Heather King Woodstock in ND?: Day 32

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Francis van Rood, VP Contracts for the North Delta Sunfish Swimming & Water Polo Club lured me to experience the excitement of their swim meet via Twitter.  Hook, line, and sinker I contemplated the bait. Then that nice man reeled me in by subtly suggesting I might bring my camera for my blog.(Hint, hint there's a story in them hills.)

He is a clever angler; he was playing the weak spot in my scales: my curiosity. 

NOTE to readers: Francis is the guy with the iPad having a breaky meeting with Heather at Ricky’s. (see Day 14: A quick few hours in the life of Heather King – stalked by me, Delta’s Stalkarazzi) I am pretty sure they were talking about something relevant to the North Delta Sunfish Swimming & Water Polo Club, but what? My scaly "spidy sense" was spinning.

( iPad:  Sigh, yes,  I am still suffering from tech-envy, but the pain dissipated when I was given a fancy camera  by a die-hard KING supporter.)

So in search of some fun and a KING angle to spin  for my blog, I grabbed my camera and headed off .... 

 It was a perfect day. Everything was so welcoming & pleasant.

 

Welcoming sign

Sunfish the Club's mascot

Entrance to North Delta's Sungod Recreation Centre 

Splash, like a fish outta water, I noticed the Woodstock-like  atmosphere - right in our own backyard! 

I didn't make this up, Check it out!

Tents

Tents

Tents

Tents

Tents

Tents everywhere!!!!!!

Deltastock!  Seriously folks, wake-up! What goes on in North Delta?

I briefly considered phoning home and leaving a message, so they would know where to start looking for my body. I pondered what they would miss first: me, dinner or the car?

Mustering up my courage, I bravely entered the Sungod Recreation Centre.

Shocking, but this is what I saw:

Francis officiating

Beautiful facility

What a relief, it wasn't  Deltastock, it was a swim meet, after all!  Hey, not just a swim meet; it was an exceptionally well-organized swim meet, with loads of friendly people and polite kids!

Bravo to North Delta Sunfish Swimming & Water Polo Club and to Sungod Recreation staff: it was a totally enjoyable afternoon!

Just to stir the "facility envy pot", I have to tell you that I bumped into Cori,  a swim-mom and old-friend from Tsawwassen. Green with envy, Cori took me on a tour to show me the Sungod's spinning room (bike room) with huge windows that slide open. Winskill Aquatic and Fitness Facility pales in comparison. DOUBLE WOW, check out Sungod's weight room.

http://www.corp.delta.bc.ca/EN/main/residents/recreation_and_parks_services/147/src.html

Barb_2U's note: I hope that I am not making an ocean out of a swimming pool, but I am pretty sure that there is more to this story  - Would Francis and Heather meet for breaky in Ladner just to discuss a swim meet? I don't think so!

I didn't get a chance to chat with him, as he was officiating, but when (if) I learn more, I'll be sure to let you know.

In the meantime, if you have a concern, contact Heather. Her information is at the top of the page.

                                                                                                                

Tell the KING!

Heather King at South Delta's Artist's Guild show: Day 31

The night was busy. The strategy meeting was brief and to the point, as Heather wanted to attend the opening of the South Delta Artist’s Guild show “Oil & Water”.  Check it out at the Longhouse Gallery until August 28. http://southdeltaartistsguild.com/.

Heather is an artist herself, so she was very keen to find out how Delta Council could further support artists. 

Apologies: I am new at this pavarazzi gig. I didn’t think to bring my new fancy camera to the meeting.  I would like to post some of Heather’s art work on the blog. She is quite talented and, more importantly, she bashfully agreed to my relentless request to display her work. 

Note: I am relentlessly waiting for the $5 million donation to purchase “A-mazing Laughter” for Centennial Beach – if you know of someone who could write the cheque, please let  me know!  (see blog July 7^th – Day 9)

Strategy meeting:

Heather wants to continue meeting with groups of Deltonians. She wants to listen to their concerns and needs, so that they can get proper representation at city Hall. She wants their voices to be heard.

A good quote from the evening, “Leaders lead the conversation with questions”.

