Pat Preston

I am a recent transplant from Vancouver. Prior to coming to Salt Spring, I had many lives: journalist, freelance writer, communications executive, journalism instructor, volunteer and advocate for women's issues. I love Salt Spring--its people, its beauty, its cultural activities and the opportunity it provides for stimulating and provocative discussion. Currently I serve on the Board of the Salt Spring Arts Council and am writing about the lives behind the faces of Salt Springers you see every day.

News Posts

Focus on Women: Steinem Documentary Closes Celebration

The month of celebrating women draws to a close on Thursday, March 27 with the showing of a documentary of Gloria Steinem, at age 70. A feminist/activist, she began her groundbreaking work in the 1970’s. This film is a great combination of recent and archival interviews that showcase her compassion and sharp sense of humour. GLORIA: IN HER OWN WORDS is a personal look at the early days of the women’s movement and will be of interest to all women—young and old. Start time is 7 pm at The Fritz Theatre. Suggested donation is $10 at the door. And it is still not too late to catch Late Bloomers, starring William Hurt and Isabelle Rossellini at 7 pm at the Library. They aren’t your typical older couple. They are high functioning and stylish and, to their great surprise they’ve entered the senior years. After 30 years together, the married couple confronts the unpalatable realities of growing older. A suggested donation$10 will support Salt Spring Literacy.

Focus on Women

There is something for everyone this month as Focus on Women continues its presentation of events that will appeal to all. As part of the Salt Spring Public Library’s Art Program, March features a variety of entertainment from an evening with former broadcaster Vicki Gabereau to poetry and music, a film and documentaries and an afternoon tea. Ongoing throughout the month at the Library is an exhibition focusing on the contributions older women have made and continue to make to the island community. The exhibit highlights women whose ages run from 60 to 99 and is a combination of portraits by local artists and photographers, all of whom volunteered their time and expertise. Events include: An Evening of Music and Poetry with Lorna Crozier and Phoenix Lazare on March 14, 7 pm at the Library. Vicki Gabereau will talk about reinventing herself and interview audience members about their shoes (so bring your oldest, fanciest, most ourtrageous) at Artspring on March 19, 7:30…

Poll: Your Government - Your Choice

More than a year ago—October, 2012—the Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development agreed to fund a governance study for Salt Spring Island. All three elected officials’ platforms included supporting such a study. Following the minister’s agreement that a study “to review the current state of governance and identify the general implications of a change in structure for citizens and service providers,” a committee of volunteers was named and work began on developing terms of reference for a consultant to undertake research and public engagement. Now, in November, the process will be complete when the committee receives the final report from the consultants and makes a recommendation to the minister as to whether there is public support to proceed with a full municipal incorporation study. The committee will gauge the level of public interest based on data and input presented in the consultants’ final report. In addition, the committee will review and consider the re…

Governance Study Deadline Extended

The Governance Study Committee is in the final stages of the process that began in March, 2012 after the Provincial government agreed to a governance study. Now that we are close to presenting our recommendation, it is more important than ever that you let us know your views. After your Thanksgiving celebrations, please take 10 minutes to complete our second and final survey. We have extended the date to OCTOBER 18 to give you plenty of time after the holiday weekend to do so. And please urge your friends, family and colleagues to do the same. The survey is available at www.ssigovernancestudy.ca and at the PARC office on Vesuvius Bay Road, the public library and the Fulford Post Office. Governance is too important to let others determine our future. Visit our website to get a clear understanding of the current governance situation on the island and the general implications of a change for citizens and service providers. The website identifies the main differences between …

Governance Committee Seeks Public Input

The Salt Spring Governance Study Committee is asking the public for input for the report it will submit to the BC Government later this year. “Our website (ssigovernancestudy.ca) is fully operational, our informational fact sheets and our first public survey are now available for island residents and property owners to examine and respond,” Pat Preston, communications coordinator said. The purpose of the study, announced by the BC government in 2012, is to engage the public in a review all governance structures on the island and outline the differences between rural unincorporated) and municipal (incorporated) local governments. “Engaging the public in discussion around issues and potential challenges facing the island are extremely important,” she added. Urban Systems, the consulting firm hired to assist with public engagement, will interview representatives of key community organizations in mid-August. The first public forum is set for August 19 at 6:30 pm in the Com…

