I am well into production for the final edition of the Grand Bend Strip, which is a swimsuit edition that will go to every home in Grand Bend and to our 600 subscribers. Copies will be available at stores as well.

Because we are running a full distribution, about 1800 copies will go to homes in Grand Bend, with the rest going to subscribers in the area through our normal distribution for a total of 2200 delivered copies plus 800 store copies. This is a rare chance for you to hit every home in Grand Bend with your message, and I know this issue will remain on coffee tables for some time.

I have set my prices a little higher than normal, but much lower than should be expected for a full distribution run. We are still more affordable than any other local paper, despite a greater distribution for this run. This offer won’t come around again. Prices can be found at http://www.grandbendstrip.com/advertising/

I want to run as much colour as possible to show off the swimsuits being worn by local people you may know. Studies also show that colour is more attractive to readers, so you will get more eyeballs on your ad if you run colour. To make this more attractive to you, I am offering you a special deal: on top of your ad space rate, you can add colour for $50 for any ad less than 1/4 page, or $100 for any ad larger than 1/4 page. This is a huge discount from our normal rates (adding colour for a full page is normally $300 on top of your space rate, so you can save up to $200)!

To get a sense of how the farewell swimsuit edition is going so far, visit http://caseylessard.me or my facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CaseyLessardPhotography

Please let me know as soon as possible the extent of your participation in this special issue. Hope to hear from you soon!

Casey Lessard
You can email me here
–
Publisher/Editor
Grand Bend Strip community newspaper

+1 (519) 614-3614 [cell]
+1 (866) 753-2781 [fax]

Casey and Anjhela are moving to Oxford, England, where Anjhela will pursue her master's degree. The Grand Bend Strip's final issue is July 14, a swimsuit edition.

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

The headline above may come to a surprise to some of you, but to others, you have heard the rumours already. Here’s the truth: Anjhela and I are moving to England, where she will pursue a master’s degree at the University of Oxford. How could we turn that down?
Of course, the inevitable questions include: what about the paper? It will be no more. Despite some hints of interest from other people, the fact is, the paper is too much work for even me to do for the compensation received. It’s always been a labour of love, and it would be like asking a stranger to adopt your child.
We are moving early September, and Anjhela starts classes in early October. I had originally planned to keep putting out papers until mid-August, but it doesn’t make much sense. Anyone who has ever made such a major move knows you need time to prepare. For me, as someone who earns most of his money from freelance and part-time work, I need time to get my act together. I need time to make a portfolio, which I haven’t done since I started the Strip. I need time to create a plan for the type of work I want to do, and time to create that work before I arrive in England.
I also have many commitments to my Grand Bend photo students, who are calling for classes that have been delayed due to the newspaper. It’s one of the many loose ends I need to tie.
My commitment of delivering a newspaper to you, the reader, ends with my next issue. I will always be committed to sharing my work with you, but you will no longer get this on a piece of newsprint after July 14. I humbly apologize. For most of you, your paid subscription of 16 issues runs out that issue, and the rest of you (who signed up after July 2009) will be hearing from me personally soon.
From a professional standpoint, I have achieved almost everything I desired when I started imagining the paper. I wanted it to be one of the best in Canada, but I’ll settle for one of the best in Ontario. I wanted a place to show my work and share stories, and that was a success. I wanted to be part of my home community again, and you welcomed me more than I ever dreamed.
From a personal standpoint, living and working here have afforded me many great opportunities. Humber College has been wonderful to me, as have my photo students here. I live with the love of my life, and share a great apartment with two sweet little dogs. My parents are close, as are many members of Anjhela’s family. We will miss it so much here.
This is not the final word from me, and you can keep up to date on everything Casey by visiting my new website: caseylessard.me . I will also add some further comments in the next issue. I hope you will add your thoughts on the end of the Grand Bend Strip and our future pursuits; if you send me a letter before July 7, I will make every effort to include it in the next issue.
I have but one unfulfilled desire for the Grand Bend Strip. I want to do a swimsuit edition. Seriously. You bring the swimsuit, I’ll bring the camera. We’ll show a location or activity you love about Grand Bend. You can trust me, right? If it sounds fun to you or someone you know, drop me a note now to schedule a shoot.
Even if you don’t want to bare your skin, I need to work on building a portrait portfolio. If you join my facebook page (Casey Lessard Photography) or I have your email address for the paper, you will hear from me soon about a special portrait deal for the summer. I’ll make it worth your while.
In the meantime, enjoy this issue, and look for the final Grand Bend Strip mid-July. Talk to you then.

