This Saturday June 4th, at noon a special 35th Anniversary Event will celebrate and commemorate the establishment of the North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce Lakefront Committee established in 1981.
The North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce established a a Lake Nipissing Lakefront Committee of three citizens and three Chamber members to look at the potential development of the Bruce Goulet Golden Mile Area and the Government Dock Area.
The citizens were Dan Corbeil, Susan Houghton (Chair) and Bunty Swanson.
Chamber members were Gary Lennox (Knit & Sew Shop). Pat Mancini (Dallas restaurant) and George Maroosis, Chamber President and the following year, Chamber President Hugh McLachlan.
The committee was facilitated, encouraged, and resourced by the Chamber Secretary Manager, Glen Devuono and by Murray Shave and Jamie Houston of the Parks and Recreation Dept of the City of North Bay.
The first event was a massive clean-up of the waterfront by the Scouts, Cubs, Brownies and Guides of North Bay. This was on the Chamber leased property known as Marathon Beach.
Other events followed, like a school wide art contest for a personal vision for the waterfront, a May 24th fireworks supported by the Chamber and the City and run by North Bay Firemen.
The Chamber Directors okayed a plan to hire a construction crew to build a wooden entrance to the wharf. Employment Canada facilitated this and Swanson and Devuono hired a group of unemployed miners and loggers to do the work. It was christened by J.J. Blais with champagne!
The improvements and special events showcased the waterfront, and the publicity laid the groundwork for the area to become a people place for all the citizens.
This led to a City Waterfront Committee with Councillor Don King as the Chair.
Moore/George Associates were hired and the City took over the development. Bunty Swanson (Chair Lakefront Committee) sat as a Chamber representative on this new committee. Funding was supplied with the assistance Mike Harris M.P.P. and J.J. Blais, M.P.
The dock and waterfront area underwent a major re-construction and with the assistance of all three levels of government and became the North Bay Waterfront as we know it today. It was formally opened by Premier David Peterson .
On the 35th Anniversary of the First Waterfront Committee a commemorative bench has been funded and donated to the waterfront by the original Chamber Lakefront Committee of 10 individuals. (Dan Corbeil, Glen Devuono, Susan Houghton, Jamie Houston, Gary Lennox, Pat Mancini, George Maroosis, Hugh McLachlan, Murray Shave and Bunty Swanson), The bench sits near the Bruce Goulet Golden Mile sign on a hill looking out over Lake Nipissing.
The bench will be officially celebrated on Saturday, June 4, at noon.
