What Matters to You – The Importance of The Community

It’s easy to get lost in all the negativity and bad news that is floating around these days. Heck, in my role as the MLA it’s difficult for me to not to absorb and carry the weight of my constituent’s troubles as my own. In these days of instant communication, social media, and 24-hour access to it all, the bad news seems to compound on itself from one day to the next. On days when I’m feeling like the weight of the world is crippling us as a society, I need to remind myself that now more than ever we need to place a large amount of importance on community.

Community is what centers and connects us; it makes us realize that we belong to something important that exists outside of ourselves. I believe that it was Helen Keller who once said: “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” Such a simple sentiment, but very powerful in meaning. When a community comes together in celebration, to reach a common goal, or simply to just show support for one another, the result is nothing short of inspiring. We need that connection, that sense of belonging. We need each other.

This summer has been chock full of community events already that I’ve been lucky to have been a part of, and there are so many more coming up across our constituency in the next couple of months. I hope I get the chance to see you at one of them so that we can chat about how things are going, where we’d like them to go, and how we can work together to get there.

Upcoming events that I’m excited to check out:

• Blue Suede Music Festival: August 5-7 – Westlock Ag Grounds
• Sangudo Kids Carnival, Car Show, Tractor Pulls: August 6 – Deep Creek Campground, Sangudo
• PV (Pembina Valley) Daze: August 6 – Evansburg
• Rich Valley Show & Shine: August 7 – Rich Valley Agriplex
• Wabamun WAVES Summerfest : August 20- Wabamun Jubilee Hall
• Wabamun Art Walk: August 20 – Main Street Wabamun
• Edmonton International Air Show: August 13-14 – Villeneuve Airport
• Darwell Ag Society Barnburner & Ag Drag: August 12-14 – Darwell Fair Grounds
• Rural Roots Farmer Showcase August 13 – George Pegg Botanic Garden, Glenevis
• Darwell & District Agricultural Fair: August 20-22 – Darwell Fair Grounds
• Onoway Historical Guild Fall Harvest Festival September 17 – Onoway Museum
• Sangudo & District Ag Society Annual Sunflower and Pumpkin contest: September 17, 2022 – Sangudo Arena

 If your community has an event coming up, please contact my office by email at: lacsteanne.parkland@assembly.ab.ca and let us know about it! I’d love to share it on my Facebook page, and attend if possible.

Sincerely,

Shane Getson