‘We are not the poor country cousins’: Mayor lifts up Gympie

‘Gympie is the best region to live’ and it’s time we shed the jokes from the past and spoke up about it, Mayor Glen Hartwig says

BEST PLACE TO LIVE: Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig says Gympie is a place where you can feel the community and residents should be proud to call Gympie home.

A message from Gympie Regional Council Mayor Glen Hartwig:

I HAVE the privilege of travelling the region and seeing just how wonderful it is.

This was reaffirmed this week when I had the honour of welcoming around 30 new citizens to our region and country.

I was moved by the endless stories of how people had visited this area, fell in love with its beauty and people, and decided to move states or countries to live here.

We, as residents, know how good our region is and although we have sometimes been the butt of ill-informed jokes, the rest of the country is starting to understand just what we all know.

It has been my personal experience that the greatest asset this region is its people.

GYMPIE NEWS:

– Fight to stop traffic lights at treacherous CBD crossing

– How Gympie council dropped the ball on its biggest risks

– LIVE POLL: What needs to be done to improve Gympie’s CBD?

PRETTY CITY: An aerial photo of Gympie's CBD with the courthouse in the foreground.

Warm, caring, concerned about our future and invested in the stable growth and direction of the whole area, but most importantly concerned about each other.

In these times, that is the most valuable commodity for any community and something that cannot be fabricated; you either have it or you don’t, and we have it.

I often have the pleasure of showing this region to visitors, family and friends.

The common statement that I hear is, “You can feel the community here, you can tell people really care.”

This region may have been spoken of in ways that were not positive in the past but it’s time we spoke of this region in a way that we have known it to be for years.

This is the best region to live – whether it’s the bush and countryside of the west, the surf and sand of the east, or the food and forest of the Mary Valley – there is something for everyone. We have the best of everything, but most importantly we have the best people.

As we all go about our daily lives, let us do it with pride in our region.

We are not the poor country cousins; we are a vibrant, caring community that is a great place to live, work and enjoy the best that life has to offer.

This region is the best region to live in.

Let’s walk with pride.

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