On Thursday afternoon two judges from the provincial Communities in Bloom competition were in town to look at the efforts undertaken by the local committee, and both Wendy Maurer and Georgia Kliever say they were impressed with what they saw.
“The tour did a good job of highlighting the community’s assets and was really a good example of Prince Rupert,” said Maurer.
“The tour was very informative and well organized, and the people that were hosting it you could tell were very passionate and proud and full of energy,” added Kliever.
The tour highlighted not just landscaped areas and beautification projects like Paint Prince Rupert, but also looked at the industrial site and environmental aspects such as the water supply, the recycling depot and more. The timing of the visit also coincided with a visit from the Norwegian Star, which Maurer said only added to the impression of civic pride.
“It was good to be here on cruise ship day because we got to experience the hospitality offered to cruise ship passengers and see a broad range of local talent being showcased,” she said.
“It is great to come into a community and have a group of people share their excitement of living here.”
Treena Decker, one of the organizers of the Communities in Bloom Committee, said she was very happy with how things went.
“The visit went very well. We were excited to showcase the community this year because so much is happening and so much has happened in the past three years [since we were in Communities in Bloom],” she said, noting that the judge’s visit doesn’t signal the end of the group’s work.
“We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing as individual members. All we do is community development work, so it doesn’t stop because the judging is done.”
Maurer and Kliever will now create a report and ranking for the city, which will be released during the awards banquet this September.