A few words about Heritage Days

About six years ago, I was asked to join the Heritage Days committee, which I did. Unfortunately, due to health issues, this will have to be my last year working with the committee. It has been a pleasure and a lot of fun being involved in the process and the celebration.

For many years, the same small group of dedicated individuals has served on the Heritage Days committee, working hard every year to organize this celebration for the community. My tenure has been brief compared to some of the other current and former members of the committee.

There seems to be a misconception that it does not take much effort to organize this annual celebration. Well, the work is by no means difficult, but it does take time on the part of the committee members to meet regularly and attend to the many details required to make Heritage Days a success each year.

It would also be incorrect to assume that this same small group of volunteers will be able to continue in this capacity indefinitely.

In recent years there has been feedback from some in the community, and elsewhere, that Heritage Days is not quite the event that it used to be. Some have suggested that, because of this, they may look for something else to do during Heritage Days week.

A community event like Heritage Days will be what the community makes of it. As with any event like Heritage Days, community involvement and participation is the cornerstone. To maintain its vitality, an organization like the Heritage Days committee must occasionally have an infusion of new ideas and fresh enthusiasm, and that must come from you, the community.

If you take the time to become at all familiar with it, you will find that Columbia Falls has quite an extraordinary heritage that is well worth celebrating. The members of the Heritage Days committee, past and present, as well as those who are involved in the many other events that take place during Heritage Days, are deserving of a round of applause from the community for all they have done over many, many years to bring you this celebration.

If you would like to see Heritage Days continue, prosper and improve, it will require some of your time, talent and effort. It is up to you, the community in and around Columbia Falls.

Kevin McCready lives in Whitefish.