Dear Editor,
In the article “A Great Future Built on a Solid Past”, we read of North Grenville’s 25th anniversary celebration, with details of who was in attendance from past and present, along with some history of the amalgamation. It was indeed a lovely celebration, interesting and very well put together, but it failed to mention a few important things. First, we had two wonderful musical presentations by the Kemptville Male Choir under the direction of Beverly McArthur, and then NGDHS’s own Big Bang African Drummers under the direction of Heather Lance, who absolutely finished off the evening with a big bang of joy and positivity!
Last to speak, Mayor Nancy Peckford said that she wanted to end the evening by leaving it in the hands of our young people because, after all, the future belongs to them. A few representatives from various youth groups (Sea Cadets, Scouts, etc.) were invited to come up to speak on behalf of their members and share their vision and their hopes for the future of this community. It was rather shocking and very sad that these young people in uniform, involved in their community and most certainly doing good things, were not better prepared by the adults in their lives and that they had not a single thing to say! Parents, teachers, community leaders, surely we can do better, surely we can teach them to express their thoughts and to use the public speaking skills they learn in school; we owe it to our young people. They are indeed the future of our community and they do indeed have much to offer. Let us not fail them!
Elisabeth Rubli