How can a KING serve, if the KING doesn’t know what Delta wants?  

KING is asking questions: she has been meeting with individuals and groups (farmers, business owners, sports groups, artists, federal leaders, provincial leaders, service clubs and organizations, non-profits, seniors…). She wants to know what they need.

For example the Delta Seniors Community Planning Team presented a paper stating their concerns for Delta’s seniors. Demographically speaking, our senior population is growing and they want Delta to be an “Age-friendly” community. Their three areas of concern are: support services, housing, and transportation. Armed with this information, Heather is continuing to meet with: groups of seniors, organizations that supply services to seniors, and housing and transportation specialists. She is doing research to fully comprehend the magnitude of the seniors and seniors-to-be needs.

Change for Delta:

Her vision for change encompasses two major components:

A) The Mayor, Delta’s Civic Leader,  must be engaging and easily accessible 

     Heather genuinely wants to know, “How can a KING serve you”.  She is accessible,
     if you want to talk to Heather about a concern, contact her by phone, email, facebook,
     twitter or her website. Her contact info is at the top of the blog.

     She wants to set the tone for the change; ask questions to discover what WE want.

B) She wants to change how business is being done at City Hall. The current
     process needs to be overhauled, so that business can be conducted more
     effectively at City Hall.

     The two major overhauls are:

                1^st) City Hall needs to be more Delta Citizen-friendly and

              

                2^nd) City Hall needs to be inclusive, not exclusive.

                       Heather's leadership style is inclusive. Presently, City hall is exclusive. 

                       Exclusivity doesn't work! It's time to change.

                       The old-boys “slate” mentality has to be replaced: every councilor,
                       regardless of independent or “slate”must have a voice that is heard
                       on council. Grow up Delta: it’s time for everyone to put on their
                      "big boy and girl pants”, play nice, and become an inclusive group
                      of elected officials, who are committed to working together to get
                      things done for Delta and her citizens!  Simple!

                      Heather is the one to lead that change.

Barb_2U’s note:  Personally, I haven’t figured out how Delta politicians can consider themselves to be running as independents, when they are running with several others on a “slate of  “like-minded” independents called the Delta Independent Voters Association.” 

(Honest I didn’t make that quote up, crazy as it seems, it’s from page A1 Delta Optimist – Friday, July 29, 2011 read it here http://bit.ly/nwrgsT) 

Am I  the only one who thinks that it's odd to have independents running together on a slate? I think reading between the lines, Bruce McDonald sees a bit of the irony. In the same article he states, "I'm in the game. I'm going to run as an independent and I think I'll run alone. I enjoy being an independent and not having to make a decision other than what I want to do."

                                                                                                                

Tell the KING!

Heather King upcoming Strategy meeting: Day 30: George Mackie Library

Maybe more to come today, definitely tomorrow, but right now the sun is up, I have a good book and a spot in the shade....motivation is up to read, down to write.

Strategy meeting tonight, so I am sure I'll snap outta this delightful bliss in the morning.

My daughter took this photo on the weekend -- made my heart sing.

There is a better photo at http://www.fvrl.bc.ca/read/library_georgemackie.htm.

                                                                                                                 

Come to the party and let a KING serve you!

Heather King article by Ted Murphy: Day 27: My New Kindred Spirit

I follow Ted Murphy’s column in the Delta Optimist (Murphy’s Law), but ever since I read his July 20^th column, “Fall election has to beat ’08 snoozer”, I knew we were kindred spirits. Check out his article at: http://www.delta-optimist.com/news/Fall+election+beat+snoozer/5129928/story.html#ixzz1Sl4MmwuC

Murphy nailed Delta’s 2008 municipal election drama with, “It had to be one of the most boring and anti-climatic on record.”  Snore, yawn –  he is 100% correct; it was a rather dull election. 

The 2008 Engelland vs. Jackson drama was OK, but flat. In my opinion, the only excitement for the 2008 election was Heather KING’s performance – she was the “poll-topping rookie councillor.” Not only did Heather top the polls with 13,821 votes, but she received 2718 more votes than Jackson (that’s 125% more votes: that’s a lot of excitement for the KING camp).

