Shelburne’s new council sworn in during special inauguration meeting at Town Hall

Written By PETER RICHARDSON

Prior to Monday night's regular council meeting, An Oath of Office Ceremony was conducted in Grace Tipling Hall, to swear in the new members of Shelburne Council.

Proceedings were conducted by the Clerk, Jennifer Willoughby, amidst festive decorations and lights on the main stage. All of the newly elected officials, with the exception of Deputy Mayor Steve Anderson, were led into the Hall by a piper. Unfortunately, Mr. Anderson was unable to attend due to a previously scheduled and unavoidable trip to Indonesia, to be with family.

After her opening remarks and welcoming greetings to all assembled, the National Anthem was sung by those assembled, before Ms. Willoughby turned the microphone over to the Reverend Gord Horsely, to preform the Invocation.

After the Invocation, the business of issuing the oath of office to each n council member was conducted by the Clerk and Reverend Horsely.

Each member of Council, in turn, ascended the stage to swear the oath and sign a copy for the official records.  Walter Benotto led the way, followed by Lynda Buffett, Kyle Fegan, Shane Hall, Linsday Wegener and Mayor Wade Mills. With the Christmas lights and decorations, the backdrop lent a festive tone to the formal ceremony and provided a celebratory atmosphere was well.

Newly acclaimed Mayor, Wade Mills then took a few moments to address the assembled participants and their friends and family in the audience. Wade's remarks began with the thanking of his family for their support, before broadening into a general outline of what Shelburne was facing, in the immediate future and where the Town had come from.

He outlined his vision for the Town and the new Council and stated that in the first 100 days of the new term, he and the Council would be drafting a Mission Statement, which would be a public document and by which the residents of Shelburne could judge their Council's progress and accomplishments. He stressed that not all decisions would please all the people, nor would they be necessarily easy to make, for Council, but he promised that the Governance of Shelburne would be done “ in the daylight” and be openly apparent to the residents.

Wade went on to say that he was optimistic about the future of the Town and saw a bright promising future ahead for it. He assured those present that the values that make Shelburne the community that brought them here, would be maintained, while embracing the changing faces and cultural identities of the new arrivals and their families.

The proceedings closed, with a brief reception in the main lobby, before the regular council meeting was convened and Shelburne's new councillors got down to business.