Greetings fellow Canadians, it seems as though our small community has hit the big time. It usually takes plenty of money to get a great position in a national magazine, or something terrible or intriguing to hit the provincial level. So when the emails and phone calls started to pour in about this article in Money Sense, profiled on Yahoo I was very surprised. For a moment I was shocked, confused by the information or lack thereof, but after some consideration, excitement started to build. All eyes were going to be on Bay Roberts, the little National and Provincial award winning community is getting its 20 min of fame!!
The question is, what will we do with this “fame” ? We could go crazy and defend our beautiful community to the hilt, or we could embrace the attention, ensure all information is accurate and hold our heads high and say to our fellow Canadians, “To see what Bay Roberts is really like, come for a visit? ”
I am sure the author of the article worked long and hard on producing this document that has some in our town in an uproar. Maybe Bryan Borzykowski does not realize what impact these articles have on small communities who compete for growth and economic stability. But maybe he does, as it fuels attention to the magazine and to him as an author. In any case, it was nice that we were thought of – even though our crime rate is not high as indicated in his writings, and we do not have a negative population growth rate (Bay Roberts population increased by 3.4% , Statistics Canada )
Bay Roberts is a proactive community, with hundreds of volunteers and an effective town Council that ensures that the quality of life is second to none. If there is a fault in the tourism department keeping a tourism booklet online then I apologize. If the time had permitted, our guide would have explored the wonderful world of Bay Roberts and what it truly has to offer, but then again, it would be hard to gather all the statistics for 179 cities and actually absorb the good points.
Bryan, for a brief overview of Bay Roberts, please take 3 minutes out of your busy schedule and watch this video, it should help you understand us better.
I also would like to invite you to come to Bay Roberts and to our amazing province of Newfoundland and Labrador; we would love to have you visit.
Thanks
Ron
Delaney's Rant 
Good one Ron!
I too have responded in kind and agree that Brian really needs to come and “Experience” Bay Roberts for himself … as do all the Readers of MoneySense Magazine.
It is only then that they will whole heartedly recognize how wonderful and beautiful and progressive this town REALLY is!
No Publicity is Bad Publicity (as Brian well knows =)
Excellent response Ron, and a good positive spin on what is obviously ill-informed hogwash.
As I have said, to visit the Bay Roberts Pavilion and read the words of the Holding Ground in Ted Russel’s own pen and look out the windows across the bay… Anyone who could could speak so poorly of Bay Roberts is a fool.
Thank you so much for your comments. I hope he looks at the video and accepts the invitation to come. I got a e-mail from one of my friends in Summerside PEI today, he thought it would be a great idea to invite him to the east coast.
His story reads like a typicall mainlainder writing about the Island- he hasn’t been there, he should not comment.
Great idea to invite the author. Then he can learn what the rest of the world already knows! Bay Roberts is a great place to live. Selling Real Estate in Bay Roberts area I earned the Canadian Rookie of the Year for my Real Estate Company Exit Realty on the Rock. With over 50 listings and over40 sales in 10 months, its one of the hottest Real Estate markets in North America according to my company. Obviously all the people buying homes here have more sense than Money Sense!!
What a great comment, Pam! And I love your last remark!
Ron
You have responded well! Top notch!
My husband and I retired here in Bay Roberts 7 years ago…and haven’t regreted one day. I’m originally from
la belle province de Quebec, but I fell in love with Nfld in the 60’s and knew when it came time to retire this was the province we wanted. The people in Bay Roberts are the best –
the spirit of Bay Roberts is alive and well with enthusiasm, friendliness and positive outlook. The value of our property has increased tremendously and we have everything we need, easily assessible, in this community. I hope that ‘Brian’ accepts your invitation – he’s soon learn what the rest of us have discovered…Bay Roberts is not your typical town..it’s the best! Great response, Ron.
A chara Ron,
Greetings from your next door neighbours across the pond. Speaking as visitor to your beautiful area whose scenic and natural beauty are truly amazing, I could not believe what I read in this recent publication. The problem with so many so called “experts” these days is they think they can surf for a few photos and research a web site on a location and they know it all. “Bryan, your wrong buddy!” Forget about the price of real estate, this community is rich beyond your comprehension.
Its wealth lives within the community spirit and the people we had the great pleasure to spend time with in October 2008, I had the privilege to be among a group of eleven Irish Coast Guard volunteers to spend a week in Bay Roberts. The welcome and hospitality we received can not be posted on a web site, you have to go and see for yourself.
Say hello to all our friends in Bay Roberts and don’t worry about Bryan because as Frank says “he doesn’t understand it”
Slan
Charlie in Donegal
Charlie,
It is great hearing from you!!
Thank you for your kind words and you and Frank are right..”he doesn’t understand it”
What he do understand is that these type of articles bring traffic and attention to him, and he will do so regardless of what it can do to a community.
The irony of it al was that the outcome was not negative, we had a outpouring of support from all over the world, people are researching Bay Roberts and Newfoundland and Labrador. They plan on coming and using their own judgement regarding Bay Roberts.
For me, it has been a fun ride as I look at it with humor for the most part, but with pride as the support has been amazing.
I hope all is well with you and your family.
Thanks so much
God Bless
Ron
Having visited the area last year, the hospitality extended to us was almost embaressing, the Irish are regarded as the most friendly and hospitable nations in the world and as an Irish man visiting the area I can with confidence say that we would struggle to maintain their standard.
Maybe a visit to the area with a local host might be a good method of rectifying your unfounded comments and realising that the scenery and community spirit make an area and not the material aspects of a community.
For Bay Roberts, soak it up, there may just be an influx of visitiors to see whats its all about.
Hi Ron,
Living in Halifax the last 30 years its nice to read about your memories of xmas and the Bay Roberts area. My grandmother was Julia Seymour from Spaniard’s Bay and moved to St John’s as a young women Circa 1920 however growing up St. John’s always heard great stories of her childhood and the area of Bay Roberts .
Thanks for sharing and look forward to more blogging.
All the best Clark