The Westerner for July 12, 2010
Meeting: chair, Mike Ryan; music, Jerome; grace, Bert
Attendance/Guests: 32 including Nadine Fulmer, Rotary Club of Edmonton Northeast; Greg Dearden, guest of Duane; Darrel Ripley, club guest; David Dorward, guest speaker
Al Hamilton & Friends Golf Tournament: July 29 @ Cougar Creek Golf Resort
Club Fun Golf: August 16 @ Victoria Golf Course; come to dinner @ 6:00 pm if you can't come to golf
Retain Members: Mike Ryan talked about making sure new members know the responsibilities of being a Rotarian so that they do not decide to stop participating at an early moment in their tenure
Board Members Needed: Rotarians should consider joining the board to fill the 2 vacant directorships - Youth Chair & Community/Vocational Chair
Transfer Member: welcome to Cheryl Bauer, transfering from Rotary Club of Edmonton
50/50: Jerome & Bert left $13 to grow as they did not match cards
Finemaster: Bert Brought Brian to the front to be finemaster - Brian fined everyone $2 pursuant to his perception of the status of the 4 Way Test and charged Bert double
Guest Speaker: Rob Dunseith introduced David Dorward, managing partner of Dorward & Co Chartered Accountants to talk about the GO Centre. David has been married for 36 years and the couple celebrate 10 grand children. David was also a candidate in Edmonton Goldbar in the last election.
David coached childrens' basketball for 23 years and determined that it was good for children partly because it was inexpensive for the the children to become involved and that it was easy for them to become involved if they could find a court to play on. If the child was 8 or 9 years old when they got involved, then there was an incentive for them to stay in school so they could play basketball through their junior high school years.
However, as in most sports, there are not enough places to find time for kids to play. In fact, high school basketball, at times, has had to use college gyms.
Thus, the development of GO Centre @ U of A South Campus. David and his group initially raised $36 million to give kids a place to play basketball. Ortona Gymnastics is a partner as is the University of Alberta. It is a community owned building. Substantial completion is scheduled for March 31, 2011. A volleyball group advanced some seed money and the 4 groups will share the premises. David's memories of the Edmonton Grad Basketball Team provided high motivation to get kids involved and to provide them with the venue.
The U of A (a great partner) will control the building which has access to the LRT (giving access to kids from all over the city) and free parking. The 145,000 square feet of hardwood floors makes this the largest building of this type in North America. The Golden Bears and Pandas will use the building before 4:00 pm. The community then has access from 4:00 pm to midnight. It will make a measureable difference in the quality of life for youth in Edmonton. 12 basketball courts of which the one with seating for 2,800 will provide 2 games each Saturday night.
National & international tournaments will be brought to Edmonton. In addition, there is a dancing studio, 4 classrooms and a walking track. There will be room for seniors to play bridge @ low or no cost. Other sports buildings may eventually be built in that area, next to the GO Centre and the existing Saville Centre (provides tennis and related facilities). Expect a pool and twin area. Sponsorships for buildings or other facilities are available.
Funds came from Federal Government $14,800,000; Provincial Government $10,000,000; City of Edmonton $9,000,000; Grassroots Stakeholders $4,000,000 of which $2,000,000 came from U of A; private sector campaign $5,000,000 = $42,800,000.
David was thanked by Mike Ryan