On January 22nd and 23rd, Langdon and area residents took to the outdoor rink at the Langdon Field House to help raise money for a much needed community asset – the LRC. The Langdon Recreation Centre is a passionate project that is a collaboration within the Langdon Community Collaborative (LCC) to help identify, prioritize and build the amenities that Langdon needs.
The LRC has the mission statement of:
“The mandate of the Langdon Recreation Centre (LRC) is to promote healthy living and to build community spirit through the development and operation of indoor recreation facilities and programs within the community of Langdon, as needed and desired by the residents of Langdon and the greater Bow North Recreation District. Our focus is to provide amenities, space and services as required by the community to serve 1) Youth user groups and 2) Adult user groups.”
But as we all know, these types of projects take lots of time, hard work and most of all, money. So, when a group gets together to fundraise, it is no doubt that the community fully backs them up and joins in.
So in January, the two day hockey tournament took place where approximately 50 players took to the ice to raise some money. Travis Tweit says, “It was a fantastic weekend – weather was perfect. Bonfire blazing for two days straight and lots of people out watching”. Tweit also added that $3500 was raised in the two day tournament.
The Langdon Recreation Centre has the potential to bring such aspects to the facility such as:
* Indoor Ice Arena (Lacrosse, Inline Hockey, roller derby and more in the off-season
* Indoor Soccer Field
* Running Track
* Multi-purpose rooms
* Historical artifacts display / museum
* Cafeteria
* Fitness centre
* Gymnasium
Their goal is to be open by fall 2016 but state “There are many variables which will influence timing, such as Governmental approvals and funding. The more we all support this project, the quicker it will become reality!”
The LRC is a part of a bigger collaborative with the Langdon Community Collaborative who state their mission as being “To bring together all Langdon community groups to identify, prioritize, and coordinate the development of community projects to meet the current and future recreational and cultural needs of Langdon.”
Since June 2014, a number of organizations serving Langdon have been meeting on a regular basis to develop a plan for community projects. This group, known as the Langdon Community Collaborative, has worked diligently with the assistance of a facilitator from Alberta Culture.
The Collaborative consists of ten community organizations and has garnered the support of Rocky View County, Rocky View Schools, Chestermere Community Services, Calgary Rural Primary Care Network and Langdon Chamber of Commerce.
With the guiding principles and values of transparency, respect, accountability, working together, inclusiveness, shared vision and unified purpose in mind, the Langdon Community Collaborative used a Decision Matrix to identify a list of recreational amenities that are a priority in the community.
It is collaborations like this that make community dreams – like recreation centres – come true. If you’re interested in getting involved, you can visit one of the following websites: www.langdoncc.weebly.com/ or www.langdonrecreationcentre.com/
