As told to Melody Land, in collaboration with Janet Wallace
What is Connecting Albert County?
No one knows the answer to this question like the original coordinator and editor, Janet Wallace. As the Coordinator of CAC, one of the main focuses is to help guide the ship and put feet (or pen to paper) on our trajectory. Janet was part of the original guiding committee from the first “what if” conversation, all the way to the first publication in January of 2015, and saw the publication through various stages, changes, collaborations, and significant growth. Her relationship with the publication lasted well over 7 years.
As we step into our tenth year of publication, this is a beautiful time to reassess and check-in, so we can adjust as necessary and continue to evolve to serve our community better. Therefore, it was wonderful to sit down with Janet for a heart-to-heart, to learn about her journey with CAC, and the legacy she has left behind.
No one knows the answer to this question like the original coordinator and editor, Janet Wallace. As the Coordinator of CAC, one of the main focuses is to help guide the ship and put feet (or pen to paper) on our trajectory. Janet was part of the original guiding committee from the first “what if” conversation, all the way to the first publication in January of 2015, and saw the publication through various stages, changes, collaborations, and significant growth. Her relationship with the publication lasted well over 7 years.
As we step into our tenth year of publication, this is a beautiful time to reassess and check-in, so we can adjust as necessary and continue to evolve to serve our community better. Therefore, it was wonderful to sit down with Janet for a heart-to-heart, to learn about her journey with CAC, and the legacy she has left behind.
Image of Janet Wallace provided by Janet. We began with reminiscing about the beginning of CAC, and what prompted her to take this on as a passion project:
“It was back when I lived in Nova Scotia, before moving here, I started a community newsletter. It was in in a small rural community, equivalent to the size of Alma. For many people, it was a revelation that so much was going on. We didn't realize how many events were happening until we saw it in print. This brought the community together. The newsletter was printed by the Community Hall and volunteers would drop them off in mailboxes, this was before we had community mailboxes. I always had this experience in the back of my mind.
When I came here [I saw that there was] nothing like that. Joanne Butland and I were both on the Board of Forestdale at the time, and she had this idea of a community newspaper. We were chatting about this and at one point we started talking with other people about having some sort of community publication.
One major trigger was one Saturday night when there were three fundraisers. One at Harvey Hall, one in Riverside-Albert, and another in Alma, all basically attracting the same sort of people. The events were accidentally competing with each other. This made us realize, if nothing else, there is a need for a community calendar. And that's where we started to get this group of people involved. We just kept asking the people who were involved with different organizations in rural Albert County and people who knew the community well too. This guiding committee was a huge group with a range of backgrounds.
One of the guiding committee members was Micha Fardy, who was with the United Way at the time. She connected us with a group of computer software people and some funding to get started with an online and print calendar, that soon expanded into having articles.”
Janet’s relationship with Connecting Albert County grew and developed as the publication did, initially acting as a volunteer member to its first part-time contract coordinator. She chuckled as she reminisced about the time spent and recollected that for the first few years of being a paid part-time coordinator, for every hour of pay she probably put in five of volunteer work!
However, she credits the volunteer work of many others for helping make the project a success. Joanne Butland, in particular, invested a huge number of volunteer hours into Connecting Albert County. Joanne the first chair of the guiding committee and was followed by Susan Quinn, who was also volunteered many hours over several years. Another key player was Joseph Gallant; fortunately he could volunteer for Connecting Albert County as part of his work as the community developer at the Albert County Community Health Centre. (Joe is now the manager of the health centre.)
“I'm a freelance writer and editor and I have lots of contracts, but Connecting Albert County always took precedence. I would drop other things for this contract and make sure it got out in time, just because this is what meant a lot to me. I wanted to support the events that were going on in the community. I wanted to support that by getting it out in time.”
Janet discussed the vision of the publication in more detail, and as is reflected even now, with a large group there were all sorts of different visions. Some saw it like a newspaper where people could subscribe and get mailed to their house, for instance. There were different visions of what to cover, and what size it should be. However, at the core of the vision Janet held onto was a commitment to making the publication a truly positive experience that celebrated Albert County and showcased it in a positive light. She said:
“[The thing I was most committed to] was the idea of celebrating rural Albert County – to make it a positive thing. To share the good things in rural Albert County and hear of the people in a positive way as much as possible. To build the community up and [focus on] discovering the good things.”
While the publication still shared heavier feeling material, like sharing about services for people with addiction issues, or issues around clear cutting, for instance, the publication continued to focus on uplifting the events and people within the community.
One can find the evidence of this foundation throughout the initial notes from its inception, all the way to our present-day vision, mission, and guiding principles. The foundations created by the initial guiding group and moulded by Janet’s influence continue to be felt. The objective to support economic development, arts and culture, the environment [and the goal of having] a positive impact on the overall environment and economy of rural Albert County” continue to hold fast.
