A long lasting sign of pandemic times in Kamloops

The pandemic will no doubt live long in the memories of many of us, but there will also likely be a reminder for years to come at the offices of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District in Kamloops.

A wall there is covered with several group photos of past and present board members, seen clustered together for their annual photograph, with the pictures dating back to 1983.

But as was the case for many things in 2020, a change to the board group shot was deemed necessary, said Scott Hildebrand, Chief Administrative Officer of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

"We had an internal person here mock up a photo that allowed us to be a bit creative, to share the board photo in a different way given the state of the world."

Every November, the board takes a group photo during a meeting when its chair and vice chair are selected. But the usual process was out of the question in 2020 given the need for social distancing, and the fact some board members were "zooming in", Hildebrand told iNFOnews.

"So we took individual pictures with the appropriate masks required as part of COVID-19."

"We actually took photos without the masks, and then somebody thought it would be funny to do pictures with the masks, we took both… and our graphic designer came up with a creative way to create an image to post on the wall… and just thought that with the change in the world over the last year or so, marking the year with a masked photo made sense. It's a bit creative. It was something the board is supportive of," Hildebrand said, adding the photo will also be used in the board's strategic planning document for 2021 and 2022.

"It's not a political statement in any way, it's simply the life we lived in 2020 and the beginning of 2021."

To contact a reporter for this story, email Darren Rathwell or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.