A full house was in attendance at the Mt. Dufour Ski Hill chalet, to hear Dave Brunet speaking on, “The Visionaries and Ambassadors of Elliot Lake.”
And Brunet presented a project vision to the Historical Society.
Continuing with the theme of Thanksgiving, two days before, Brunet told the audience, “I think it’s time we do give thanks to the visionaries and ambassadors of our small city that we call home- Elliot Lake.”
“There are many people that we can talk about being just that. People with vision and hope and courage to find the ways to get things done,” he continued.
“My vision is to have displays and permanent history of these people in a park-like setting. I would like to propose that we rename Westview Park to Westview Civic Park, or something along that line. That’s not set in stone, but just in that general line.” Brunet said.
Brunet distributed ten copies of a colour-printed page with an example. The picture showed a large rock placed in a vertical orientation with a bronze plaque. “Something similar to the Miners Monument, but nowhere near on that scale […] I think we have to start with something very simple. We can get it done.”
Brunet described the use of QR codes to provide information without the cost of casting it onto a plaque. He also noted, “We can get these rocks like in the picture. They’re all over the place here. They’re free.”
“And I’d like to see this done in a very short period. Not four of five years. Possibly next summer, if not in the fall.”
Speaking about examples of candidates for recognition, “One of those leaders in this community is Claire Dimock,” Brunet stated.
Brunet described how Dimock worked for Denison Mines and when the mines closed, “Claire was a visionary and thought, ‘How can we save all this housing stock and the town from collapse?”
“She came up with this idea of getting retirees to possibly move here to Elliot Lake and retire.”
Brunet also highlighted former, long-time mayor, George Farkouh, who recently passed away.
“George Farkouh was everything we are talking about here tonight. He was a visionary, an ambassador and a true leader in some very difficult times in this city. George was our longest-serving councillor and mayor in our great city.”
Brunet described Farkouh’s accomplishments including the classification as a City, for Elliot Lake.
Following the presentation, meeting host, Marie Murphy-Foran, and Brunet led the attendees into an open discussion. The participants suggested many who have been visionaries and ambassadors.
Earlier in the evening, Murphy-Foran told the audience, she has known Brunet a long time “and Dave’s always been a stalwart community leader, contributing back to the community either through the ski hill or other activities within the community.”
Concluding the discussion period, Murphy-Foran said, “We’ve been meeting at these meetings for a year now. I personally think we need a project and I think this is it.”
“We need something that’s going to show up physically and it’s going to be for the city,” Murphy-Foran said.
Discussions about the project are continuing.
The Historical Society will be at the city’s Community Groups Open House at Collins Hall on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
On Nov. 8, the society's next regular meeting will take place at the Elliot Lake Royal Canadian Legion.