Connecting Albert County, then and now, continues to play a pivotal role in bringing people together and helping people know what is happening, where it is happening, and access needed services. This is a fundamental service in bridging the gaps for newcomers, and was another core reason Janet saw a need for this service and why she was so passionate about serving the community as the coordinator.
“Having moved here and having struggled to find things out in the community at first was difficult. It was funny how we had conversations about things like, should we put the address in of the Curling Club. People would say ‘well, everyone knows where the curling club is’ whereas I didn’t even know what village was in or if each village had its own club! You don't automatically know these things when you move to the area. I liked that the idea of making it easier for newcomers here.”
Bridging the gap between community members was a huge highlight of her time for Janet. Highlighting the diverse backgrounds of individuals, particularly those who played key roles as workers or volunteers in our community, was another highlight. She often speaks of supporting and advancing the voices of others in her work, and some of her fondest memories revolve around the relationships she built through collaboration with other community groups.
“One of the highlights I had was a food series we did where we had recipes from newcomers to the area and shared their stories the food they had grown up in the Philippines and other countries. [We learned] about what they're passionate about. It also let people understand there is diversity in Albert County even though it's not necessarily that obvious all the time. I loved doing the collaborations with other organizations, like with Teledrive, the Early Childhood Development Services through the Hillsborough Library, the Hillsborough Farmers Market, the Shepody Food Bank, Foods of the Fundy Valley, and Friends of Fundy. Those were fun because I got to meet other people as opposed to just always sitting at my desk. I felt it made the whole publication more dynamic because again we're getting other perspectives, other voices, other subjects. And with collaborations, it works towards the greater goal of a healthier community. And I'm using the term health in a board context – the environment, the economy, mental health.”
It was evident throughout the conversation that helping to support mental health by reducing feelings of isolation, and supporting people in feeling connected, is a huge personal takeaway for Janet. Every time she reminisced about the services CAC provided, and the feedback she would often receive from community members regarding this, I would hear a shift in her voice and a huge smile would come to her face. She shared how the winter months can be hard and isolating for people in rural areas, particularly for those, like herself, who don’t live in the community centers. “I heard people say they didn't feel as lonely after reading Connecting Albert County. They felt they didn't feel as isolated. Because if they found out what was going on, things that they wouldn't necessarily have known about, it made a huge difference... Just knowing these things are happening down the road, even if you're not at it, it makes you feel less isolated.” Also, knowing it helped people connected to services, like those offered at the Albert County Community Health Centre, made a lot of meaning for Janet.
Just knowing these things are happening down the road, even if you're not at it, it makes you feel less isolated.” Also, knowing it helped people connected to services, like those offered at the Albert County Community Health Centre, made a lot of meaning for Janet.
Connecting Albert County is run 90% by volunteers and is 100% lead by the community. It is as “grassroots” as it comes, and Janet remembers the overwhelming gratitude, and surprize, it was for her to discover the faith others had in the organization.
“I remember this first time when the Albert County Pharmacy in Riverside put an advertisement in the publication and they wanted a larger size ad than just a business card. And they wanted it in for a whole year. Gary Steeves Insurance was another. They wanted to give us more money than we were asking for and offered to print the publication in colour for us! There were several years [in the beginning] that we didn't know whether we were going to survive the next month, because at that point we had no resources. I guess we managed to bluff well enough that it looked like it was [more advanced] than it was!
We were all burnt out. Then the BACH [Bennet & Albert County Healthcare Foundation] began supporting us - it was a huge change. Financial support was so needed at the time, but even more significant, for me, was the emotional impact of their support. It was feedback that I guess we're doing something right. We're doing something that's meaningful in the community.”
Moreso, some individual people in the community made private donations, and didn’t want any public recognition. This was impactful for Janet. “Just wow! Just the fact that they took that initiative meant a lot.”
When asked about some of her favourite stories and the things she most enjoyed about working with CAC – the things that were most impactful to her, Janet immediately talked about a story written by Bev Stevens during Covid which documented the experience of retired nurses who were going back to work at testing sites and centres at the height of the pandemic. Voices from our community, Janet said, that we wouldn’t always get a chance to hear and experiences we wouldn’t have a chance to get to know really stood out for her.
Another thing that was most impactful was the experience of being able to be in a position where she could encourage people who typically didn’t consider themselves to be writers to write. “I found a lot of what I did was actually coaching people about how to write. I could tell they had a great story, but it takes time to get that message into print. I would sometimes work with someone if they seemed into it -- not to criticize it but to bring out their voice. That was fun seeing [the writing] evolve and certain people grow into writers. That was a labour of love for me.”
