Steering committee struck for 100th

Ken Johnston
Editor

The second meeting of the Rainy River Centennial Committee met last Wednesday at the Rainy River Activity Depot.
Thirteen people were in attendance and six others sent their regrets, but expressed interest in staying involved. Several new faces were present, including Iris Osadchuk, Richard Trenchard, Ken Vogan and Frank Books. Those added to the initial meeting totals put the number of people interested in the centennial at a respectable 20 or so.
Since the first meeting, held on Jan. 30th, people were asked to come to the next meeting having thought about a theme for the celebration. After some discussion it was decided that the theme would be the 100th Birthday and almost all present agreed that Heidi Ivall’s suggestion for a slogan should be adopted and that the town logo with the 100 in it, as it appeared in the Record should be used. Ivall came up with the catchy, “100 Years Yonge!” slogan. That plays upon the fact that Rainy River is at the end of the World’s Longest Street (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) as well as mirroring the phrase so many people use when stating their age. That street is Yonge Street and stretches from Toronto to Rainy River.
A steering committee was struck for the centennial with Glen Armstrong, Larry Armstrong, Brent Anderson, Ken Johnston, Melanie Murray, Norma Blight, Heidi Ivall, Jeanette Cawston, Cory Lindal and Richard Trenchard all agreeing to sit on it. Several other people were identified as potential members of the steering committee and will be asked to sit on it.
The steering committee will be the umbrella group for the event, with many of the committee members working with sub-committees to ensure all is going well with plans for events and in other areas like marketing and logistics.
Jeanette Cawston of the Rainy River Future Development Corporation is working closely with the Centennial Committee to get grants to help with the costs of the event and is also confident the Town of Rainy River will qualify for funding to get an intern to help coordinate the event over the next two years.
Four other organizations besides the Town of Rainy River will also be celebrating their centennials that year. The Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Masonic Lodge and the CIBC will all be 100 in 2004.
The next meeting for the Rainy River Centennial Committee will be on Thursday, March 28th. It will focus on planning the activities for the event and begin to structure sub-committees from there. All members of the public are welcome to attend.