Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Today was another awesome day working in the planning and policy division of Municipal Affairs in Newfoundland. It was an exciting day filled with many new activities not entirely different from my Shad Valley experience. It started out with a trip to see the new Robin Hood Bay waste management facility. Upon arrival we were given a detailed presentation about the current composition of the area and plans they have for the future. We were then given a tour around the perimeter where we could see all the different aspects of the area. It was very gratifying to not only discover that all waste and dump sites will be reduced, but also how they plan to accomplish this.

When the tour was finished we returned to the office. My Shad colleague and I continued to write the newspaper articles that we've been working on this week. The goal of these articles is to make people aware of the importance of leadership in the areas of information management and project management. Today we got one step closer to completion and hopefully, one step closer to being published.

Our next adventure was lunch with Roger Fitzgerald, the current speaker of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. While giving us a tour he provided us with all kinds of information about how bills are made and the process they must undergo before they can be considered legislature. He also educated us on who will talk during a typical meeting and for how long. I felt privileged to be given this inside look at things.

We finished the remainder of the day with some more work on our articles. Today was a great day. We were able to get out and learn through new experiences.

Mark Shea
Hometown: Fogo, NL