Council Candidate Larry Vellinga Talks Chatham-Kent Sports

CKSN asked all candidates running for Chatham-Kent council and mayor, to give us their backgrounds in sports and recreation, and describe their goals and views for not only sports and recreation in Chatham-Kent, but making Chatham-Kent a healthier, and more active place to live.

The Chatham-Kent Municipal election day is October 27, 2014.

Here are council candidate Larry Vellinga’s responses. Vellinga is running for council in Ward 6 – Chatham.

1. Background in sports and recreation:

I’m a supporting parent. My daughter plays travel fast pitch softball with the Windsor Lady Expos. This year they finished achieving the bronze medal in the Provincial Championships and finished fifth for Canada overall in the Nationals. Since I already work in Windsor (22 years) due to the lack of jobs in Chatham, this entails arriving home at 4:50 pm and being back on the road for 5:10 pm headed to Windsor for practice 3 times a week. They participate in tournaments in Ohio, Michigan and Ontario. What many parents miss with travel sports is the opportunity for kids to have fun and learn the life lesson of relationship building and friendships. Given the opportunity to be nurtured, these relationships could last a lifetime. Everyone loves to win but I think the emphasis on winning is way too overemphasized.

2. What specific ideas or goals do you have for Chatham-Kent, to improve or maintain recreational programs and facilities, and support our athletes and sports organizations? Or to help build opportunities for future growth in these areas?

Having attended a number of major provincial and national tournaments, I understand the value of ensuring our community is presented in a favourable light. The parents, grandparents, coaches and friends spend a considerable sum of money to attend by paying for accommodations, food, snacks and shopping in between games. By supporting the organizations in our municipality to apply for these tournaments as well as ensuring we have the facilities capable of handling the tournaments would bring in a considerable amount of money for our small businesses. I estimated that at the Nationals in Bramption, the teams left behind 3 to 4 hundred thousand dollars for the Brampton community. That’s just one tournament. Think of the endless possibilities – Volleyball, Basketball, Hockey, Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse, Golf and many more.

3. How will you work to make Chatham-Kent a healthier, more active place to live?

Small businesses that benefit from the tournaments as described above could be encouraged to support the youth of the community with some of the proceeds that they collected. There are a lot of families in our community that just cannot afford the cost of house league or travel sports. Imagine if everyone had the opportunity to participate. Youth would be engaged in healthy exercise instead of sitting in front of a television or playing a game console. Idle time would be reduced and everyone would enjoy the benefits of being a part of the “TEAM”. At the Windsor Lady Expos, our motto on our banner describes “TEAM” a “Together Everyone Achieves More”. I think that pretty much sums it up in four simple words.

4. Anything else you’d like to add?

When the community thinks about who they should vote for in the upcoming election, they need to take the promises made by the candidates with a grain of salt. One question they do need to ask is “Who is genuinely qualified to make the decisions necessary to move Chatham Kent forward.”

What candidate has achieved a Masters Degree in Business – Vellinga
What candidate has managed budgets in the tens of millions of dollars – Vellinga
What candidate has managed teams of over 300 people – Vellinga
What candidate has handled major projects from conception through to completion – Vellinga
What candidate understands the infrastructure of the municipality – Vellinga

• waste water treatment, potable and non potable water systems
• energy generation and how the energy grid works
• building maintenance and what it takes to heat and cool our buildings while handling waste and supplying electricity and water
• what maintenance really costs so we get honest proposals instead of inflated estimates

Running for council is not a job for me – it’s a passion. We could have moved to Windsor 22 years ago when I got hired at Ford Motor Company but we stayed because we love this community. I want to see Chatham-Kent succeed. I want to see some jobs come here so our youth does not go off to university and never come back. We need to start holding our administration accountable for spending and start reinvesting in new ideas to move the municipality forward. Outsiders need to look at Chatham- Kent as a destination instead of a sign on the 401.

I truly believe that sports builds character in our youth and develops them into better human beings.

What did you think of Council Candidate Larry Vellinga’s responses? Let us know in the comments below!