Mayor Andy Adams gave the community one big collective pat on the back during Monday night’s city council meeting.
Adams said he was proud of the way Campbell Riverites stepped up to make hundreds of visitors to our city feel welcome last weekend.
Campbell River played host to this year’s edition of the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) convention. The event drew in excess of 300 elected city councillors and regional district directors, as well as guests.
Adams said on more than one occasion delegates came up to him to express how wonderfully they were being treated.
“The feedback I got throughout the weekend was how pleasant and welcoming and inviting all of the businesses and restaurants – and even just people on the street – were,” Mayor Adams said. “People were just blown away.
“So, on behalf of council, to the whole community, thank you for an excellent job. Extremely well done,” Adams added.
At its Monday meeting, council also took the opportunity to thank Deputy City Clerk Tracy Bate who played an integral role in nailing down all of the logistics and arrangements associated with hosting the AVICC convention.
“Everything went off without a hitch,” Adams said. “It was just a fabulous, fabulous weekend.”
The event began on Thursday night and despite inclement weather threatening flights and ferries, all the delegates made it safe and sound and were treated to tours of the John Hart Generating Station project site, as well as the new hospital and new city drinking water supply system.
The opening ceremonies showcased the Campbell River Children’s Choir, as well as Lavern Henderson who performed a First Nations celebration song and welcome.
This was the second time since 2002 that Campbell River hosted the convention which is ultimately held for the purpose of lobbying senior levels of government through resolutions that, if endorsed at the AVICC level, go to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention in September for endorsement before going to the provincial government.
AVICC was the first of several major events coming to Campbell River this year.
The BC Elders Gathering is coming in July and is expected to draw anywhere between 3,000 and 3,200 delegates, followed by Tribal Journeys Aug. 5-10 which is estimated to draw up to 7,000 visitors to Campbell River.