Meet The Bulletin Team –
Did you know that this newsletter has been published for 20 years now? All the stories about the Hastings Sunrise neighbourhood, the HSCPC and its partners would not have been told without our beloved team members Chester Grant and Harry Mah!
When Chester retired as a journalist in 2004, he joined the HSCPC and soon became its board president. He then encouraged neighbour Harry, who helps to operate the iconic family-run McGill Grocery, to volunteer as a board member too. Eventually, both joined the newsletter team.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” says Clair MacGougan, who became executive director in 2002. “Chester brought 50 years of experience in writing and broadcasting while Harry was the editor of the Burrardview News at the time.”
Their shared love for gathering information, writing and editing made them the perfect team for the HSCPC. They wrote program manuals and handbooks, stories for the HSCPC Bulletin, and recruited other talented volunteers to the newsletter team. Or as Chester likes to say: “My favourite newsletter is the one where I’d write the fewest articles!”
“The newsletter team has always been a collaborative and positive effort. We would sit at Chester’s living room table and talk about stories we could publish,” says Harry. “It was great being on the board but it is even better doing reporting on the ground.”
“It felt easy because it was such a pleasure working with Harry and Clair,” Chester adds. “And the best thing was to produce something that benefits the community. The goal has always been to highlight different viewpoints and topics, and ultimately show the work of the CPC through pictures and stories.”
Both men appreciate that the CPC aims to bridge the gap between police and community members – in both directions – and collaborates with so many other community organizations. They consider it an example to the world.
So far, the newsletter team has published 59 bulletins and we could not be more grateful for dedicated volunteers like Chester and Harry!