President’s Message
2012 is the 50th Anniversary of LOWDPOA and we have a lot to be proud of as an organization.
In 50 years, we have grown from a handful of members representing the geographic areas of Clearwater Bay & Granite Lake to 4000 members and counting, representing much of the entire Lake of the Woods watershed. We have become a recognized and highly regarded organization consistently asked to participate in important area events. While the issues have remained relatively unchanged over the years, the context & environment framing the issues has changed dramatically and so too has our response. We are currently the largest association of its kind in Canada and an important voice for northwest Ontario.
Organizations are only as good as the people involved and LOWDPOA has been fortunate in its ability to recruit good people who genuinely care about maintaining the lake life experience for future generations. The contribution of all our members and volunteers is the key that has kept LOWDPOA viable for 50 years and hopefully for years to come.
Looking forward, we plan to celebrate our past, and rebrand the association with a view to the future. We need to promote the importance of continued and increased membership to ensure the ongoing support of our important environmental and issues-based education and advocacy programs. We believe we can do that by continuing to focus on the primary concerns of today; sustainable development, environmental concerns, and fair taxation.
We must also reach out to a younger demographic, and to the smaller lakes and rivers in the watershed that are currently underrepresented in our organization. Partnerships and involvement in area communities will be key components of our future strategy to help us develop a spirit of collaboration & understanding.
We all share the lake life experience. After 50 years, it’s time to look to the future and we hope you’ll join us.
