What a fun event the Seniors’ Christmas dinner at the Best Western Invermere Inn was on the weekend.

This is a wonderful example of business and service coming together to create something really good. The hotel, along with other businesses like Valley Foods, Quality Bakery and Sysco, provided the meal and beverages while Rotary Club of Invermere members helped with service, rides to and from the event and numerous door prizes.

The band Smarty-Pants performed throughout the evening as well, and David Thompson Secondary School leadership class students helped out with coat checking and serving. The result was a lovely kick off to the Christmas season for our local seniors. Also winners are the Christmas Bureau and Columbia Valley Food Bank who will receive cash donations.

It is, of course, the time of year when we all go out of our way to help out our fellow ‘man’. Those that can, participate by purchasing hampers for the Christmas Bureau and make donations to the food bank. In the cities, Salvation Army bells ring out from every corner and major store entry. Many people write cheques for their annual donations to charities of their choice.

A huge thank you goes out to all of those people, and also to those who may not write cheques but donate their time freely or give in other ways. I truly believe we all have something to contribute, and there is no gift more valuable than another.

Now, if we could just get us all thinking this way year-round and worldwide, we’d really have something, wouldn’t we?

Marilyn Berry is publisher of The Valley Echo.