Governance Study Committee Names Consultant

The Salt Spring Governance Committee has named Urban Systems, an independently owned firm with 11 offices across Canada, as the consulting firm to undertake a governance study for the island. Under the direction of the Study Committee, a volunteer group of 11 island residents, Urban Systems will study the socio-economic conditions and governance structures on Salt Spring. They will also elicit feedback from residents and property owners regarding their level of understanding of and difference between rural/regional and municipal governments. Urban Systems will use public engagement, interviews, surveys, interactive polling and public forums to complete an interim report by the end of October. The public will be able to comment on the report prior to the completion of a final report in mid-November. The committee will submit the final report to the Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development and, depending on whether there is sufficient community support, will re…

Salt Spring Sketches: A Gypsy Creates Her Own Bliss by the Sea

She confesses to an addiction to adventure. She acknowledges that she often doesn’t appreciate the consequences of her spontaneous decisions. And she is currently off on another escapade—this time sailing via California to Mexico for six months. She’s leased her house for 18 months and has no idea where she’ll live when she gets back from Mexico. But she’s confident that things will fall into place – “somehow, they always do.” Suzanne Ambers, counsellor, massage therapist, spa consultant, and self-described gypsy, is always up for something different, particularly if it involves travel to new places. And the sea. “Every day unfolds differently,” she says. “”I’ve lived out of a suitcase all over the world. I raised two sons in a float home and I was plunked down by the universe on Salt Spring, somewhere I never imagined I would live.” Open to opportunity, some would say. But for Suzanne, it’s more like heeding your heart, or maybe listening to the psychic friend…

Salt Spring Sketches: Flight Of The False Creek Six

The Lagoons is one of the most attractive condo developments in Vancouver - a small number of beautiful suites on False Creek, clustered around a well designed water feature and looking out at downtown and the North Shore mountains beyond. The famous Vancouver seawall meanders by; full of walkers and joggers whatever the weather, and the amenities and excitement of Granville Island are but a stone’s throw away. Over the past few years, six residents of The Lagoons have found a yet more idyllic place to live – Salt Spring. Although they had struggled together through meetings of their strata board, and shared their preferences in good literature at the monthly book club, none knew of the others’ plans to relocate. Some never contemplated a move, and none imagined ever being neighbours again. Yet, somehow, they all found a way to the island, and to reconnect. One was returning to a place he’d lived before, two came for love, and the magic familiar to all islanders captu…

Salt Spring Sketches: It Was Always Their House Even When It Wasn’t

She was ready for one more adventure. He wasn’t so certain. They had, after all, lived comfortably in Calgary for 29 years. Neither had any inclination to move. Yet, one morning as she looked out her window at her flourishing and beautiful garden, Liesbeth Leatherbarrow had an epiphany. “I have always planned on living until 100,” she said. “I loved all that I saw that morning, but the thought of looking at and walking up the same path for the next 45 years struck me as limiting. Everything looked beautiful but I knew in that moment I was ready for one more adventure.” Her husband of 33 years found her epiphany intriguing but, being a cautious and deliberative man, Bob Leatherbarrow needed time to mull over the idea and do some research. “I was confident, but Bob had to think,” Liesbeth points out. “It sounded to him like a spontaneous, romantic idea. In 2007, Bob began checking out various locales—from Provence in France to Nova Scotia, Cowichan, Maple Bay—to …

Salt Spring Sketches - It's Really About The Hair

Everyone we told said we were crazy. Giving up our fabulous condo in Yaletown, leaving the myriad of amenities offered by Canada’s greenest city, starting again on a tiny island whose population barely equaled that of one Vancouver neighbourhood. “Why?” they asked. “You are urbanites. You love vibrant, bustling downtowns.” And they were right, sort of. My husband and I had always lived in urban centres, some smaller than others, but always in the midst of the action. And we’d always loved the hustle bustle of cities.

I’d grown up in Toronto, received my journalism degree in the heart of the city before leaving for Calgary as a young reporter at the Calgary Herald. My career in journalism (teaching and writing) took me to other large cities: Edmonton (to write radio ad copy), Ottawa (to edit a church publication), back to Calgary (to teach journalism), Vancouver (as a journalism instructor), Wilmington, DE (as a communications executive) and a…

Pat Preston

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