From August 16 to 20th, Jeff Maguire, chair of the Sister City Committee, his wife, Kathy, and my husband, Frank, and I visited Comrie, Scotland to mark the 20th Anniversary of the twinning of Carleton Place with that community.? It was a wonderful trip where we had many opportunities to renew old friendships, look back on the past, and forward to the future.? Below are two speeches that I gave during two of the Commemorative Ceremonies:
Speech delivered at Royal Hotel, Comrie,
20th Anniversary Commemorative Dinner
August 18, 2012
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I am delighted to be here today as part of the Carleton Place Sister City Committee as we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the twinning of our two communities.? Marking special anniversaries such as this one, gives us an opportunity to look back at what has been accomplished over the 20 years as well as occasion to look ahead to the future.
It was during the 1980s that author Peter McNaughton, a native of Comrie living in Montreal, discovered the historical connections between the two communities. Many of the first settlers in the Carleton Place and Beckwith Township area came from Perthshire. Visitors to the United Cemeteries just outside of Carleton Place often remark on the number of Scottish settlers buried there.
When the idea of twinning was raised with the two communities, the Comrie community council was immediately won over because of the historical association. Comrie Council chair, Sandy Grey, along with Jimmie Stewart and Jim McEwan, leader of your local pipe band, and Melba Barker, mayor of Carleton Place, were instrumental in developing the twinning plan.
On August 1, 1992, ceremonies held here on the Ross Bridge over the River Earn and in St James Park on the banks of the Mississippi River formalized the twinning between Comrie and Carleton Place.
Since that time, two official group visits from Comrie took place in 1994 and 1997, both led by members of the Comrie Pipe Band.? Ron and Barb Goebel brought four official visits from Carleton Place between 1996 and 2002. George, Marlyn and Amanada Lees have visited Carleton Place a number of times and in 2005 they took part in a ceremony to unveil a sign featuring the twinning arrangement between the two communities, located at the Trans Canada Trail entrance.? Modern technology linked the two communities for the 15th Anniversary celebrations on July 28, 2007 with celebrations in each location being viewed in the twin community.? 2010 marked the first student exchange between young people of Comrie and Carleton Place; this was a wonderfully successful event with lifelong friendships being established.
Private, unofficial visits have also taken place to each of the communities, and friendships flourish through these visits, emails, letters, and telephone calls, and strengthen the twinning relationship.
Carleton Place has benefited in many ways by the twinning, but perhaps one of the most obvious is the beautification of the town that has taken place since the Carleton Place in Bloom committee was formed.? Following a visit to Comrie when it was named Scotland?s Prettiest Village, Mayor Brian Costello formed the group that has worked for the past 15 years to beautify the community, and we reached the much sought-after 5 bloom rating after a number of years of concentrated effort ? all thanks to Comrie!
This visit to Comrie is just one of several ways we are marking this significant anniversary.? On Saturday, September 29, the Sister City Committee is holding the annual heritage Ball with this year?s theme being a Highland Fling, and hosted by a delightful Scottish couple who emigrated to Canada and Carleton Place a number of years ago. We are pleased that the Lees family is able to join us for this special occasion.? Indeed there will be a little more of Comrie at the event as well as all the attendees will be photographed with? an 8 foot square photo of the White Church in the background.
Dear friends, it has been a pleasure to have been associated with you for the past 20 years and we look forward to many more years of rewarding relationships between the two communities.
Speech delivered on the Ross Bridge
20th Anniversary of Twinning
August 18, 2012
It gives me great pleasure to be back in Comrie once again.? This is Frank?s and my second trip and for the Maguires their fourth visit to this community.? Last time we were here marked the first student exchange. We?ve had a 15th anniversary celebration in 2007 and now here we are at our 20th.? Lots of firsts over the years, but more importantly seconds, fifths, tenths, and fifteenths.? Those past anniversaries, and the one this year, our twentieth, show that the twinning has worked, that there are groups and individuals who are dedicated to keeping the bonds alive and building on what has been accomplished in the past, so that there will be a future where we can look forward to a second and third student exchange, a twenty-fifth anniversary, and many return visits by private individuals and groups between Comrie and Carleton Place.? We are delighted to be here to represent our community, to enjoy your Highland hospitality, and to begin another decade of a positive, mutually-beneficial relationship.
Source: http://wendyleblanc.ca/?p=609
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