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

I feel a level of simpatico with Mark Reilly. We’re not friends, not business partners; I met him once and talked to him on the phone once. But I know how he probably feels: he just wants to run a business in Grand Bend within the rules established by the prevailing authority.
When I started the Grand Bend Strip, I got a some nasty looks from people I didn’t know. Others simply ignored me, considered the paper junk mail, or didn’t care. They liked the old way, the other newspaper. But, as I believe Mark Reilly is, I was committed to doing my best every day and showing that I wanted to be part of this community. Luckily, there is a vocal minority – you who are reading this – who said, let’s support this guy. He’s doing something good.
I think Reilly’s dream of making Grand Bend a destination for athletes is a good thing. Somewhere along the line, he screwed up the execution. Too much, too soon. The town just redid the beach and downtown, after all. Add to that a contract that was too long for too little.
But let’s try to determine who is responsible here. It is really Mark Reilly?
Mark Reilly simply made a proposal to run a business. He did nothing wrong in that respect. His idea had no fundamental flaws. However, he made some mistakes by not communicating with residents, by not paying his initial fee, and by not securing insurance for the season. After his first mistake and the resulting meeting May 1, I can’t blame him for making the other two mistakes. He probably didn’t expect this project would happen this summer.
Is it Lambton Shores council, or perhaps the administration, that should bear the blame for the controversy and uproar by a group of concerned citizens? The administration wrote the terms of the agreement under direction of council, and made some critical errors in its construction. After a series of mistakes, council had enough reason to be concerned that it gave 60 days notice to terminate the contract with PVB. Good thing for them that PVB made the mistakes it did.
I’m going to take it one step further, though. If council and the administration are responsible for this mess, then perhaps the person ultimately responsible is you. After all, you voted in the council and they direct the administration.
I want to hear who you think is responsible. Visit our website and answer our poll, which is active now. It’s an early way to express your opinion to council. You’ll get another opportunity in October with the municipal election.
Regardless of your opinion, it looks like this project will go ahead. Ed Fluter says those supporting this project are a silent minority. But when it comes down to decision time, there may be a more important portion of the population that emerges. They’re the ones who vote in the councilors for wards other than Grand Bend. And when the residents of Grand Bend say, not in my backyard, are they listening? If not, who is in the majority here?

The Grand Bend Strip and publisher Casey Lessard took home more awards than any other newspaper in Ontario Friday, May 14 at the Ontario Community Newspapers Association gala held in Toronto. Here are the results and judges’ comments:

Is mom stunned by the success of the Grand Bend Strip? Unfortunately, they only take one photo at the Ontario Community Newspapers Association awards banquet in Toronto, and this is the one they sent us. From left: publisher Casey Lessard, mom Rita Lessard, OCNA president Don MacLeod, and co-owner Anjhela Michielsen hold the most plaques taken home by any newspaper at this year’s awards, held May 14.

3rd place – General Excellence (best overall paper), circulation under 1,999
Note: Top marks in 4 of 11 categories, including Front Page, Presentation, Photography, and Production Quality
Judges Norm Park, Cindy Beaulieu, Kelly Clammer, Heather Thomson: The most eye-appealing publication in this class. No question about artistic quality and photo presentation. That is tops in the class. This paper also provides good, easy to read features with strong leads. It’s a home-spun feel-good paper with a professional flair.

2nd place – Photographer of the Year (competing with all newspapers)
Judge Bill White: Strong features. Some very nice lighting.

1st place – Best Creative Advertising (under 9,999) – ad promoting Casey365.com
Judge Wayne Aubert: Unexpected clean layout for the clutter of ads in a community paper.

1st place – Best Feature Photo (under 9,999) – cover photo from Parkhill fair
Judge Dave White: I think the photographer made some smart decisions regarding depth of field and camera angle to help us feel this child’s pure joy. The viewer is right there with her. I really love this image.

2nd place – Education Writing – SHDHS music trip to Chicago
Judge Richard Dal Monte: Great photos and a good idea going along for the ride on the band trip to the Windy City.

