Sooke’s efforts at beautifying the town are paying off. This year the District of Sooke won five blossoms through the Communities in Bloom competition.
“We went up 1 per cent from 2013,” said CiB chair Brenda Parkinson. “It’s really tough moving up in the world in this.”
Sooke had a percentage of 85.5 per cent.
In their comments the judges said, “There are few communities who could match the enthusiasm and pride that the CiB Committee Members and the District of Sooke staff have or their own community.”
The jurors took special note of the updated Community Profile book which has two sections “We Listened” and “What’s New.” Parkinson said they were impressed by the fact that the previous comments and suggestions by the judges were followed.
Parkinson said the What’s New section dealt with new infrastructure such as the laundromat and car washes, things that help Sooke.
Parkinson said by having Sooke take part in Communities in Bloom it has instilled pride in the community and participation has increased from prior years.
“For our community it shows we have done something, it’s great all the businesses that participated, that’s a good thing.”
The judges also said, “The future for the District of Sooke is very bright!”