Citizen brings the community to life
Words of praise for newspaper

"There's no such thing as bad publicity," or so the saying goes. The Caledon Citizen, and more particularly its Editor, Mark Pavilons, take that over-used cliché and bring it to life time and time again for our organization, Caledon Community Services.

The newspaper and its editor have been friends of CCS since we first laid eyes on one another many years ago. The Citizen recognizes the value of community capacity-building, and on hundreds of occasions, has allowed its resources to be used for this capacity building. It isn't just about the regular CCS features and stories that The Citizen supports, it's far more about the values of this newspaper and how these values get translated into practice when the rubber hits the road. For example:

* Last-minute scrambling to find room for an important press release from CCS is not an exception, it has practically become the rule in our relationship. Mark asks about the story "that's just got to make it into this edition" and upon hearing the message we wish to share, he is quick to respond with, "this is important for people to know, leave it with me."

* Make no mistake about it, the stellar support of the Santa Fund from The Citizen is directly related to the yearover year increases in the amount of food gathered and money raised for those who need a leg up. The Citizen rightfully receives an award for helping Caledon Community Services meet the pressing needs of our community over the holiday season.

* The Citizen's benevolence towards charitable organizations in the community is legendary. We at CCS shouldn't take it for granted, but we've all become so accustomed to Mark's warmth, his staff's interest in our activities, and the newspaper's significant abilities in helping us land new volunteers, new investors and new interest in our community work. When our stories are printed, we're guaranteed a response from the community we serve. Exactly like the MasterCard commercial: Priceless!

* The Citizen knows so well that Caledon is much more than an affluent suburb of Toronto. Mark is as proud a Caledonite as they come, he loves his community and honours it in each and every printed newspaper in the way he promotes discourse about black, white and grey. His recent partnership with Caledon Community Services on our, "The Way We See It" column has allowed us to share musings related to issues of social advocacy, issues about the community's well-being and about emerging needs that require the community to step up to the plate.

The Citizen has been a real force promoting a cohesive community amongst residents of the Town. Its wide circulation has meant that people in all corners of the town would know what was happening, when and where. At CCS we have been blessed with The Citizen's regular printing of The Community Calendar, ensuring that everyone knows what is happening in our busy community, when and where!

What's the best compliment you can pay an editor and his newspaper? Read it. And we do. The Citizen is a regular read among our entire staff and is always available for our clients and volunteers. So to you on your anniversary Mr. Pavilons, staff and all those associated with The Caledon Citizen, all of us at Caledon Community Services salute you and your civic-minded approach to journalism and community-capacity building. Bless you all.

Susan Cameron, Past Executive Director

Monty Laskin, Executive Director

Staff and Volunteers,

Caledon Community

Services