Westside Naming Referendum

[Fancy]

Westbank is on the maps.

[occasional thoughts]

I believe the comment is half fair, half not. The name of the organization is "Westbank & District COC". The chamber is one of the organizations that is pusshing our council into this rushed choice of names so it can confirm or change its name and get on with business.

[hereiamagain]

So what if Westbank is on the maps. So is WK and LH and Glenrosa and Casa Loma. The proper name for this area is Westside. I agree with rturner that they are likely among those pushing for a fast resolution to the naming issue.

[LoriWelbourne]

(ghostgirl’s post of Oct 25: I found it so inappropriate during the [Westbank Chamber of Commerce] awards that there was a "little" joke read regarding the naming committee. At one point the hostess was reading of the different choices of the names that would appear on the ballot. West Kelowna was mentioned more than half of the attendance booed, (yet cheered at Westbank). Now, if that was not bad enough there was Doug Findlater sitting with his bunch of cohorts smiling, nodding his head in approval, like the cat that had just swallowed the cannery. He, (they) seemed very pleased with (themselves)and the crowds reaction. It was only to obvious where this little joke came from. With this issue being on an election ballot, I found this joke very distasteful. This whole group should be ashamed of how they try to manipulate this in their favor. How will this ever work if the select few in Westbank rights over ride the vast remaining electoral area?)





I was told earlier this week that there was mention on this forum about my presentation at the Chamber of Commerce Awards and that it wasn’t too favourable. Being an infrequent reader of the forums, I have finally just checked it out. I regret that anyone found my presentation distasteful, but that’s the price for political humour I guess.

The sole purpose of my presentation was to make light of a hot topic and hopefully make people laugh at a dry and serious awards ceremony. It seemed to work very well for the majority of the audience, but as in politics, you can’t please everyone.

It never occurred to me that anyone would be offended, or that anyone would boo when I said West Kelowna. But the exaggerated booing was part of what made the whole thing funnier to some. There was no reaction that I could hear when I said Westbank.

For anyone to have been offended by anything I said that night comes as a surprise. But I’m ALWAYS surprised when people don’t get my warped sense of humour. You'd think I would have learned by now.



As for my wording at the ceremony, here’s how it went:

As a presenter, I pretended like the chamber had given me a 3-part ballot.

Mimicking the original 3-part ballot introduced by the naming committee, I said that the first question asked whether or not I believed that the award should be retained (& put on my own awards shelf) or given out to the winner.

The second question asked out of the 5 nominees, which had the name that I liked best.

And the third question asked, if I had to choose from the two following names, which one would I prefer to hear next year: “Westbank Chamber of Commerce Key Business Awards” or “West Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Key Business Awards”.

I then pretended like I had just been given a note by the chamber notifying me that there was now a 2-part ballot and remarked that the chamber really needed to get organized.

The first question on the new 2-part ballot was: Do you ever wish to be invited back to this awards ceremony?

And question 2 was: If you do, read the name of the winner and get off the stage immediately.


It was all done in jest with no hidden agenda on my part except to make people laugh. I had a slight sense of worry afterwards that the council members who were present might not appreciate my joke since I was poking fun at a pretty heavy issue that they’ve been dealing with, but they all took it in stride with the humour I intended.

As Steve Allen once said: “Humour is a social lubricant that helps us get over some of the bad spots.”


Lori Welbourne

[LoriWelbourne]

(by rturner on Oct 26th, 2008: What is apparently true is that a presenter, a woman who works for the Capital News but was representing an organization called OBB, made some funny comments about our naming dilemma. The CoC's manager did not hear booing, but someone who was with her said the presenter's own table did some "hooting" at her presentation, giving her a friendly rough time in essence. Doug Findlater was not at her table (or group of tables) and did not participate in any booing, et al.

This same individual made a very bad joke in a presentation to Westside council several months ago which I witnessed, and cringed at. None of us news media wrote about it. She said she couldn't call Mayor Neis "your honour" because that was reserved for her from her husband at home, or something like that. I'm told she later apologized to Neis for the horrible attempt at humour.

You'll see this individual's picture larger than life on the Capital News billboard along Highway 97.)







Rob,

You didn’t like my joke? I thought it was kind of funny.

Attending my first council meeting and hearing people address the mayor as “Your Worship” for the first time, it struck me as humorous. When I went up to the microphone to address the mayor and council, what spilled out of my mouth was: “I would call you your worship, but that’s what I make my husband call me.”

