Linden Town Week 2013, challenging - PRO

Linden Town Week 2013, challenging – PRO

Apr 23, 2013 News

Public Relations Officer of the Linden Town Week 2013, Fitzherbert Ralph says that there are many things that mitigated against the Linden Town Week Planning Committee, which made their work challenging.
Linden Town Week 2013 runs from Friday April 26 until Tuesday May 6. Ralph claims that planning for the event has been hampered because some members of the committee found it difficult to put aside their personal preferences to function at the collective level.

Fitzherbert Ralph

He said, “The people on the current committee, including myself, are not the power houses, not the people, who can really broker and draw from the power players within the whole scheme of things,” Ralph said.
He added: “The Linden Town Week Committee ought to be comprised of persons in high office … and persons with managerial responsibilities that have the entire developmental focus and programme of the community in their heads, or under their area of responsibility. From that level you ought to get a smoother flow of arrangements and for the different types of stakeholders to fall in place without question.”

Background
He said that Town Week originally began as Town Day by an individual, Norvelle Frederick, and it was intended to be a very dynamic portrayal of the life of Linden and its residents; “those things that make us proud,” Ralph said. “Those processes that Lindeners would have experienced; the battles that we would have won; the institutions that would have been formed over the years that would have come about over the various types of struggles that we would have passed through – the developmental activities; all of those things would be put on show during Town Day or Town Week and it would have also provided Lindeners and the wider community as to how Linden is set to deal with developmental challenges for the years to come.
“The Town Week activities are designed to do that – show off where you are as a people, how you were able to arrive at where you are and then demonstrate your preparedness to deal with the future.”

Change
However, over a number of years, Town Week was transformed into a ‘jam and wine’ type of open air fete rather than a portrayal of the more wholesome aspects of the society.
According to Ralph, the change was recognized and efforts have been made to balance the various activities since, according to him, Linden is a secular community so that people from the different belief systems and preferences would be included in the Town Week activities.

Direction
He said he was asked to become involved in the planning of Linden Town Week 2013 after the committee had started its work and he immediately observed that there was discord amongst the committee members, which prompted him to find out whether the committee had reached consensus on a deliberate, collective objective
He was informed of the theme: “Coming Clean In 2013”.
Ralph said that immediately the theme struck him “as being dynamic and very challenging”.
He added: “There was so much that jumped out at me because I respect the contribution that had been made over the years by those, who had been involved in the management of Town Week.”
Noting that sponsorship is down this year because of the changes in the committee as well as concern by corporate businesses over the late finalization of the national budget, Ralph said some of the big sponsors such as Banks, Ansa McAl and Bosai are still on board.
The Linden Town Week 2013 Public Relations Officer added that while a substantial number of overseas-based Lindeners are expected to arrive to take part in the Town Week activities, some have cancelled their flights because Town Week is being held later than usual this year and they could not get alternative vacation leave from their jobs.

Activities
He said most of the major shows have been retained this year. He added that a major innovation would be Wismar having five nights instead of the regular two.
According to him, the Town Week Committee had planned to give an extra night with the spotlight on Wismar on the first to third of May but an investor, Lennox King, who had previously operated a Lumber Yard and Shipping Service at Wismar, intends to reinvest in the community and would be using Town Week to reintroduce himself.
He said King along with business partners will be having activities at Wismar on April 26 and 27th and he will be assisting agricultural producers from West Watooka to showcase their produce, which they will sell cheaply.