**OK, I am biased, I was on Heather’s 2008 campaign team and it was very exciting watching her numbers keep on climbing! But truly, as Ted said, overall the election was a complete snooooooozer!

Murphy summed up the 2011 election with, “Thankfully, it doesn’t look like history will repeat itself this fall. With four candidate announcements, including three for the municipality’s top job, by mid-July, 2011 is shaping up to be far more contentious than its predecessor.” 

Ah, he is a boy after my own heart.

Let the fireworks begin!

                                                                                                                 

Come to the party and support the change!

 

Day 23: HST or not to HST – my family takes voting very seriously

Mom was over the other day. When she saw my unopened HST voting package on top of a massive pile of paperwork, she helpfully asked, “Would you like me to fill it out and vote for you?”

Weird offer, as we are a voting family. We like to vote. We always vote - every election, every family member. We remind each other to vote and we check to make sure everyone voted.   It’s pretty much vote or be shunned, so in response to her offer, I gave her the quizzical are you-nuts-raised-one-eyebrow stare.

Cheerfully Mom, “I’m good at it. I voted for Dad too!”

Tempted I replied, “Depends. How did you vote?”

Heading off a political debate before it even started, that crafty old-gal shot back, “Oh, that’s personal; Dad doesn’t even know how he voted!”

Gotta love her.

                                                                                                                 

Come to the party and support the change!

Heather King on leadership, respect, trust, and team work: Day 22

I was considering the word "Leadership" and what it means to various politicians, so I emailed Heather, the most easily accessible politician that I know, and asked, “What does leadership mean to you and how will your leadership be any different for Delta?”

Wow, smoke must have come out of her computer and ears, because lickety-split, bing-bing, here is her reply! KING is in purple.

I came across this article from the Toronto Star on June 1^st, it resonated with me, so I cut out and put in my wallet.  http://bit.ly/qXMXmn 

When I consider Leaders to be "great" it is usually, because of their knowledge of issues, the people affected by these issues, and the people on their leadership team.

Team captains, know when some players need to be motivated, encouraged or to feel supported.  Leaders - great leaders know these things, also.  In essence, they know how to pass the puck.  Steve Nash has a theory called "pass twice, score once".

But when we get into politics, what happens to that sense of team?

Ed Lumley had a remarkable career as an MP.  Now, at 71 he looks back on his first day in the House of Commons, when Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, crossed the floor to offer Ed some words of gentle advice.  Ed has never forgotten that.  In the article, you will see the advice, but essentially it is to show respect.

In a recent address to 500 senior politicians, Ed Lumley pleaded for a restoration of civility. ‘"Cynicism is everywhere.  Inflammatory rhetoric and partisan fighting is poisoning our political landscape" and destroying public confidence in Parliament, he said.”

One quote in particular that I like from this article is the following: "Everything constructive begins with respect and trust - for yourself, your loved ones, your colleagues, yes, even your adversaries.  And we must never forget that respect is earned not given."  And so, if I may add, is trust.  Public trust in government is at an all-time low and squabbling amongst politicians does little to restore it.

This quote and the one that follows are two of the reasons why I keep this article in my wallet.   

Lumley concluded his speech by saying, “Maybe we can learn from the most successful athletic teams in history where the pursuit of individual excellence did not override the goal of team success.”

Barb2U here---Wow, glad I asked! Heather, Thanks for sharing.  For what it’s worth, my favourite quote is, “Politics has always been a Blood sport marked by bitter attacks…” Humm, - interesting choice of words.

Heather King's gala "A KING of an evening":Day 21

Drum roll please............................Fresh in from Marsha the fundraising chick.

Heather KING for Mayor invites you to "A King Of An Evening" gala fundraising dinner.

Friday, September 9th at Beach Grove Golf Club. It's going to be a BIG SPLASH of an evening!

Marsha says, "Think BIG, real BIG!"

The menu is to die for – after all, they are cooking for the  KING and her guests!

