Big Bear Lake, CA — Community leaders and those in child-involved groups were welcomed to participate in the third annual Vision 2010 Community Summit, hosted by the Lighthouse Project at the Big Bear Lake Performing Arts Center last night. Big Bear Lake Mayor Liz Harris opened the evening of inspiration and motivation to continue with child-honoring efforts in our community. “You all give me great pride,” Mayor Harris remarked, “Big Bear is a very special place.” Harris introduced some special members of the audience, including County Supervisor Neil Derry, BVUSD’s Superintendent Dr. Nancy Wright and members of the school board, as well as local elected officials, before saying of the Lighthouse Project, “It is a gift to the young and old alike.”
Program coordinator Beth Gardner addressed the packed PAC by noting, “We can always be improving and creating more unity in our community. Big Bear is uniquely poised to create special things.” Among those have been the Lighthouse’s Move a Million Miles for Ryan Hall campaign, the implementation of PeaceBuilders programs at local schools, the Run the Bear Marathon, and Peace Gardens at school sites, including two planned to sprout in spring at Big Bear High School and North Shore Elementary. The next big effort of the Lighthouse Project is the Make a Million Smiles campaign which, like the community movement in support of Olympian Ryan Hall in 2008, will allow for young and old alike to log their smiles (rather than miles) for every minute spent contributing in a volunteer capacity. “We need your help in schools,” Gardner suggested, “and think about the gifts that you’re going to get. Make a Million Smiles is inviting all of us to shine our light in 2010.”
To inspire those in attendance to a greater sense of community and integrity, the Lighthouse welcomed “Cowboy Ethics” author Jim Owen to speak on the Code of the West which, he says, “is a conscious choice to do the right thing; doing the right thing is a path you choose.” Owen went on to outline cowboy ethics which, when applied by each of us individually, can make a difference in our children, our community and our country. With that, and the challenge to make a million smiles, here is the Code of the West: “Live each day with courage. Take pride in your work. Always finish what you start. Do what has to be done. Be tough, but fair. When you make a promise, keep it. Ride for the brand. Talk less and say more. Remember that some things aren’t for sale. Know where to draw the line.”
