Sense of purpose for year ahead

There's something in the air. Don't you feel it? 2020 is going to be big. It just feels so right with people talking about being more focused and purposeful. A direction that is driving people towards work being beneficial to many with entrepreneurs hiring and starting new businesses, people moving here from further afield and major projects on track for expansion or completion.

This is an exciting time to be in the Whanganui-Manawatu region. The Paras are open and the Avenue is bustling. I have not felt this positive energy or have seen so many smiles in ages.

I also feel that even with the tragic and out of control fires raging across the Tasman, the humanity of most people are creating everyday heroes, as well as making us more aware of how fragile our planet is. This is an important lesson for us right now. Please pause for just one moment and think about what you are doing to be more environmentally sustainable and aware.

I am working with filmmaker Larry Keating who is about to launch a documentary about the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest as he wishes to expose the corruption and greed of those burning down the forests and those trafficking endangered species. I am learning about the devastating fact that the Amazon rainforest may be gone by 2100. I am also searching for ways of how we can help save our planet other than what most of us are already doing with reusing, reducing or removing plastics.

Although I have no desire to travel to the Amazon, I am grateful for those who do. And, especially those who are the eco warriors in our midst doing some really great work.
Have you set your intentions for this year yet? I have not written goals per se, but I have written specific areas of focus for me in 2020. They include:
■ be grateful for the abundance of good health, joy and prosperity I have
■ continue to learn te reo Maori; try something new as well as go to places I've never been
■ mentor and share my wealth of experiences to help make our community a better place

How lucky are we to live in a place like Whanganui? The community is vibrant. The community is active. The community is involved. The community is also looking forward to celebrating the ground being broken to save an important and much loved asset and roof the velodrome.

I was privileged to participate in our local democracy by providing written and verbal submissions on two Whanganui District Council strategies last year on the Arts Strategy and the Sport and Facilities Strategy. The council members present at the latter session reconfirmed that the $1 million is ready to be deployed to help roof the velodrome. With the myriad of reports and findings, needs analysis and feasibility studies with more paper than I care to consider and over a very long period of time, having the master plan of how to roof the velodrome about to be agreed is really exciting. Progress at last!

So, thank you Whanganui District Council for doing the right thing. When will you announce the date of when construction to roof the velodrome will start?