3rd place – Best Sports Photo – Hockey Night in Zurich dressing room photo
Judge Ron Scheffler: The photographer is commended for exploring behind the scenes to reveal a closer look at those who play simply for the love of the sport.

3rd place – Best Photo Layout – Parkhill’s Five Fun Days
Judge Joe Callahan: An uncomplicated layout and typography that allowed the photograph to communicate effectively.

3rd place – Best Rural Story (under 9,999) – potato farmer Marcus Koenig
Judge Jake Boudrot: Well written, well researched, significant local story, with a nice layout and excellent photographs.

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

I’ll admit that I don’t spend a lot of time in downtown Grand Bend in the winter. My home base is in Parkhill, and I am usually heading in the other direction, to Toronto, during the school year.
That’s why it was interesting to visit the strip April 2. The day was too beautiful not to see whether others would be soaking up the sun and getting sand stuck between their toes. They sure were. It felt like July.
More interesting, though, was seeing the main street construction that will be done by the time most people expected summer to start (i.e. not April). Regardless of what you think of the width of the road, the remake looks promising. The facelift was a long time coming.
I can understand why some people are nonplussed about the process. It makes life tougher if the road’s not wide enough. But let’s be honest. This construction is not to make life easier for drivers. It is for the walkers, and those using wheelchairs. In other words, it’s for the shoppers. Someday, that may even be you.
That will be some time from now, though, if you won’t go downtown while visitors run amok. If a town can’t sustain its downtown economy year-round solely on its residents, what do you expect? Businesses are going to continue to plan for the summer economy, and had people known it was going to be so beautiful Easter weekend, more businesses would have opened to serve the influx.
There’s no turning back on this downtown project, and we may have the best infrastructure around by this summer. With the new look, we may even be able to attract a few more downtown businesses that cater to locals, as most people say they want.
But it will take some more vision, like that of a select few (including Kazwear, which is finishing its own intriguing renovation), to get us to the point where the majority make a living off the residents instead of the visitors.
Is that right for Grand Bend? You tell me.

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

This is the time of year, it seems, when good things start happening. We’ve just recovered from the Olympics with its thrilling ending, the snow seems to be gone for good, and our chihuahua can now handle a walk that lasts longer than three minutes.
But here at the Strip, we have many more things to celebrate. Our friends at South Huron’s music department continue their MusicFest winning ways, James Eddington took a much needed vacation, and Anjhela is weeks away from finishing her degree. Then there are the awards. Where do I start? It’s a good year, that’s for sure.
When I started the Grand Bend Strip, my intention was to make it one of the best newspapers in Ontario, and maybe even Canada. Each issue, the goal is to give you the best photos and most interesting stories I can find related to your community and interests. This work has paid off with one CCNA win, two OCNA wins, and many top three finishes in the first two years.
This year is different, though. Now, the Strip is nominated for best paper in Ontario, and this after only three years of publication. My photography is recognized again, and a variety of photos and writing samples are nominated for two CCNA awards and more OCNA awards than any other paper, large or small, in Ontario.
That was a surprise. This is likely one of the smallest publications in Ontario, after all. But the honours are a tribute to you, the people who are reading this column.
Without your support, the paper would have folded last summer under the financial strain of making this work every time.
So thank you for your continued support. Just one more thing to ask of you: cross your fingers Friday, May 14 that I come home with something that will really make you proud.

The Grand Bend Strip leads all community newspapers in Ontario with eight nominations for this year’s Ontario Community Newspaper Awards, including best overall paper and photographer of the year for Casey Lessard. The top three entrants were announced March 1; winners will be announced at the OCNA’s annual conference in Toronto May 14. The Parry Sound North Star has the second most nominations with seven.
To learn more about the Grand Bend Strip’s history of awards since its first publication in May 2007, visit http://www.grandbendstrip.com/about/awards.

