Posted by Sudbury Northern Life 
Once a recession gets into full swing, it develops its own
rhythm, like a good hockey game. We have the daily stats; from
unemployment numbers to housing starts, from GDP estimates to
consumer spending trends, from trade deficit numbers to the
daily drama of the stock market, from bankruptcies to bailouts.
With this detritus comes colour commentary on how people are
coping or not coping with their change in circumstance and
helpful hints on how to invest the pennies you have left in
stocks that are now worth pennies.
We learn monthly how much personal wealth has evaporated into
thin air. The cable news channels live off this stuff and the
good news is they don't have to pay rights' fees to sports
teams.
On Feb. 26, I took a night off. The occasion was our annual
Community Builders Awards dinner in Sudbury, which was
organized by Northern Life. We started it in honour of our 30th
anniversary of doing business in Sudbury some years ago. The
room was full of people and sponsors who came to honour
citizens who had inspired us and in so doing, made Sudbury a
better place to live.
There was Steve Daniel, one of the most exciting young men I
have had the pleasure of meeting. A former member of the 1st
Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, and an Afghanistan veteran,
he was teaching parachuting when he took a bad fall and
fractured his vertebrae. He lost the use of his legs. This
happened in June 2005. In May 2007 Steve joined the adaptive
rowing program at the Sudbury Rowing Club and in 2008 won a
silver medal at the U.S. national championships and competed at
the Beijing Paralympics. An incredible accomplishment. Steve
wanted to be an example to his son and a catalyst to others to
learn to live with their disabilities.
Ten years ago, an industrious group of Sudburians decided to
clean up Junction Creek, which runs straight through the city.
To be charitable, it was a mess. They have removed 50,000
kilograms of garbage, planted more than 18,000 trees and
reintroduced 9,600 brook trout to the creek. It is a breath of
fresh air.
Homer Seguin dedicated his life to improving the health and
safety of Northern Ontario Miners. Back in an era of decidedly
confrontational relationships between workers and employers in
the Sudbury Mining community, Homer never gave up. His imprint,
in part, is on the construction of the Superstack in Sudbury,
and the stunning improvement and focus on health and safety in
the workplace. According to Leo Gerard, the international
president of the United Steelworkers "no person in Canada has
done more for workers on these issues."
"Our task through these trying times is to try to stay focused on what is important as well as what is urgent."
Jack Smith is a teacher, a great one. In 30 years, he taught
20,000 students, and some of them became quite famous.
His official métier was the visual arts, but his true art was
inspiration. The famous designer and former Sudbury Secondary
School pupil Bruce Mau writes "he introduced me to a world of
ideas, invention, history, beauty, truth, and a world of human
possibilities."
In 1995, Laura Cotesta, a young student at Lockerby Composite
School in Sudbury, organized a campaign to raise money for the
children's ward of the Northeastern Ontario Regional Cancer
Center. She had cancer. Two years later she died of cancer.
From that moment forward, the students of Lockerby Composite
School have raised money every year for the Northeastern
Ontario Regional Cancer Care Centre in her name. Last year more
than 700 students participated in program and raised $40,000.
Since Laura's death they have raised more than $325,000. This
is an astonishing accomplishment.
Other winners included Jean-Marc Spencer, who has lead the
tremendous growth of Desjardins Caisses Populaires in Northern
Ontario; the Sudbury Theatre Centre, which as provided Sudbury
with extraordinary artist leadership for 40 years now; and the
Rotary Club of Sudbury, which as been looking after people and
projects  for more than 86 years.
What is true is that, on this night, more than 400 people came
out to celebrate the spirit of a city and there was no talk of
stocks or bonds or commodity prices. There was joy, there was
appreciation and a quiet understanding that we are lucky people
surrounded by some truly exceptional human beings.
Our task through these trying times is to try to stay focused
on what is important as well as what is urgent.
Michael Atkins is president of Northern Life. This column
also appears in the April 2009 edition of Northern Ontario
Business, a sister publication of Northern Life.www.nob.on.ca.
