On getting a little perspective.

• Author: Atkins, Michael
• Position: PRESIDENT'S NOTE

Once a recession gets into full swing, it develops its own rhythm, like a good hockey game. We have the daily stats; from unemployment numbers to housing starts, from GDP estimates to consumer spending trends, from trade deficit numbers to the daily drama of the stock market, from bankruptcies to bailouts. With this detritus comes colour commentary on how people are coping or not coping with their change in circumstance and helpful hints on how to invest the pennies you have left in stocks that are now worth pennies.

We learn monthly how much personal wealth has evaporated into thin air. The cable news channels live off of this stuff and the good news is they don't have to pay rights' fees to sports teams.

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Last month I took a night off. The occasion was our annual Community Builders Awards dinner in Sudbury, which was organized by our Northern Life newspaper in Sudbury. We started it in honour of our 30th anniversary of doing business in Sudbury some years ago. The room was full of people and sponsors who came to honour citizens who had inspired us and in so doing, made Sudbury a better place to live.

There was Steve Daniel one of the most exciting young men I have had the pleasure of meeting. A former member of the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, and an Afghanistan veteran, he was teaching parachuting when he took a bad fall and fractured his vertebrae. He lost the use of his legs. This happened in June 2005. In May 2007 Steve joined the adaptive rowing program at the Sudbury Rowing Club and in 2008 won a silver medal at the U.S. national championships and competed at the Beijing Paralympics. An incredible accomplishment! Steve wanted to be an example to his son and a catalyst to others to learn to live with their disabilities

Ten years ago an industrious group of Sudburians decided to clean up Junction Creek, which runs straight through the city. To be charitable, it was a mess. They have removed 50,000 kilograms of garbage, planted more then 18,000 trees and reintroduced 9,600 brook trout to the creek. It is a breath of fresh air.

Homer Seguin dedicated his life to improving the health and safety of Northern Ontario Miners. Back in an era of decidedly confrontational relationships between workers and employers in the Sudbury Mining community, Homer never gave up. His imprint in part is on the construction of the Superstack in Sudbury, and the stunning improvement and focus on...