By Terry-lyn Martin

I am so happy to receive phone calls from residents after they read the magazine. It makes me realize how important it is to involve residents in community decisions.

I would like to remind everyone that we are volunteers and try to represent the interests of the community. We are always looking for volunteers to help out, so if you feel strongly about a subject then spend a few hours helping out the community, it can be a rewarding experience.

I would like to welcome the new Francophone School to Martindale. The MCA board looks forward to working with the students and parents. There is no firm date of the school opening however it is expected in the next school year.

As the representative of Martindale on the NECCS board I attended a meeting on May 7th at City hall, the Standing Policy Committee for Community Protective Services, where we presented to this committee the request for the funding for our new Genesis Centre for Community Wellness. The request to SPC was for $108 million dollars. The community share is $15 million. Martindale Community Association as been working for years and putting some casino money aside and we have been able to donate $216,472. This is another great milestone towards our new facility.  The YMCA Calgary and the Calgary Public Library also attended and supported the request to the committee.

This summer Martindale will be working on helping with the NECCS 2nd Annual Golf Tournament.  As a Martindale resident, if you have a prize you can donate, would like to be a sponsor of the tournament or golf in the tournament, please let us know.  The green fees are $250 with prizes, a hot meal and more.  Last year the tournament was a lot fun and all the money raised went directly to our new centre.

On May 12th I attended City Council to support the motion that the SPC – Community Protective Services put forward before City Council to vote on. The communities of Martindale, Taradale and Saddle Ridge have worked for over 8 years on the project and step by step we are attaining our goal of a new recreation facility for our community.

I read an article in the Herald on Thursday, May 8th written by Naheed Nenshi concerning the NE LRT extension.  I will agree with Mr. Nenshi that a handful of volunteers may not be able to represent all the Martindale residents, however these handful of volunteers have given their time and realize that they can make a difference to our community, so Mr. Nenshi it is easy to sit back and criticize, however it takes courage, dedication and strength to stand up and be a volunteer. Perhaps next time you write an article taking aim at volunteers I suggest you consider sitting on the LRT committee and this way you will see what it takes to give back to the community.  I do take exception when the volunteers of this community association come under fire and I will voice my opinion and stand up for them.

Volunteer Appreciation
I would like to acknowledge all the work that Kelly Jones has contributed to the community of Martindale. The list of time and projects is endless and most recently Kelly and his friend Greg have been cleaning up the glass at the bus shelters. We have had two bus shelters damaged this month. Kelly will continue to serve Martindale residents as he will be sitting on the Community Consultative Committee for Transportation Infrastructure to continue work on the northeast leg of the LRT; also he reviews the development permits that Martindale receives from the city. It takes a lot of time to volunteer for the community association and without volunteers like Kelly we would be truly lacking the expertise he brings to our board.  Kelly is an engineer by trade and works for a service company in the oil patch.

Most recently I had received a comment from a resident that without volunteers like Kelly our community would be lacking and it is with the dedication of volunteers like him that projects get completed and the community wins!

Casino – Volunteers   2008
Pam, Cathy Nesbitt, Janet Hamilton, Terry-lyn Martin, Virginia, Sherry,  Crystal Fright, Joan Wisnoski, Kris Brooks, Cathy Renkas, Jolene Anderson, Dwayne Thomas, Carol Thomas, Trina Huff, Val Wilson, Dawn Mclean, Lizette Taylor, Sharon Milgate, Neal Jaeger, Jennifer King, Romika Prasad, Ravi Prasad, Chris Clarke, Margaret Patton, Martin Caron, Jeanette Lavoie, Ron Rennie, Barry Hort, Teresa, Kathy Smyke, Lynn Martin & Margaret Patton.

These volunteers helped out at the semi-annual casino. This is the fundraiser for the year of 2008.   A special thanks to those volunteers who stepped up at the last minute to help out. Several of these residents worked a double shift also. Your gift of time is one that is truly appreciated by the MCA board. The funds raised for our community will go to supporting programs, maintenance of the existing skating rink & park and also towards the building fund of the new community centre Genesis Centre of Community Wellness (NECCS).  VOLUNTEERS ARE GREAT! CC

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 7th, 2008 at 6:44 am