Columbia Power and the City of Fernie hosted, for the second year in a row, the volunteer appreciation luncheon at the Fernie Senior’s Drop In Centre on Oct. 21.
“For years I wanted to do something but I could never find the funding for it,” said Fernie Mayor Mary Giuliano. “Last year when I was at UBCM I was talking to Audrey Repin who works for Columbia Power and was telling her how I wanted to do this [luncheon] and she said Mary we have grants available for that.”
Repin had her assistant send Giuliano the application and within three weeks they had the date and venue planned. It was a resounding success last year with approximately 170 volunteers attending. This year saw approximately 110 guests come out for lunch.
“This is really because Fernie runs on volunteers,” said Giuliano. “If you think of all the buildings that the city owns….all of them were initiated by volunteers. You also think of all of the sports and everything that goes on in Fernie, it is all volunteers behind the scenes.
“This is just a way to acknowledge those volunteers and say thank you, just a little acknowledgement to say we appreciate you. I hope that this is something that will continue for years to come.”
