June seems to come and gone so quickly, sometimes you got to wonder whether the world is turning faster or our days are so full with busyness that we are not aware of our surroundings. Anyway, that is what months, days, and weeks feel to me. This past month we have been putting together businesses, ensuring that they are set up properly, implementing our business plan, and making changes in the office (when I am there). Usually June is a time of setting the days and thanks to Shane for remembering that Christmas is just six months away, it is time to book the Capri and look after the details later. Planning is essential for the planned events we have. Probably in October or November, we start booking for Treaty Day as Shane has set a standard now. All this planning and booking for events, meetings in between and travel take time, no wonder if it feels like June passed me by.

I would like to take this time to thank my Creator and Leadership for the support, the vision, and the trust that we can build a community toward a higher quality of living and planning toward a long term employment strategy. We have learned together for the past 6 years, shaping, planning, and rebuilding the staff and each other. There are departments that have grown and had been challenged their knowledge base. The Leadership has challenged them to provide excellence in education, finance, and business sense. They see the future of community that we will need to finance ourselves to build our futures. As consumers, we know that eventually cutbacks will occur and where will that put our community? This prompted our leadership to plan, organize, and set standards. Their hard work has paid off by winning an award that we did not know surveyors’ were in our midst and our community came out on top. Winning the Frontier Center’s Big Bear Good Governance Award of Fifty Thousand Dollars was an achievement. This speaks to Leadership’s continued expression of good teamwork and high standards. Thank you, Leadership for your vision, support, and trust. Let’s do it again!!! I would like to thank Jack Strawberry being our elder for being part of the individuals who accepted the award on behalf of the Leadership.

I love our reserve and its beauty. I love the way that we support each other in times of need, how we come together to celebrate, mourn or generally have fun. These are things that we forget when we get to busy and we do not appreciate how we can achieve and I am starting to believe that there is nothing we cannot do with the prayers, support and creator behind us. Our community has so much to be proud of, to give, and to learn. Our reserve and its beauty are worth it! Let’s get together and make something happen, come with patience, boldness, and enthusiasm; after all, it is our community.

As Chief says, “our resources and money is in our community, it may take time, patience, and money to build but it will give back to us tenfold”. Investment in our community through training, education, and hands on learning take time, money and energy but faith and belief are the two things needed for success. Of course, if you keep on talking about your project as if it is already there; it then becomes a reality!

Communication is the key to our success and learning, so read for yourselves, your goo-kum, mo-shoom and your children! Please submit to your newsletter, do not be shy, we know you have a lot of positive and new things to say!!! Newsletters can be obtained at the reception desk usually around the first week of the month! And thank you to the housing department for the best Treaty Day ever!!

Respectfully, Beatrice Carpentier, O’Chiese Band Manager