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Pique n' your interest

A snapshot of Whistler’s spirit

This week I was sent out on an assignment to the middle of Lost Lake Park, right into the heart of the Tin Pants trail.

The purpose: to take a picture of a municipal bench dedication.

I’ve got to be honest. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the prospect of trudging high into Lost Lake, faced with the very real possibility of getting lost in a maze of trails.

But I set off on my assignment without a word of complaint. It is part of my job after all, just as some of those marathon long council meetings on Monday nights, which seem to go on and on ad infinitum, are part of my job too. Those, however, I feel somewhat justified in complaining about.

And so I set off for Lost Lake.

As I slipped up the trails I really did try my hardest to focus on the sun beating down on the trees, the fresh fall air and the good healthy exercise.

Instead, I’m ashamed to admit, I was consumed with thoughts of the snow creeping into my shoes, the bottom of my pants getting more and more soaked, and the yawning list of things still to do back at the office. Truth be told, I was finding it difficult to appreciate nature and it was getting harder and harder not to resent this assignment.

I was one of the first ones to make it to the bench, a little flushed and a lot out of breath, but it gave me time to find out a little more about my assignment before the rest arrived.

Here’s the scoop.

Rosamary and Alan White, a retired Whistler couple, have been volunteering for the past decade at the Lost Lake cross country trails. They have been volunteering every season since the volunteer program began. They also volunteer for the summer Valley Trail Patrol Program.

In honour of this tireless service to the community, the municipality wanted to dedicate a bench to them in one of the most scenic spots in the Lost Lake trails overlooking the village below.

The inscription said:

‘Live Like It’s Heaven On Earth’

Alan & Rosamary White

Lost Lake Cross Country’s Inspiration

The motto is one of Rosamary’s favourites.

As soon as I read the dedication, I got that tingly feeling inside and thoughts of my wet shoes quickly disappeared.

Sure, on the face of it, this was a simple and, dare I say it, boring municipal bench dedication.

At its heart, it was about so much more than that.

Volunteering. Giving Selflessly. Helping Others. Inspiring People. Making a Mark.

Roger Weetman, manager of programming services and community liaison with the municipality, explained that the bench dedication was the least the municipality could do to recognize the Whites’ efforts.

"They exemplify volunteerism in the community," he said.

What a great thing to have said about you!

Volunteering.

It’s always on my list of New Year’s Resolutions, my various To Do lists and my Turning Over New Leaf commitments. It’s always right after "going to the gym" and, more often than not, followed by "learning to cook."

Volunteering is the backbone of the Whistler community, the thing that makes this resort keep ticking. It’s the part of the resort that you don’t often get to see when you’re ski bumming for a season or two or if you’re too self-absorbed in your own hedonistic pleasures. Guilty as charged.

Opportunities to volunteer in this community abound.

Only a few minutes ago an e-mail popped up in my Inbox for volunteer spots for Cornucopia this weekend.

Next week is Welcome Week and local volunteers are needed to help welcome the new seasonal workers to Whistler. They are being asked to host a table at the Welcome Dinner and share some stories and insights about Whistler with the newcomers.

In January volunteers will be needed for the 2005 FIS Snowboard World Championships, when 400 competitors take to Whistler-Blackcomb’s new Superpipe for World Championship titles and to attempt to qualify for the 2006 Torino Olympic Games.

And let’s not forget the volunteer opportunity of a lifetime in five and a half short years when Whistler hosts the 2010 Olympics.

Like I said, the opportunities abound and those listed above are just the high profile events coming to town. That doesn’t include all those volunteer opportunities with the various social services groups in town – the Elizabeth Manso Visiting Volunteers, the people who work at the Re-Use It Centre, the people who help out with the Whistler Adaptive Ski Program.

When you think about all the things there are to do, you can’t help but feel ashamed that you’re not doing any of them.

By the time I learned a little about the Whites, there were more than 20 people on Tin Pants, who made the time to honour their friends.

When the Whites’ arrived at the bench, surrounded by family and friends and municipal staff, they were overcome with the gesture.

And I realized that this wasn’t just a bench dedication, one quick photo opp and then I was done. This was a story about Whistler and the real people in the community who make it work.

Whistler, I realized is not about the developers I seem to interview every week or council members who are taking a stand, or grandstanding.

It’s not about the pro athletes, the international DJs, the Liberal conventions and the high price of real estate.

It’s about these people. And only rarely to we get a glimpse of them.

I walked out of Lost Lake Park last Thursday with a lighter step, unconcerned about my wet cuffs, my sopping socks and my busy life.

It’s amazing how a simple bench dedication can help put things in perspective and fuel aspirations to be better.