After the shoveling, the shoveling

It's been just over a week since the unofficial results of Kimberley's municipal election were released, but to me it already feels like a month. Life went on (imagine that!), and my days filled quickly with work and meetings and catching up and practicing and rehearsals and (mercifully) sleep. So this final election blog post seems rather long overdue.

The interval since the election has been bittersweet. Many people have taken the time to tell me that they voted for me and were sorry that I finished out of the top six. Many others have told me that they hope I will run again (one told me that his wife has already got my 2014 campaign planned for me!). It is a very humbling experience to receive these expressions of sympathy and support, and I am grateful for every one of them.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled programming. The Kimberley Arts Council is coming into its 35th anniversary year, and we're kicking into high gear to make it our best year yet. The Kimberley United Church Choir is about to take its 2011 Christmas programme, a cantata composed by our very own Terry Macham, to Invermere and Grasmere as well as Kimberley. The Kimberley Community Band is working on a pile of great new tunes to perform in spring and summer. The Jazz Council is recording another album, this time featuring live performances from our jazz vespers series. And I'm learning to play the baroque trumpet, launching a career as freelance editor and writer, and trying to finish a paper to submit to the Canadian Philosophical Association's next annual conference (maybe now that I've officially sent that intention out into the universe, I'll finally make good on it!).

Before I sign off, I want to thank all of you who have taken an interest in the municipal election, kept up with this blog, talked to me, talked to your friends and acquaintances, and been such a positive force in our beautiful little community. Thank you for your donations to my campaign, for helping me put up and take down signs, for distributing flyers, for keeping me company on canvassing missions, and for encouraging me through this experience. I want to give special mention to my dad, who from way over in Ottawa is my biggest fan and most ardent supporter, and to my mom, whom I miss terribly and whose love and courage remain a constant inspiration.

Thanks one last time, everyone, for seeing me through another exciting election. It's been a fun and worthwhile challenge, and I couldn't have done this without you.

With love and gratitude,

Laurel