As the conversation was wrapping up, I had two final points I was curious to hear about. The first, what legacy does she hope she had left behind? And the second, if she had any type of advice or feedback for me as a new coordinator. Her response was combined and meaningful.
“Even if you are soliciting articles and information, it’s not [about] you. You're not going out and just saying this is my vision - I want this. You're opening and inviting other people to submit their vision, and I think that's an important part of it. It’s a real community publication. You want to have the different voices in it, different backgrounds coming through, and different expressions. That's how it differs from others. I loved that.
It was a labour of love so I'm happy and I'm excited to see how it's going to continue to evolve in the future. Who knows what it's going to turn into? I'm curious to see how, I'm excited to see it evolving and to continue to serve people in rural Albert County and to hear more of the voices of people in rural Albert County.”
“It was back when I lived in Nova Scotia, before moving here, I started a community newsletter. It was in in a small rural community, equivalent to the size of Alma. For many people, it was a revelation that so much was going on. We didn't realize how many events were happening until we saw it in print. This brought the community together. The newsletter was printed by the Community Hall and volunteers would drop them off in mailboxes, this was before we had community mailboxes. I always had this experience in the back of my mind.
When I came here [I saw that there was] nothing like that. Joanne Butland and I were both on the Board of Forestdale at the time, and she had this idea of a community newspaper. We were chatting about this and at one point we started talking with other people about having some sort of community publication.
One major trigger was one Saturday night when there were three fundraisers. One at Harvey Hall, one in Riverside-Albert, and another in Alma, all basically attracting the same sort of people. The events were accidentally competing with each other. This made us realize, if nothing else, there is a need for a community calendar. And that's where we started to get this group of people involved. We just kept asking the people who were involved with different organizations in rural Albert County and people who knew the community well too. This guiding committee was a huge group with a range of backgrounds.
One of the guiding committee members was Micha Fardy, who was with the United Way at the time. She connected us with a group of computer software people and some funding to get started with an online and print calendar, that soon expanded into having articles.”
Janet’s relationship with Connecting Albert County grew and developed as the publication did, initially acting as a volunteer member to its first part-time contract coordinator. She chuckled as she reminisced about the time spent and recollected that for the first few years of being a paid part-time coordinator, for every hour of pay she probably put in five of volunteer work!
However, she credits the volunteer work of many others for helping make the project a success. Joanne Butland, in particular, invested a huge number of volunteer hours into Connecting Albert County. Joanne the first chair of the guiding committee and was followed by Susan Quinn, who was also volunteered many hours over several years. Another key player was Joseph Gallant; fortunately he could volunteer for Connecting Albert County as part of his work as the community developer at the Albert County Community Health Centre. (Joe is now the manager of the health centre.)
“I'm a freelance writer and editor and I have lots of contracts, but Connecting Albert County always took precedence. I would drop other things for this contract and make sure it got out in time, just because this is what meant a lot to me. I wanted to support the events that were going on in the community. I wanted to support that by getting it out in time.”
Janet discussed the vision of the publication in more detail, and as is reflected even now, with a large group there were all sorts of different visions. Some saw it like a newspaper where people could subscribe and get mailed to their house, for instance. There were different visions of what to cover, and what size it should be. However, at the core of the vision Janet held onto was a commitment to making the publication a truly positive experience that celebrated Albert County and showcased it in a positive light. She said:
“[The thing I was most committed to] was the idea of celebrating rural Albert County – to make it a positive thing. To share the good things in rural Albert County and hear of the people in a positive way as much as possible. To build the community up and [focus on] discovering the good things.”
While the publication still shared heavier feeling material, like sharing about services for people with addiction issues, or issues around clear cutting, for instance, the publication continued to focus on uplifting the events and people within the community.
One can find the evidence of this foundation throughout the initial notes from its inception, all the way to our present-day vision, mission, and guiding principles. The foundations created by the initial guiding group and moulded by Janet’s influence continue to be felt. The objective to support economic development, arts and culture, the environment [and the goal of having] a positive impact on the overall environment and economy of rural Albert County” continue to hold fast.
Connecting Albert County, then and now, continues to play a pivotal role in bringing people together and helping people know what is happening, where it is happening, and access needed services. This is a fundamental service in bridging the gaps for newcomers, and was another core reason Janet saw a need for this service and why she was so passionate about serving the community as the coordinator.
“Having moved here and having struggled to find things out in the community at first was difficult. It was funny how we had conversations about things like, should we put the address in of the Curling Club. People would say ‘well, everyone knows where the curling club is’ whereas I didn’t even know what village was in or if each village had its own club! You don't automatically know these things when you move to the area. I liked that the idea of making it easier for newcomers here.”
