North Bay to walk with its famous

Al McDonald, Chair of the Kiwanis Club Citizen of the Year Committee(r) and DIA Chair Bob Alger outline Walk of Fame project for North Bay City Councillors Tuesday night.

Hollywood has one, Toronto has one, and now it looks like North Bay is close to having its own walk of fame.

Seeking the city’s blessing Tuesday, Chair of the Kiwanis Club Citizen of the Year Committee Al McDonald gave a formal presentation outlining the project that has been in the works for over a decade.

McDonald told council that the Kiwanis Club would oversee the cost of the project that will be located on Main Street, and that the walk of fame will be a permanent way of honouring those individuals that have put the city on the world map.

“I kind of brought it off the shelf at a Kiwanis meeting,” explains McDonald.

“We were trying to think of projects that we could celebrate individuals that have done so much for the city of North Bay and I brought it up and our club thought it was a wonderful idea so we started running with it.”

McDonald says the Citizen of the Year venue can’t address the multitudes of individuals and groups like the Hockeyville committee who might be nominated but don’t fit the criteria.


“North Bay is a great city to live in and what makes it great is the citizens that go out and do above and beyond what normal people would normally do and we don’t have really the forum to thank them,” he says.

“We have the citizen of the year but that can only recognise one person a year the walk of fame will give us an avenue to promote and let the community celebrate these individuals or in groups that have done so much for our quality of life here in North Bay.”

The issue has been referred to back to the Community Services Committee for a report, and if approved the group would like to move quickly with the first two plaques unveiled this spring.

McDonald says there is no question that North Bay should celebrate its great people who are doing great things.

“We’re proud of all the individuals that have done so much for our city and I think what makes our city so special is that we really appreciate them,” he states.

“And we go out of our way to thank these individuals and this is just another extension. I’m sure other cities have individuals that do lots for their communities, but I think it’s really special in our city that we take the time to sit down and celebrate and pat them on the back and say thanks for your contribution for making our community a better place to live.”