It made a few people chuckle and a few others cringe. Oops! But humour and good taste are quite often a contradiction aren’t they?

I apologized to the mayor and many of the councilors later, explaining that I meant no disrespect and was merely going for a cheap laugh (bad habit!). They all said they thought it was funny.

Good reporting on this "story" and thanks for outing me before I had a chance to out myself with that hint about my billboard ;)

(PS: my husband likes the billboard in front of mine better– but don’t tell anyone!)



Lori Welbourne

[CountryAtHeart]

Kudos to you Lori for coming on and telling us forum dwellers LOL your side of things. And you didn't even call anyone names a rarity on here it seems lately.

I too, have a sense of humour that most don't recognize. Oh well. You can't please everyone, eh?
Anyhow, thanks for coming on and clearing that up.




Oh yeah....

[Jo]

Thanks for joining us, Lori! I think a good joke is a great way to alleviate some of the stress in a situation like that. Of course it can always backfire, at least with some, but it's usually worth the risk. People are far too willing to get offended these days.

[angusog]

“I would call you your worship, but that’s what I make my husband call me.”

She said she couldn't call Mayor Neis "your honour" because that was reserved for her from her husband at home, or something like that.

And now I find the same possible tripe being repeated here as if it is gospel. It should be of extreme concern to reasonable people on here (I hope there are some) about turning second hand stories from people who can't spell many words in the English language into instant truth just because it is said once on these (mostly) anonymous pages. I think people who I believe to be responsible s/b more cautious
about the truth here. And on the CoC incident, we don't know the truth. That something occurred is evident, but what that was, we don't know yet. And I don't know if it's worth digging into for a story.

We know the truth now R.T. and it would appear that either you did not understand the joke or you put your spin on it to create a story. I would agree that many individuals on these threads tend to believe this "tripe" as you put it and "repeat it as gospel" but there should be some onus on media to report things without inserting spin of their choosing in order no doubt to send a message! This tactic might sell newspapers or appeal to a chosen few, but many believe they belong in the supermarket tabloids and have no place in real journalism. I though the unadulterated version of Lori's joke was kind of funny myself!

[CountryAtHeart]

That's how I imagined it to be. "Westbank" is the remaining area, the area that couldn't be bothered to adopt a name. All around it new settlers made a home and named their area. "Westbank" was still "over there on the west bank of the lake". Say it enough and it sounds like a name, but really it represents a lack of imagination (to select an appropriate name) and a lack of "ownership" of the area.
.

Angus wrote:

For there to be a subdivision, there would first have to be a division and in our case Westbank was the first division of the land we live on now

Wow do you know how to do your own spinning (and yet complain at others )
I am sorry to say that ignoring an area to settle in other parts does not promote it to be "the first division" The other areas are the divisions,ie...Shannon Lake,etc...where the people chose to live Westbank IS the subdivision.

Sub divide...Merrium-Webster dictionary
1: to divide the parts of into more parts
2: to divide into several parts
: to separate or become separated into subdivisions

waterskirick...I completely agree, Westbank was the forgotten land, nobody wanted it.
Therefore to put that name above all others seems to me to be disrespectful of the people that built their homes around it. Creating their own communities.
If you want to use history as your argument, then you can't pick and choose which part of the history you use just to fit your agenda.

[occasional thoughts]

Suit yourself, augnsog. Lori's "joke" to the mayor and in front of council and the public was totally inappropriate and out of place, in my view.

Lori does not seem to have addressed her other joke, at the CoC awards dinner, that prompted the booing of West Kelowna and the cheering of Westbank, and the body language scientists critiquing Doug Findlater, et al.

[CountryAtHeart]

Suit yourself, augnsog. Lori's "joke" to the mayor and in front of council and the public was totally inappropriate and out of place, in my view.

Lori does not seem to have addressed her other joke, at the CoC awards dinner, that prompted the booing of West Kelowna and the cheering of Westbank, and the body language scientists critiquing Doug Findlater, et al.

She did address the other joke...but, why are belabouring the point? It happened, she took steps to address the council, and from the way she described the joke at this dinner or whatever, it was clearly obvious that she was trying to bring a little lightheartedness to the tense situation.
I don't believe she was collaborating with anyone, or that there was some sinister motive.