Bridging the gap between community members was a huge highlight of her time for Janet. Highlighting the diverse backgrounds of individuals, particularly those who played key roles as workers or volunteers in our community, was another highlight. She often speaks of supporting and advancing the voices of others in her work, and some of her fondest memories revolve around the relationships she built through collaboration with other community groups.
“One of the highlights I had was a food series we did where we had recipes from newcomers to the area and shared their stories the food they had grown up in the Philippines and other countries. [We learned] about what they're passionate about. It also let people understand there is diversity in Albert County even though it's not necessarily that obvious all the time. I loved doing the collaborations with other organizations, like with Teledrive, the Early Childhood Development Services through the Hillsborough Library, the Hillsborough Farmers Market, the Shepody Food Bank, Foods of the Fundy Valley, and Friends of Fundy. Those were fun because I got to meet other people as opposed to just always sitting at my desk. I felt it made the whole publication more dynamic because again we're getting other perspectives, other voices, other subjects. And with collaborations, it works towards the greater goal of a healthier community. And I'm using the term health in a board context – the environment, the economy, mental health.”
It was evident throughout the conversation that helping to support mental health by reducing feelings of isolation, and supporting people in feeling connected, is a huge personal takeaway for Janet. Every time she reminisced about the services CAC provided, and the feedback she would often receive from community members regarding this, I would hear a shift in her voice and a huge smile would come to her face. She shared how the winter months can be hard and isolating for people in rural areas, particularly for those, like herself, who don’t live in the community centers. “I heard people say they didn't feel as lonely after reading Connecting Albert County. They felt they didn't feel as isolated. Because if they found out what was going on, things that they wouldn't necessarily have known about, it made a huge difference... Just knowing these things are happening down the road, even if you're not at it, it makes you feel less isolated.” Also, knowing it helped people connected to services, like those offered at the Albert County Community Health Centre, made a lot of meaning for Janet.
Just knowing these things are happening down the road, even if you're not at it, it makes you feel less isolated.” Also, knowing it helped people connected to services, like those offered at the Albert County Community Health Centre, made a lot of meaning for Janet.
Connecting Albert County is run 90% by volunteers and is 100% lead by the community. It is as “grassroots” as it comes, and Janet remembers the overwhelming gratitude, and surprize, it was for her to discover the faith others had in the organization.
“I remember this first time when the Albert County Pharmacy in Riverside put an advertisement in the publication and they wanted a larger size ad than just a business card. And they wanted it in for a whole year. Gary Steeves Insurance was another. They wanted to give us more money than we were asking for and offered to print the publication in colour for us! There were several years [in the beginning] that we didn't know whether we were going to survive the next month, because at that point we had no resources. I guess we managed to bluff well enough that it looked like it was [more advanced] than it was!
We were all burnt out. Then the BACH [Bennet & Albert County Healthcare Foundation] began supporting us - it was a huge change. Financial support was so needed at the time, but even more significant, for me, was the emotional impact of their support. It was feedback that I guess we're doing something right. We're doing something that's meaningful in the community.”
Moreso, some individual people in the community made private donations, and didn’t want any public recognition. This was impactful for Janet. “Just wow! Just the fact that they took that initiative meant a lot.”
When asked about some of her favourite stories and the things she most enjoyed about working with CAC – the things that were most impactful to her, Janet immediately talked about a story written by Bev Stevens during Covid which documented the experience of retired nurses who were going back to work at testing sites and centres at the height of the pandemic. Voices from our community, Janet said, that we wouldn’t always get a chance to hear and experiences we wouldn’t have a chance to get to know really stood out for her.
Another thing that was most impactful was the experience of being able to be in a position where she could encourage people who typically didn’t consider themselves to be writers to write. “I found a lot of what I did was actually coaching people about how to write. I could tell they had a great story, but it takes time to get that message into print. I would sometimes work with someone if they seemed into it -- not to criticize it but to bring out their voice. That was fun seeing [the writing] evolve and certain people grow into writers. That was a labour of love for me.”
As the conversation was wrapping up, I had two final points I was curious to hear about. The first, what legacy does she hope she had left behind? And the second, if she had any type of advice or feedback for me as a new coordinator. Her response was combined and meaningful.
“Even if you are soliciting articles and information, it’s not [about] you. You're not going out and just saying this is my vision - I want this. You're opening and inviting other people to submit their vision, and I think that's an important part of it. It’s a real community publication. You want to have the different voices in it, different backgrounds coming through, and different expressions. That's how it differs from others. I loved that.
It was a labour of love so I'm happy and I'm excited to see how it's going to continue to evolve in the future. Who knows what it's going to turn into? I'm curious to see how, I'm excited to see it evolving and to continue to serve people in rural Albert County and to hear more of the voices of people in rural Albert County.”
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