By Ken Herar
A month has passed since the 2nd annual Cycling4Diversity ride from Mission to Victoria, BC. was completed, we have some exciting new developments that involve our local communities. The support for this year’s ride in the Mission/Abbotsford area was outstanding. Members of the team, had some fantastic suggestions in how we can include the communities on a number of levels beginning this September. I would like to thank the two community mascots for coming out to supporting the Cycling4Diversity team locally. Bucky the Beaver from Fraser Valley RV and Hawkey the Hawk from the Abbotsford Heat. They were both entertaining and more than a handful for all ages.
Reflecting back, one of the many surprises that stands out the most for me is how many people have never seen or know about a proclamation. To tell you the truth, I had very little knowledge about the meaning of a proclamation or what one looked like for that fact, until the District of Mission surprised our team with its first declaration last May. A proclamation is an official declaration given by the city where a day, week or month can be designated during the calendar year in support of an organization, initiative or an individual.
This year, the team received 8 proclamations, one being from the Province of British Columbia. During our 4 day journey, stopping in 9 cities we received 7 proclamations from the various mayors. It was exciting to see each individual receive a proclamation on behalf of the team. The only three communities that didn’t present proclamations were Abbotsford, The Township of Langley and the City of Langley.
Some of the reasons why these communities haven’t adopted policy in awarding proclamations is too much administrative handling for the city. Last year a special exception was made when the City of Abbotsford presented the Heritage Sikh Temple with a proclamation in
2011 for it’s Centennial anniversary. However, these communities did show their city support by giving the team letters acknowledging their efforts.
I respect the city’s decision to award or not to award a proclamation.
As being someone who is on a team that has received many proclamations, it is very encouraging to have the support from council and the city. More importantly, it makes people and their organizations feel part of the community. Having said this, our initiative is not defined by the proclamations that were received, however, it is wonderful to witness the interaction from the local civic officials as they present these documents. Many on our team have never seen or been presented with a proclamation. The excitement was clearly evident on their faces. Also, the letters that were given, the local civic leaders took the time to demonstrate their support by presenting them to the team.
What I seen during the 4 days was that mayors and local officials that awarded proclamations and letters were very excited to have the opportunity to present the declarations of acknowledgement. I encourage cities to keep their policy and procedures of awarding proclamations and for communities that have not considered to take a closer look at this in the future. Proclamations are more than just a piece of paper. They are a unique way to highlight the spirits that live within our communities.
Ken “Kulwinder” Herar is a Mission-based writer and a winner of the champions of diversity award for his columns in the LINK newspaper and other Fraser Valley newspapers. Herar can be reached at [email protected] or view his blog at http://www.kenherar.blogspot.com
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