Community, let me suggest to you, is an action verb. Our beautiful Montgomery is a community because we make it so. How does one “do” community in such a way as to reach that feeling of familiarity, friendliness, safety, belonging, comfort, and rapport with our neighbours? Montgomery was founded in the early 1950s and has boasted these qualities that we love since then. How so? We act it out!
Patronizing local businesses means that you develop a relationship of trust and friendship with the owners/staff. We do enjoy entering a shop or restaurant and being greeted with familiarity. It’s easy and it fosters community! I have lived in Montgomery for over 25 years and love the fact that I can find just about everything I need right here at a walkable distance. Health and medical services, banking, leisure, food, flowers, pet needs, beauty and spa, daycare and youth education, hospitality, and so on, all found right here. We are self-sufficient. A few visits to these places, and you will find friendly welcomes. With time, you’ll be greeted by name, as a community member. Guess what: this is making community!
We can also act out our community. Ours is a small and geographically bounded neighbourhood. Bordered on two sides by the river, and on two sides by the escarpment, Montgomery is enviable for its location, and we can walk it in a couple of hours. As we walk it, we are actually taking part in Montgomery’s definition as a community, especially if we start to recognize and salute people along the way. Walking, running, cycling our space is part of creating and defining us as a community.
Neighbourly actions and behaviours also create bonds that become networks in the neighbourhood. There are block parties, stampede breakfasts and the like organized by groups of neighbours. These meaningful relationships become a spaghetti of contacts and sharing that fosters a strong feeling of belonging,
Community action central is the Montgomery Community Centre. The mandate of the Centre is to support all of us neighbours with programs and activities so that we “do stuff” together: learn, exercise, eat, dance, and play! The Centre, run by the Montgomery Community Association, fosters community as an activity. Quite literally, there is something for everyone, and if you see any gaps, propose ideas to the association.
I was a board member for a decade in the early 2000s when I first moved into Montgomery. What a fantastic way to engage and become a vital part of the fabric of this vibrant community! We are all members of the community, some of us with major investments in it! Participating on the board l allows you to have your finger on the pulse of what is relevant to our lives here. Volunteering on your community Board is the pinnacle of “acting community”! The rewards are real.
We all share key community values: familiarity, friendliness, safety, and belonging! Let’s be sure to “action them” in an ongoing process of cultivating community in Montgomery!
Denise Brown
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