Happy Holidays!
It seems that each year the holiday season gets busier. It could be because the kids are getting busier but still can’t drive themselves around. It could be that I am just getting older and the things I used to do with ease now tire me out. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying it is a bad busy.
My youngest is a true believer and Elsie our House Elf is keeping watch – often moving at 4am in the morning when I wake up with a start realizing she may not have been placed in another conspicuous location. We also have an activity-based Advent Calendar, which has the family doing things like searching for the craziest Christmas lights in town (if you ever get a chance to come to Georgetown, you have to go to this house – www.lambertslights.com), getting food to donate to the food bank or having a tissue paper snowball fight.
This week I’ve been learning new recipes to debut at the annual Thibeault Open House. As much as I adore cooking, I am not sure I could do it full time. My back is killing me!! The great thing about spending hours in the kitchen is that is gives me time to reflect on the year. While assembling my turkey and pork wonton raviolis and scooping the middles out of the 10 dozen mini cornbread muffins. Which I had to make twice because the first time I used kernels of corn instead of creamed corn (the squirrels won’t even eat the first batch), I have been thinking about all of the things we have accomplished this year and all the things we want to accomplish next year. The thoughts range from personal to work, but the overall sentiment is the same.
The best memories of the year revolve around times when we have made a positive impact on someone’s life. It’s the email from a stakeholder saying that guests came to visit them from Toronto because of the co-op ad they did with us in the fall. It was watching the excitement build in the room as we worked with a steering committee on a community development plan. It was having so many stakeholders get involved with Central Counties as we rolled out the first year of Temperance and Temptation. It was when our stakeholders called us to see how we can work together. It was having great conversations with the Board of Directors as we steer the organization into the future.
I really do believe that Central Counties is making an impact on businesses – helping them be more successful and being ready to welcome new guests and audiences. You, in turn, are really the ones making an impact on people’s lives, bringing them joy and great experiences which they will remember as they sit at the kitchen table with sore shoulders wondering why they would pick such finnicky, time consuming recipes…
I wish you, your family and friends the very best of the holiday season. From all of us at Central Counties Tourism, I want to thank you for always taking the time to read our newsletter. I hope you reach out to us in the new year to see how we can work together to create even more impact on people’s lives.
Chuck Thibeault