Some found it funny, some didn't....either way, there was no harm intended and no harm was done. People these days are so quick to jump on someone for such little things.
I find that to be more offensive than what Lori did.

[occasional thoughts]

Sky, there was an AWFUL lot of heavy criticism directed at Doug Findlater (who had nothing to do with the "joke") for dismissing it that easily. At the very least, there should be some fundamental acknowledgement by posters here to get the facts before flying off in all directions.

[angusog]

Sky, there was an AWFUL lot of heavy criticism directed at Doug Findlater (who had nothing to do with the "joke") for dismissing it that easily. At the very least, there should be some fundamental acknowledgement by posters here to get the facts before flying off in all directions.

Again you try to create an impression Rob, by treating us to your view of the proceedings instead of an unbiassed account?

"This same individual made a very bad joke in a presentation to Westside council several months ago which I witnessed, and cringed at."

Again Rob, you leave this sour taste in peoples minds which is not shared by others

It made a few people chuckle and a few others cringe. Oops! But humour and good taste are quite often a contradiction aren’t they?

I apologized to the mayor and many of the councilors later, explaining that I meant no disrespect and was merely going for a cheap laugh (bad habit!). They all said they thought it was funny.

I suspect there is a reason Lori and not you Rob are chosen to M.C. such events. She has a keen sense of humour which you might be lacking! Do I detect a smidgen of jealousy here?

a presenter, a woman who works for the Capital News. You'll see this individual's picture larger than life on the Capital News billboard along Highway 97.

[Urbane]

Thanks for joining us, Lori! I think a good joke is a great way to alleviate some of the stress in a situation like that. Of course it can always backfire, at least with some, but it's usually worth the risk. People are far too willing to get offended these days.

Well said Jo. I would much rather someone make an attempt at humour and have it backfire (I thought Lori's jokes were funny myself) than make no attempt at all. We take things way too seriously these days.

[Bestside]

“I would call you your worship, but that’s what I make my husband call me.”

She said she couldn't call Mayor Neis "your honour" because that was reserved for her from her husband at home, or something like that.

And now I find the same possible tripe being repeated here as if it is gospel. It should be of extreme concern to reasonable people on here (I hope there are some) about turning second hand stories from people who can't spell many words in the English language into instant truth just because it is said once on these (mostly) anonymous pages. I think people who I believe to be responsible s/b more cautious about the truth here. And on the CoC incident, we don't know the truth. That something occurred is evident, but what that was, we don't know yet. And I don't know if it's worth digging into for a story.

We know the truth now R.T. and it would appear that either you did not understand the joke or you put your spin on it to create a story. I would agree that many individuals on these threads tend to believe this "tripe" as you put it and "repeat it as gospel" but there should be some onus on media to report things without inserting spin of their choosing in order no doubt to send a message! This tactic might sell newspapers or appeal to a chosen few, but many believe they belong in the supermarket tabloids and have no place in real journalism. I though the unadulterated version of Lori's joke was kind of funny myself!

It is very interesting how people choose sides and can't be fairly objective about what people they generally disagree with are saying. Instead they twist it.. to suit their own purposes...

When I originally read Rob's post I took it he was saying... wait a minute... don't believe everything you hear in respect to second hand stories meaning the knocks against Findlater and the presenter where very possibly a nonevent.. on that advice I dismissed it as having any real meaning...

Read Robs quote as in Angusog's post again in it's entirety...

And now I find the same possible tripe being repeated here as if it is gospel. It should be of extreme concern to reasonable people on here (I hope there are some) about turning second hand stories from people who can't spell many words in the English language into instant truth just because it is said once on these (mostly) anonymous pages. I think people who I believe to be responsible s/b more cautious about the truth here. And on the CoC incident, we don't know the truth. That something occurred is evident, but what that was, we don't know yet. And I don't know if it's worth digging into for a story.

Yet people will read Angusog's twist on it as RT being out of line... without even reading what RT wrote... I think Rob's comment about reasonable people was a complete waste of "ink"... there are very few of those.

The thing is.. if the (non) event was in fact meant to ridicule West Kelowna, then, for reasonable people, it would have played as an advantage to West Kelowna, not a disadvantage.

I would assume Lori with her sense of humour would get a hoot out of her last name... and I expect she has made reference to it on more than one occasion...