On August 25th, Rtn Natasha Lovenuk-Markham introduced guest speaker Gwen Kurz as her Ministry has funded the position that Gwen occupies.
 
After relinquishing her position as a City Councillor, Kurz was appointed the City’s Municipal Cultural Planner in the spring of 2010, a position that Ontario has financed for a year.
 
After reviewing the various meanings of culture Kurz said her job involves the following:
-Developing capacity at the local level for Municipal Cultural Planning (MCP)
-Implementation of the recommendations in the 2009 Municipal Cultural Strategic Plan
-Establishment of a Cultural Roundtable
-Development of a Cultural Plan/Policy and implementation plan
-Expand Cultural Mapping, the systematic identification and analysis of cultural assets
-March 31, 2011 deadline
 
What is the Cultural Roundtable
 
The Cultural Roundtable is  a permanent committee mandated by Council of the City of Dryden which is responsible for acting as a catalyst to strengthen cultural development by supporting collaboration across community, business and municipal departments and interest groups.
 
It will serve the community of Dryden by using the collective diversity and wisdom of its members to support the evolution of the Municipal Cultural Policy to fulfill the Municipal Cultural Strategic Plan.
 
Membership will consist of 9-12 appointed members of the public, 4 City staff resources, and 3 additional resource persons. There are current vacancies for two members of the public, and one member appointed by an Aboriginal organization/community.
 
Kurz said, “We have many cultural assets we are not even aware of,” and that he is prepared to come back and give us an update near the end of her contract