the 2011 CIB National Awards Convention in Quebec City from October 25 to 30. The Village of Harrison Hot Springs was beautifully showcased as pictures of all the cities, towns and villages were continuously screened throughout the awards evenings. The convention also had representative communities from USA, England, Scotland, Japan and Ireland.
Harrison Hot Springs won the National Landscape Award presented by The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, beating out the competitors from Stettler, Alberta and Tallanstown, Ireland.
As a first time entrant in the Nationals, “we were literally stunned,” says Maureen Wendt.
“Then, the icing on the cake, we were awarded the highest honor ‘5 Blooms’, obtaining 839 points out of a possible 1000.”
She adds that the win is something that the Harrison Hot Springs community can be find pride in.
For community members interested in checking all the CIB National Award Results go to www.communitiesinbloom.ca.
