With respect to Mr. Sketchley’s letter in the Wed., May 14 PNR, “Sidney’s alphabet soup”, I am writing to assist him and other readers with understanding the existence of the so-called ‘alphabet soup’. Mr. Gagnon initiated some clarification in his response in the May 16 edition.
As the president of TIDES, The Island’s Destination & Event Service, I would like Mr. Sketchley to know we are a business based in Sidney providing event and travel management. Certainly, he is correct it is an acronym but we are not “a committee that gets little done.” Quite the opposite actually with successful community events such as Sidney’s Shakespeare by the Sea, Pumpkins on the Pier and Sip & Savour.
There are community organizations responding to the lack of direction and action with respect to challenges facing Sidney businesses and residents.
The Sidney Tourism Improvement Group (STIG) was established to be active in bringing more visitors to Sidney. SOS, Save Our Sidney, is a relatively new group established following the announcement of two new regional commercial centers. SOS members, both residents and business owners, recognize this and are engaging the community to prepare for new commercial competition.
Both these groups are operated by volunteers contributing their own funds. Neither are “hiring consultants to do unrepresentative surveys and make action plans”.
As the quote goes, “nature abhors a vacuum”, when there is no action on important elements of our community and its survival, people will join together to initiate action in response to the need to do so. Current leadership in our community is lacking. Change is upon us. We need to embrace these changes and move forward. Who will lead us?
Steve Duck
Sidney
