ROTARY: Guest Speaker - Joe Trasolini

Our Guest Speaker this morning was former Port Moody Mayor and new MLA, Joe Trasolini.  as a charter member of our Club, it was great to have Joe with us.  His introduction from Rotarian Gray and Joes's presentation felt very much like a "Classification" talk! I know I learned alot about his early life and his career path....that I had not known before.

 

When Joe was 16 years old, he came to Canada from Rome.  He attended BCIT and worked for Environment Canada for about 10 years until he started his own business..G Trasolini Contractors.  From his successful business, Joe stepped into the arena of municipal politics when he ran, successfully, for City Council in 1996. He became Mayor in 1999 and served for 12 years in this position.  During his tenure, Joe oversaw a period of great development, particuliarly residential development,  in the City.  His attention to services, the environment, the arts and transportation were well known. 

 

Joe described how he has always seen himself as a citizen first and a politician seconed.  maye this is what motivated him to try to be accessible to the the citizens of the City...known for his open door policy.   This view, combined with having a vision of what the City could become as it grew...were the foundations of his approach as our Mayor.  His vision was to create a livable City that would be respected and envied. The awards and recognitions that have come indicate the success of that dream

 

Joe describes the lessons of civic politics as good preparation for making the transition into the provincial arena. His job as Mayor was to find out what people want and he feels that is still his job. His interest in the environment and in the economy will continue.  He explained he hopes to be able to focus on education (training and skills for youth) and on ensuring we gain maximum added value for our exported natural resources.

 

The message was that, like Rotary's dream to end Polio..Joe's dream, of a strong and healthy community continues. We thanks him for his years of service to our City and wish him well in his future efforts representing our constituency in Victoria.