Dear COAP members,
We would like to thank everyone for coming out last Thursday to say hello and to support our initiatives and community engagement.
A big thank you to the Lion Rampant Pub for being a community asset that hosts burger and beer nights for a variety of groups throughout the Valley.
Between the fundraiser and an angel donor in attendance, we raised enough for our next initiatives and projects, and for that, we are incredibly thankful! It was so humbling and heartwarming to connect with so many of you, and we look forward to our next gathering.
The excitement surpassed our expectations, and due to the joyous conversations, laughter, and connections being made, dare we say the place got a little loud as it filled to capacity. As a result, we were more than happy to allow the connections to continue without interruption, and therefore we’re sending this email now to our wonderful supporters. We had a little speech prepared but it would have been tragic to ask the place to quiet down, if even for a few moments.
Below are the two speeches myself and Joe wrote for that night regarding the asks we have of our community to keep growing and moving on to the next level with our initiatives.
Joe:
You might think you can have the mentality of 'I'll leave them alone, they'll leave me alone' or 'Treat others like you want to be treated'. Maybe even 'I'll do me, you do you.'
You all know the varied ways to say it, all you're basically saying is, leave me alone to work, raise my family, build my home, and pass my knowledge and wealth to the next generation so they can start a little further ahead than you did. Dare I say, the Canadian dream?
The issue, however, your federal, provincial, and local governments do not share this vision with you. They share a vision of unity with global efforts. What everyone else does, we should do too. The problem is, everyone else isn't everyone, it's just those who share their vision in the same echo chamber. Now this has happened for so long, that most people have just checked out. It's noise, it's politics, it's bullsh*t.
What happened, too many of us said it was bullsh*t and tried to focus on our careers, businesses, and families. While we focused on those things that matter, a small group of other folks recognized the opportunity and pounced on our local government, and dare I add, the media.
Now we see a lot of things we don't agree with. Things like increased taxes on locals to fight climate change, all while we still ship oil and coal to China. Established elites, a bit too far left, have decided the new world needs to be different. Even though they needed to cut trees for their homes, no further trees should be cut. They needed oil to build their community and their careers, but they've learned better and no one else should follow in those footsteps.
So, the difference is, that this group has had the only vote and influence in government for too long. Those small little changes have made their way through the system and we're all starting to notice things are getting really hard out there. The direction we're moving just feels off, doesn't it?
Well, in short, we took our eyes off the kids for a bit too long and well dammit they got into the fridge, the cookie jar, the piggy bank, and even the garage. Whether we want to or not, someone has to get back in there and keep watch. That's what COAP is here for, we are keeping watch. We are calling for accountability, and we are also working with the community who have been damaged by these directions, and these policies.
The average folk, the regular day-to-day people, you 9-5 and beyond, good ole mom and dad. You've been absent from local politics for too long, and we need your voices, your experience, and your expertise back at the table. But how can you do that, all while still focusing on your families, careers, businesses, and lives? Well, you can support our initiatives here at COAP. The more you help us expand, the bigger our reach can get. The more support we have, the better we can focus on what matters and ensure our community direction goes forward with your vision at the table.
So please, consider supporting COAP by donating to us directly, or even better if you're a business owner and have an advertising budget, our monthly newspaper The Westward Independent has advertising opportunities for you as well.
Thank you very much, everyone, for being our friends, families, neighbours, and community.
Adrienne:
We have been working for a year building our influence in the community and are now at a roadblock where we want to grow, have further ideas to get the word out like podcasts, man-on-the-street interviews, ramp up our FOI requests, and more, but we are already stretched too thin as it is. So we have a few asks and will leave them with you to see where, and if, you can help.
There are people in this room who have been angel donors from our launch and donors for the paper. As well, there are countless volunteers that help distribute our paper monthly. We believe deeply that another voice is needed in print media currently, and are looking to secure constant reliable funds on a monthly basis. We have received an overwhelming response and so much great feedback during deliveries which is very inspiring.
This paper could fund itself if each member of our Substack bought an $ 8-a-month subscription. There are some groups that many of you may have joined with a monthly fee, that only seem to show up around election time, yet we are working literally every day for you and the community. You can often find us on the phone at 11 p.m. figuring out a video or a next plan of attack. Regular advertisers to ad to our current clients, would help the paper print itself and be a write-off to your company. If there are businesses that do not want to advertise, charitable folks, or you know of someone who may be interested in being a monthly sponsor behind the scenes please come speak with us.
Additionally, we are also looking for a few more people to join our research team as right now watching all council agendas, creating videos and town halls, and a full newspaper from writing to layout is stifling further creativity and advancement as a company.
We need 1-4 people who will follow the published local agendas, go through them and find anything of concern that we can then research and speak on.
We need ad salespeople who are willing to go meet potential new clients. This would be a paid job of 20% commission for all ads sold.
We need a grant writer which would also be commission-based.
We need a fundraiser organizer.
One more person to help source stories and articles for the paper - possible journalist job.
Dream: A storefront/gathering place/workplace
We will be doing films on the war on local farmers - We need stories and contacts.
We are also looking for those passionate and invested individuals who would like to get in on the ground floor. We have a wide range of projects and initiatives on the go, it would be wonderful to provide you with an outlet for your passion and abilities. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
We are here to fight for you, your livelihood, and your lifestyle, but we can not do it without the community having our backs. We know there are many businesses, builders, farmers, and others who are not happy with local government - help us have the ability and time to go speak on your behalf, write about a topic important to you in our paper, or even send in FOI requests on your behalf. The restrictive policies are coming in fast these days, and it will take us all as a community to fight back - from silent donors to boots on the ground.
If you are interested in anything proposed here from advertising to ad sales, please come speak with either Joe or myself, or email us at contact@coap.ca
All our best,
Adrienne and Joe