Rumour has it that that the ticket price of $199 includes:

o    Open Bar,

o   Live Auction,

o   Silent Auction,

o   Door Prizes and much more! 

 Marsh has her sights high – Think BIG, she wants the splash to be tsunami BIG

• For tickets call Heather at 604-999-2234 or Marsha at 604-220-8968. 
• If you want to donate an auction item call  Marsha.

  

Come to the party and support the change!

Heather King stays true to her values: Day 20: What do Heather King and an elephant have in common?

Monday, July 16, 2011          

Check out Friday’s, page A9 in the Delta Optimist. http://www.delta-optimist.com/news/ticketing+system+works/5107183/story.html  – It’s about a new ticketing system for Delta.

I had to smile, when I read the last paragraph of the article. Heather talked about how the new bylaw will help with traffic safety violations in the school zones. She is like an elephant: she never forgets and she doesn’t give up on what is right and true to her core values.

Heather and I became friends eleven years, when our kids were attending Boundary Beach Elementary School. Back then, she was concerned about a list of issues – including traffic safety in school zones.

Note: unlike heather, I am not an elephant, so I pulled most of this info from her website at http://www.heatherking.org/

·        2000 -  Boundary Beach Elementary School, PAC (Parent Advisory Committee) chair,

o   Worked with teachers, parents, students, and Delta police to insure the safety of students in school zone

              - District Parent Education Coordinator

o   Worked with Bernadette Kudzin to bring in Dr. Gordon Nuefeld and others experts to help educate Delta parents in the partnership of education.

2002 -  Delta School Board Trustee,

• Created vision for road safety in Delta School Zones

·        2005 -  Delta School Board Chair:

o   Formed the “School board/Council Liaison” committee to improve working relationships with the Corporation of Delta, to better serve the needs of all Delta citizens, and to look at opportunities for joint ventures, share facilities and create financial cost savings. 

o   Helped design (with other committee members) a framework for open and transparent public consultation, which resulted in public forums like Vision 2012 Symposium “The Schools we want”.

o   Introduced “Roots of Empathy” program to the district it dramatically impacted core values of children and improved nurturing and caring attitudes

o   Created (with other committee members) the first Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement with the goal of improving aboriginal student’s achievements in school as well as raise greater awareness about the importance of First Nations cultures in schools.

o   Implemented a unique and highly effective early reading intervention program (ERIP) for struggling readers with the help of our “Special Needs” team.  The program was so successful, it was doubled in 2006 --Children who thought they couldn’t learn have mastered these skills and love to read.  

·        2008 -  Delta Councillor:

• Advocated for a BC mandatory detox and rehabilitation center for youth, as none currently exist.
• Brought forward a motion to support Provincial Legislation on the ban of the Sale of Cosmetic Chemical Pesticides in BC.  This compliments a bylaw already approved by Council earlier in 2009 which proposed a ban on the USE of Cosmetic Chemical pesticides in Delta.  However, anyone could simply buy the pesticides and enforcement would have been difficult without the motion to ban the Sale of pesticides.
• Worked with the Ladner Revitalization committee to create a new vision for Ladner Harbour.
• Supported the creation of a community liaison committee for the South Fraser Perimeter Road.
• Worked with Translink to ensure Ladner Trunk Road is free of container truck traffic from 8pm to 6am daily.
• Created strategic guidelines for road safety in Delta School Zones
• Worked with Ministry of Transport via Traffic and Safety Advisory committee to correct highway signage at the HOV lane where fatalities have occurred
• Developed initiatives to support safe cycling, transit and other alternative forms of transportation in Delta.

·        2011 -  Delta’s Candidate for Mayor:

o   Engaging community members in an interactive discussion regarding creating a transparent and open city hall

o   Using community focused leadership skills to be accessible to Deltonians (Her leadership style is called Servant Leadership. I think that means her ego doesn’t get in the way of listening and empowering other to use their talents to serve Delta)

o   Strong desire to create an inclusive council, where everyone’s voice is welcomed and respected; therefore, she is running as an independent.

I love it, eleven years later, Heather ***jumps at an opportunity to finish what she started. Now, her circle of influence and concern is much more encompassing, but it all started with safety, high standards for our kid's education, youth, bullying, roots of empathy, and community engagement. 

