There is great news for the youth of Chestermere! This summer will see work commence on the mountain bike skills park located at Rainbow Falls Elementary School through the efforts of Chestermere Rotary Club, the Bike Park Committee and the Calgary West Rotary Club.
The Rotary Club of Chestermere, under President Carolyn Christison, is extremely excited and proud to see the fruition of their first efforts towards bringing new amenities to our town. Christison, along with Don Bateman from the Calgary West Rotary Club, have been putting in many hours towards the grant application since September of last year.
Another key group instrumental in the implementation of this project was the Bike Committee which was headed by Laura Brankovich, the town’s Social Planner along with Jennifer Finnigan of Chestermere Community Services, and Rotary Club member Patricia Virk, as well as Brandon Johnson and Toby Giles, original youth members from the temporary bike park group. The original project was located on Melcor land behind the Safeway and initiated by the town’s Youth Engaged Leadership Learning (YELL) group.
At a special meeting held at the Chestermere Yacht Club a cheque for just over $77,000 was presented to the town for the development of this new park. Mayor Patricia Matthews was present to receive the money on behalf of the town. She commended the two young men from the Bike Park Committee, Johnson and Giles, both local high school students for their efforts in daring to speak out to get the ball rolling and hailing them as community leaders.
Rick Fraser, PC MLA from Calgary Southeast, was on hand to make the presentation from the Alberta Government. Funding for this project comes through Alberta Culture’s Community Funding Enhancement Program (CFEP) , which benefits project-based initiatives in communities throughout Alberta. In a positive note Fraser emphasized that dreaming and believing in that dream is what leadership is all about.
Wildrose MLA Bruce McAlister was there with great applause for the group’s success in contributing to the amenities in our town acknowledging that Town Council continues to keep on top of their efforts to address the growing demand for services from our quickly growing population.
In an eloquent speech Rotarian Mahmud Abdulla highlighted the principles of the international, non-political, non- religious but ethical Rotary club in building a healthier world and improving communities throughout the world by the serving of the greater good.
The Rotary Club is still working under the sponsorship of the Calgary West Club. Since the Chestermere branch is still not chartered due to membership numbers, application for the park came about from a joint effort of the two groups. Calgary West was also able to get the now thriving and independent Rotary Club rolling in Cochrane.
It’s an exciting time to live in Chestermere as we continue to mature into a vibrant community and there is great opportunity for citizens to make an impact in its growth through joining various organizations such as the Rotary Club.
The Club is still looking for new members in its drive to become chartered. They would like to see the membership grow to grow to at least 22 so that they can become a charter which enables them to access grant funding. You are invited to come to a meeting to check out this dynamic and informal group at any of their weekly meetings. Information can be obtained by calling Ada Rawlins, Membership Chair @ (403) 272-0498 or Adarex@shaw.ca.
Throughout the summer volunteers will be meeting for work at the park, if you would like to be a part of this project call Jennifer Finnigan at (403) 207-7028.
