Bob Kimball introduced our Mar. 22, 2010, guest speaker Eric Cunningham, Mayor of Sussex Corner, population: 1400. Eric surprisingly let us now that we were his first group ever in 12 years that he has spoken for and was very happy to do so. The first thing he said to us as a group was his appreciation for Rotary in his village. He then gave some history on the Village of Sussex Corner...
It started in mid-1700 when the Loyalists came to settle. Many people don’t realize that Sussex Corner was here before Sussex Vail, which we now call Sussex. There is still evidence of the beginning of Sussex Corner there. For example, Cougle Rd is named after Capt. John Cougle, a Loyalist from the United States, and Leonard Drive after Dr. Leonard their first MLA.
They still have pancake suppers with many events at the old rink. They became incorporated in 1966 with a $500 budget and just cleared their 2010 budget for $1,000,000. The town has five full time and several seasonal and summer student employees. His passion is population growth in Sussex Corner, newcomers residential and business alike. He said that there is room for tourism, including the Bluff, which is in Sussex Corner. He is also very proud of the volunteers, church suppers and variety shows that they have every year.
He has been on a recreation council working on a recreation agenda for the past year. Lou McNamara asked about the shape of the old rink and any plans to refurbish it. Eric said that due to the arena being in a flood zone, there are many restrictions on rebuilding by-laws and that they have been considering other locations for some form of a new rink in Sussex Corner.
Bruce Northrup thanked Mayor Eric.