She is true to herself and her values.

*** Elephants don’t have to jump. They only have two predators - man and fourteen-ton tigers.

Heather King's Friday, July 15

Friday, July 15, 2011

Here is a glimpse of Heather’s day today!

                        

Meeting #1: She started her day off with a meeting with Spidey, her webmaster - she wants to tweak her webpage. Oh, just in case you didn’t know, it’s election season.

Meeting #2: She met with a blueberry farmer, who has serious drainage issues on his farm. Her goal was to gain more insight into the challenges that continue to plague our local farmers. Getting food to our tables is a priority. She recognizes that there is a need to look at better long term strategies to assist farmers and she wants to be a part of the solution.

Meeting #3: She had another one of her mystery meetings. She met with a possible Councillor Candidate from North Delta. I tried to engage her in the hot/cold guessing game. I sounded like an owl, "Who, who".  NO such luck! Her lips were so tight, she was pucker-faced. Hours later, I am still trying to guess.

Meeting #4: She picked up her son on Westham Island and headed home by 5:00 PM.

OK, that’s enough about Heather; it’s time to learn a new thing. I posted Wednesday’s Toastmasters meeting on our Facebook page (Ambassadors Toastmasters) and just a few minutes ago, Azhar Khan’s friend posted a comment under Azhar’s picture “Good Mashallah”.

Curious I looked up Mashallah in Wikipedia and here is what I found – it’s just too good of a word not to share. 

"Mā šāʾ Allāh (ما شاء الله) is an Arabic phrase that expresses appreciation, joy, praise or thankfulness for an event or person that was just mentioned.^]Towards this, it is used as an expression of respect, while at the same time serving as a reminder that all accomplishments are so achieved by the will of God. The literal English translation is "whatever God (Allah) wills". 

 The dialog continued on Facebook and  Azhar expanded Wikipedia`s definition:

"Mashallah is an Arabic word and we usually use this word to protect a person for by the name of God from Evil eyes / Curse. e.g. When a child look so cute or you buy a new car / home or you look good."

OK, I might need therapy, but some words are better than others and this is a great word. Using it in a sentence, “Heather is a good Mashallah”.

Heather King's Eveready Mayoral Candidate: Day 16

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Ring, the alarm goes off, the race is on! Here is how Heather's day looked! It's exhausting, sit down and grab something cold to drink, while you read this.

Meeting #1: She started her day as a guest at the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen and Point Roberts – 6:45 AM breaky meeting. She  thoroughly enjoyed herself. The Rotary have a high-standard ethical test called The Four-Way Test. Heather was excited, because those are all principles that she highly endorses and supports. (Membership Guy,  Keith Dinwoodie, it sounds like you may have a wanabee member here.)

 

I pinched this from their website…  Of the things we think, say or do:

1.      Is it the TRUTH?

2.      Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3.      Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4.      Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned

***My 2 cents worth: the Rotary club of Tsawwassen and Point Bobs sponsored my daughter to go to a youth leadership camp in Terrace last year.  Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) are amazing.  Because of RYLA, my daughter started attending the Rotary Youth Club in South Delta Secondary School called InterAct. At the beginning of this month she went  to an Environment Youth Leadership Camp called “Get Outside BC” sponsored by CPAWS BC. On August 12 each of the 40 youth from the CPAWS BC 

camp will be hosting their own youth event. These events are designted to encourage other BC youth to “Get Outside” and enjoy our province. Thanks Rotary Club of Tsawwassen and Point Bobs for igniting the spark and sending her to RYLA last year. I believe that's "Hats off to Excellence for you!"

Meeting #2: A mystery meeting with a supporter from the agriculture industry – honest, I am not holding back on you, but that’s all she was prepared to tell me “at this time”. Stay tuned.

Meeting #3: At the Boundary Bay Airport with BBay airport manager, Greg Fong. They discussed the airport’s needs and how council can be supportive of them.

Meeting #4: Lunch date with two of her favourite men! – sorry, no dirt on her -  she was meeting her sons for lunch.