The Grand Bend Strip and publisher Casey Lessard are nominated in the following categories:

General Excellence – Class 1
(Award for best overall paper from two random issues submitted)
Other nominees: Cobden Sun and Manotick Messenger

Education Writing
(Chicago! – SHDHS music trip)
Other nominees: Parry Sound Beacon Star and Richmond Hill/Thornhill Liberal

Best Rural Story (circ under 9,999)
(Fields of Gold – Marcus Koenig, potato farmer)
Other nominees: Listowel Banner and New Hamburg Independent

Best Feature Photo (circ under 9,999)
(Best Seat in the House – Dashwood soap box derby cover photo)
Other nominees: Aylmer Express and Bracebridge Examiner

Best Photo Layout
(Five days of good, clean fun – Parkhill Five Fun Days)
Other nominees: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser and North York Mirror

Best Sports Photo
(Hockey Night in Zurich – Mark Buruma in dressing room)
Other nominees: Brampton Guardian and Mount Forest Confederate

Photographer of the Year
(Casey Lessard, photographer)
Other nominees: Belleville EMC and Peterborough This Week

Best Creative Advertising (circ under 9,999)
(Casey365.com – ad promoting website)
Other nominees: Mount Forest Confederate and Nunavut News/North

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

With the mediocre weather and mediocre economy we experienced this year, it’s tough not to feel glum. I’m happy, though, (for the most part) with how 2009 went here.
No health problems this year. Missed the swine flu this time around.
Anjhela is almost done school. Well, for now, anyway.
We got a new little dog, and she is delightful. A true joy, minus her piercing barks.
Made inroads on improving myself, creating new photographs for almost 300 days in a row. Too bad the project was supposed to last 365. Oh, well.
Perhaps I should stop tempering all the positives with a negative. So, here are some truly good things I’m thankful for:
Got more hours working at Humber College. My car is still kicking at 340,000 km. My parents still want to do their articles. James, Lance, Jenipher, and Yvonne have really helped give some needed breadth to the paper. My photo project forced me to take my work more seriously. You, the reader, responded to keep this paper going, and for that, I am truly grateful.

So, what about 2010? I’m interested in seeing how things pan out. In Grand Bend, there’s the promise of the new Main Street, which some argue is too thin for traffic. They’re probably right, and we’ll measure it before the summer to see. There’s the prospect of sewers, and most of you affected by this – according to our small survey – are opposed to the project. For you, there is a municipal election to anticipate.
From a personal level, I’m looking into returning to school part-time, and looking at ways to improve both my photography and the paper. Do readers want a heavier web presence at the expense of the print product? It’s a prospect we all face in the media industry, and I’m going to push that way very soon.
I’d also like to spend some time (if I can find it) actually getting some exercise. Another new year’s resolution.

For you, I hope you can savour the joys, find shelter from the storms (they’re coming), and see the light in the darkness. Just keep pushing and I’ll see you next year!

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

I’m sure Gord Minielly is ready to let someone else be the front man (or woman) for the municipality after last month’s meeting to discuss the Lambton Shores sewer project. It’s a tough job and he has to do it. You can imagine why his health has suffered; more than 300 people attended the meeting, with most ready to fight him to the death over the project (only a slight exaggeration).
So what should residents do? It’s not for me to say. But I think the decision can only be made after the final numbers come out. If it’s more affordable than septic, doesn’t it make sense to share the burden among your neighbours? Sewers make a home more attractive to buyers, and housing prices go up as a result. I do understand Dick Matzka’s point about the cost of living pushing people out of the market here; I know I’ll likely never be able to afford a house here.
But when the provincial and federal governments are willing to invest in your community, it’s hard to say no. They sent money for the beach and money for the main street. If the money’s still there, it seems foolish to turn it down. But someone has to make the decision on how to spend it. Let’s make sure it’s an informed council. Election day, as Minielly reminded the crowd, is set for October 25, 2010.

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

In the wake of Thanksgiving, it’s important to take a moment and consider what we’re thankful for. I’m thankful for the support I have for the work I do here and at home, support that comes from readers and my family.
I also want to send a message of thanks to my mentor Martha Perkins, who is leaving the Haliburton Echo (where I worked before returning to this area) after 24 years (more than half her life). As editor, she has won more than 60 provincial and national awards for her work, so you know I was trained by the best in the business. She’s moving to Vancouver to take an editor’s position at the Bowen Island Undercurrent. Best of luck, Martha.
She’s a big supporter of small towns, and gave me a sense of community. If you believe in community, too, vote for Grand Bend in the CBC Radio 2 SongQuest contest featured on pages 2-3. It’s a long-shot, but let’s try to win!

My apologies to the cast and crew of Our Choir’s the Pitts; a change in publication deadline meant I didn’t have a chance to promote or attend the play, but I hope it was a great success.