Bill Rose thought he was just attending a Timothy Lake Road Community Association meeting as a new resident.
He left as the president.
That was in 2001, just two years after he and his wife Marilyn had retired to the Lac La Hache community. For the next 14 years, Rose represented the association, helping members deal with various government entities such as the Cariboo Regional District and Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) to improve the area.
In 2006, he and other members got Timothy Lake Road seal-coated after sending a petition to MoTI. Later on, Rose helped negotiate a compromise when logging trucks started using the road, putting its seal coating at risk.
“As a group, we try to look after our community,” Rose, 82, said.
Dealing with people - and government - is something that comes naturally to Rose, who spent 40 years as a door salesman. The experience taught him the importance of personal connections and being prepared to answer any questions.
It also enabled him to secure dozens of grants over the years for both the Timothy Lake Road Community Association and the Greeny Lake Volunteer Fire Department Society, in which he has been involved since 2013.
“I like it when we get a grant successfully, it makes me feel I did something right,” Rose said. “They need a lot of information when you apply for a grant … you probably have at least 10 to 15 pages of paper just to put the application in.”
He stepped down as association president in 2015, but didn’t stay inactive for long. Two years ago, he took on the role of secretary for both the association. He is also secretary for the Greeny Lake Volunteer Fire Department Society, which “is quite a job.”
Rose said he is detail-oriented and takes meticulous notes, both of which have helped him in his capacity as secretary.
“It entails keeping track of all 125 member families we have and looking for funding basically,” he said. “I enjoy doing it but it’s a little tiring at times.”
As a private fire department, Greeny Lake relies on member contributions to operate. Rose is in the process of raising the $450,000 needed for a new firetruck and hopes to secure a grant of $200,000 from the Community Gaming Grant. He notes it’s not always easy as every grant he applies for requires a matching amount of money from the department or must be spent immediately, which makes saving up for a big purchase, like a new firetruck, difficult.
One of the projects closest to his heart involves both organizations - a 70-foot wide boat ramp for Timothy Lake.
The association has already received $10,000 in grants from the South Cariboo Community Enhancement Foundation for the $18,000 project, which will resurface the 300-foot steep, gravelled and windy access road off Meade Avenue, which ends in a three-foot drop into the lake. The boat launch is expected to provide better access to firefighters, as well as fishermen and other recreational users year-round.
Although the project was delayed by a shortage of a special kind of gravel, Rose said they’re ready to build the ramp this July.
“It’s going to be good for the environment because right now people just back in and push dirt into the lake and stir up all the mud,” Rose said. “Now we’re going to be coming in on a cement ramp which will be a lot nicer.”
Although he enjoys his volunteer work, Rose isn’t sure how long he will remain in the position.
“I’d like to turn the reins over to someone else,” he said. “I’m of an age when I should be doing a lot more reading at home but I’m still healthy so I keep doing it.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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