They are the face of Prince Rupert to thousands of cruise ship passengers every year, and we at the Prince Rupert Northern View hope to tell the story of the volunteers of the Cruise Ship Ambassador program through a weekly feature.
And there is perhaps nobody better to start this series than Ethel Moorehouse, who has been a volunteer ambassador since the first day the program was rolled out. Moorehouse was born and raised in Prince Rupert and came back to the to town after retiring. For Ethel, telling people about the community she calls home is what brings her out every time a ship pulls up to Northland Terminal.
“I love Prince Rupert. God did a great job of creating it, the natural beauty of the town is amazing and I want to promote the community,” she said.
“Being an ambassador is really fun. You get to meet all kinds of people and I have even made friends through the people I met who came off of the cruise ships”
And much like many in the community, Ethel has her own history to tell people when they walk by her near the current Homework location.
“I stand by what was formerly the Love Electric building and, since the Daily News closed down, it is one of the oldest operating businesses in town…My father went to work for Love Electric when he was 15 and stayed with the company right through to when he retired,” she explained.
“I have what I have today because of Love Electric.”
With the ambassador program moving out from under the Tourism Prince Rupert umbrella and into a volunteer-run group, Moorehouse said she has no plans of stopping her volunteer work for the group.
“It is a few hours of fun and you will be happy you volunteered. It’s just a great opportunity to tell people about Prince Rupert,” she said.
“The cruise ships are important to have. They’re good for the economy and great for meeting all kinds of people. They don’t consider Prince Rupert much on the map, but we can really tell them about the city.”
For more information on the ambassador program or to get involved, call Tourism Prince Rupert.