Guest speakers, information booths, electric cars and free admission
By
Mark Schadenberg
Team
work is defined by a group of people with a common goal.
When
I attended the Future Oxford Expo this past Thursday in Woodstock it was
evident that the common goal was to create a sustainable Oxford County for the
future and that would not occur unless every facet of the economy worked in
cohesion, and that most certainly included the utilities sector.
The
Oxford Auditorium at the Woodstock Fairgrounds on Nellis Street was packed
inside and outside with exhibitors and information booths.
I
loved the fact that the Canterbury Folk Festival in Ingersoll was there both to
promote this year’s music festival (July 7 -9), but also to discuss the
innovation award they won for hosting thousands of people in a municipal park
and reaching their goal of zero waste. If you bought poutine, your plastic
plate would be washed and be used by another customer. By the way, I missed Ian
Thomas when he starred at Canterbury a few years ago and I will not miss his
performance in 2017.
For
long term viability of both agriculture and nature, we must preserve the
resources we have, and also oversee their evolutions. The Future Oxford Expo
included, therefore, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, Stewardship
Oxford, the Oxford Trails Council, the provincial sustainable energy
association, and two lobby groups (including OPAL) working very hard to keep
the Toronto garbage away from a proposed landfill near Ingersoll.
The
environment must work hand in hand with energy and cleanliness, so the Expo
featured Tesla cars to drive, Eco-Rides (Limo service using only electric
vehicles), Hydro One, Erie Thames Power, Oxford energy cooperative, solar panel
information, a company promoting urban composting, Arbor One (discussion about
tree breeds and forestation), and the overall theme of Transition To Less Waste
which the County of Oxford has been promoting already for a few years with a
defined program in place. The mission statement could be defined as sustaining
clean water and energy to assist in the long-term viability of both rural and
urban lifestyles.
I
always believe in the premises behind reduce, reuse and recycle, but the County
Of Oxford wants to attain its goal of zero waste. With that in mind, other
companies participating in the Expo were PS Cycles Of Life, SunFlow Solar,
URBIN Composters, Greener Pastures Eco Farm, Sedum Master, and Rural Green
Energy Inc.
The
Future Expo also featured several guest speakers on its centre stage, including
Doug Yates – environment and energy director for GM Canada.
No
event of this size can offer free admission without each booth paying an entry
fee to market their services, but also a slew of sponsors ranging from Heart FM
to Spot Marketing Group, Snapd Woodstock, Pow Engineering, and the Frank Cowan
insurance company.
Attending
the event were Oxford people with varied backgrounds, but I saw many politicians
including Trevor Burtch, Shawn Shapton and Todd Poetter of Woodstock, and Margaret
Lupton of Zorra.
Also
present was the dynamic duo of Brad Hammond and Len Magyar from the Woodstock
economic development department. I will have more on that tag team in my next
entry.
LINKS:
www.markroyallepage.blogspot.com is:
Mark Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist
(SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
Independently Owned & Operated, Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . .
Destination
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