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Columbia Basin Trust hosts open house

Columbia Basin Trust invited residents of Nakusp to the Emergency Services Building for an open house on Oct. 29.
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Deb Guest

Columbia Basin Trust invited residents of Nakusp to the Emergency Services Building for an open house on Oct. 29.

The Trust wanted to touch base with the community on where they are with their three-phase program.

The first phase was a community engagement process called “Our Trust, Our Future.” The process was put on by the Columbia Basin Trust to reengage with the people of the Basin to talk about the future of the organization. From that first phase, over 17,000 pieces of information were provided by residents of the Basin.

Phase two was reflecting on the data, and analyzing what recommendations they could turn into a reality.

The trust is now on phase three, which is coming back to the communities and letting residents know what CBT will be doing over the next five years.

A variety of food was provided, and people were encouraged to walk around and check out the information provided by the CBT on what they plan on doing, and also talk to members of the CBT, including President and CEO, Neil Muth.

“Here in Nakusp, we always get a strong turnout for events that we put on, so it’s great to be able to spend some time with the folks here,” he said.

“It’s an opportunity to reconnect with people and talk to them, and that’s how you build relationships and move forward on various projects.”

Residential input is something CBT values, especially when making decisions involving programs in the community.

“We want to make sure that the programs and supports that we put in place are well thought out, well founded, and have a foundation in what people want from us,” said Kindy Gosal, director of special initiatives at CBT.

Basin residents appreciated the efforts of CBT.

“There’s been a lot of helpful conversation,” said Neil Johnson, project manager for the Kaslo Housing Society. “The reps from CBT are truly engaged with you and wanting to help you understand, and lead you in the right direction to carry out your projects with them.”

Peter Welkerling, president of Nakusp’s Chamber of Commerce, recognizes the value of having CBT involved in the community.

“Without them, a lot of projects would not have been done, or would have been much more difficult to do them,” he said.