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The wonder of teamwork
The foundation of any strong community is teamwork. If you read this issue of the Cosmos carefully, you’ll find it everywhere, from the amazing early-season success of a bunch of young hockey players who’ve bought into the plan of their coach (page 8) to the ongoing exploits of some remarkable women who’ve transformed Lucy Maud Montgomery’s moldering manse into a national tourist destination (page 15), to accomplished performers on both the choral (page 9) and dramatic stage (page 14).
Our Tiger Talk columnist (and USS co-op reporter) Michelle McNally tells of a young team called the Durham Youth Council that is determined to make a difference in the lives of their peers across the region (page 10), and on pages 9 and 14 you’ll find the plea of one of our community’s most venerable and hard-working teams, the Lions Club, for fresh blood to keep their team invigorated.
Probably the most inspiring tales of teamwork in this issue, however, are to be found on pages 7 and 11. On page 7, Lisa Walters, an infrequent writer for us, but someone vitally involved in the issue as a Quaker Village resident, filed a right-on-deadline story Tuesday night about the community meeting held at the arena about the planned telecommunications tower for the Sixth Concession beside the Historical Centre.
As she told us in her covering e-mail, her quickly-written story could only scratch the surface of a complex and fascinating meeting. But what comes across in her article, and what came across dramatically at the meeting, is that by banding together as a community, the residents of Quaker Village had raised some urgent questions about a hastily-conceived project (many of those questions are raised in Jane Beckwith’s letter on this page), and succeeded in persuading the Region to significantly scale back the Quaker Village tower. Proving that, if you raise your voices together, you can indeed fight city hall.
On page 11, Ms. McNally talks to two long-time members of what has become an international team, but which has been led from the beginning by Uxbridge physician Jennifer Wilson, and still consists of many local health professionals - the Ghana Medical Mission. As the story makes clear, the team members themselves are still amazed by the impact they make each and every time, in both the short and long term, on the lives of the people they see. Their visit may be only two weeks in duration, but the lessons they impart, the procedures they undertake, have a long-lasting and widespread effect on the people of north Ghana.
The Ghana Mission, which may be largely sponsored by a church but is evangelical only in a humanitarian sense, illustrates so many of the powerful results of a dedicated team. By speaking with one voice, by striving for a mutually agreed-upon goal, it’s possible for a group of hard-working human beings to accomplish pretty nearly anything. Leaders like Dr. Wilson are hugely important and much to be treasured, but they will be the first to say that they wouldn’t get far without every member of the team adding their unique perspectives and skills.
To all of Uxbridge’s remarkable teams, our congratulations on what you continue to achieve together. It’s our pleasure to report on your accomplishments.
July 14, 2011