Meeting #5: She topped off her day with a Heritage Advisory Committee meeting. They brainstormed creative solutions for the same old issue: “How to preserve Heritage sites from demolition, when funding is low to non-existent.”

If you’re going to try to keep up with the Eveready Mayor Candidate, don’t forget to pack extra sneakers and lipstick (just in case Heather forgets hers!) Good luck.

Oh my  gosh - I need a nap.

Heather King's first campaign promise - boy did she come through!: Day 15

Wednesday, July 13, 2011
In February the Ambassadors Toastmasters Club of Tsawwassen voted to make Heather an Honourary Ambassador Toastmaster member. Ambassadors meet the 1st and 4th Tuesdays. Unfortunately Tuesdays are Public Hearing days for Delta, so Heather hasn't been able to attend very many meeting. 

 
Ambassadors Toastmaster President Godfrey Nash roasting Delta Mayor Candidate Heather King before presenting her with her honourary membership

Ambassadors have a reputation as "the Fun club". Guests are always welcome 

http://www.ambassadorstoastmasters.org/  Facebook: Ambassadors Toastmasters

  

***Just a thought, but Delta council might want to consider moving Public Hearings either Wednesday or Thursday evenings, because Heather adds lots of spunk to meetings.

Yesterday, while I was wrestling my new camera out of my snap-happy daughter's hands, Heather was literally going from meeting to meeting to meeting to meeting.  It would be an understatement to say that she had a busy day.  When I phoned her to confirm carpooling, she was still cooking dinner. She couldn’t car pool, as we were leaving a bit early, but she promised she would be there.

She kept her promise. I know it made for a long day, but we really appreciated her coming!

The Deltones ran a business like, yet  fun meeting. The word of the day was Mayor (surprise, surprise, I picked it). 

It is good to learn something new every day: 

• Mayor comes from the the Latin māior, meaning "greater"; 
• Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government; and 
• Mayors have the title of 'His/Her Worship' while in office. 
• Using mayor in a sentence: I want Heather King to be mayor of Delta, but I don’t want to call her, ‘Her Worship’.

By far the best part of the meeting was I got to play with my new camera.  It is just a beauty.

The top brass were all at our joint meeting:


Left to right:
Division E Governor  Chuck Davis,
Delta mayor candidate Councillor Heather King,
Ambassadors (Tsawwassen) President Godfrey Nash,
Deltones (Ladner) Prsident Lorna Boyle,
Area 50 Governor Azhar Khan,
Richmond Toastmasters President May Soo-Tveita


****Ambassadors are  so much fun that all three presidents (Godfrey, Lorna and May) are Ambassadors Members.

Installation of Deltones new executive (putting the brass to work)
 

Chuck Davis (Big Brass), Azhar Khan(Brass), Lorna Boyle (Pres), Larry Hawkins (VP Education), Jeanne (VP Membership), Ian Sandulak (Treasurer),  David Bruce (Sgt at Arms)
Missing exec members: Shane Bondy (Secretary), Ryan Sweeney (VP PR)

the executive enthusiastically accepted their new challenges

And now for the Mayor Wanna-be shots....

Richard Nash, our past Assistant Area 50 Governor and my personal hero! AKA the Nasher!

Jeanne Vik Deltones VP of Education. I think she just said that if elected she would change Delta's Public Hearings to Thursday, but I may be wrong.

 Mayor looks good on her.  Real good -- KING has my vote!

Ken Whitney lives in Tsawwassen, so the Ambassadors are thinking of kidnapping him for their Tuesday meetings.

King and Brandon Epp- two of my favourite people!

Azhar Khan convincing us why we should vote for him for Prime Minister

It was Lisanne Guetin's meeting, but you wouldn't believe it if you heard her!

When Heather retires, Brandon will be ready to fill her shoes!

Vote for May Soo-Tveita or else!

Ian Sandulak is the treasurer, without him there is no election

Jeanne Vik a new member, who is full fun!

Katherine Praski, Ambassadors VP of Education, trying out the roll of Mayor

Great night!   I am lovin' my new camera!