by Deron Johnston, Executive Director, BIA
2020 was a rough year as it seems we made countless sacrifices in order to deal with the realities of the pandemic. Then 2021 comes along and it felt like it turned to face 2020 and said “Oh ya? Here, hold my beer and watch this!”.
Towards the latter part of 2021, it looked like we were finally seeing some daylight as restrictions were being lifted and some sense of normalcy seemed just around the corner. Then, the Omicron variant struck and in what seems like a matter of minutes we were dragged backwards to face renewed provincial restrictions again with some businesses (restaurants, coffee shops and health & fitness businesses) closing and others facing significantly reduced customer capacities.
With so much energy and attention focused on the negative aspects of what’s happened over the past two years, it has become too easy to forget about the many positive developments over that same period. Both large and small, there have been many things worth celebrating. It’s important that we retain some of our attention to focus on the positive outcomes that have happened in our community and across the country.
Instead of just listing all of those many things that we should be grateful for no matter the circumstances, we also encourage you to consider the remarkable people behind them. So many people in North Grenville alone should be recognized for the incredible work they have done over the past 22 months.
It seems as if some people have raised the bar ever higher in their efforts to help others during these troubled times. Yet their names won’t appear in any headlines, news releases or social media posts. We salute all of those who have made immeasurable contributions to enrich their communities. If you ever come across someone who you know who has dedicated themselves to make our collective lives better but doesn’t get the appreciation that you feel is deserved, feel free to take a minute to thank them, from all of us.
