The Lowertown Echo de la Basse Ville is a reflection of our community. It provides an introduction for newcomers and useful information for longtime residents. It is an important link in a chain that connects us to events past and present and to the people, places and businesses in the community.
Produced by a team of volunteers coming from the rich pool of talent that lives in Lowertown, the Echo has become an exemplary paper with the largest circulation of any community newspaper in Ottawa. It is distributed free of charge to all residences and businesses in the community.
The cost to produce and distribute the Echo is covered by the businesses who advertise in our paper. Many do this from a spirit of civic obligation; a sense of giving back to the community. We truly appreciate the gesture and hope our readers will take it into account when parting with their hard-earned dollars.
Equally important to those who provide the funding for the Echo are those who do it for no pay — the volunteers who provide the time and effort that go into producing the paper. You will see their names on the masthead. It would be good to see more names appearing in future. There are many jobs to be done and for most, the only important criteria required is curiosity and the wish to satisfy it.
There are many opportunities to get involved in Lowertown. Many agencies serving our community need volunteers. We hope to be writing about these in future issues as we expand our “Helping Hands” section. The community association also needs volunteers, most especially for operating the skating rink at Bingham Park but also to get involved in the many other things it does on our behalf.
We all can play a role in making our community a great place to live and work.