Hello Neighbours,
As the snow continues to fall, the spirit of our neighbourhood sure has not died down. It doesn’t matter what the time of day, I continue to see tons of people walking and staying active. I’ve heard of several neighbours lending their helping hands shoveling walkways, bus stops, and even helping those stuck in snow ruts. For those looking for some motivation for your walks, I would suggest downloading our winter scavenger hunt card off Facebook or you could email us at [email protected] and we will send you a PDF copy of it. We have many unique things in our community, and walking is the perfect opportunity to take them all in.
If you haven’t tried out Crokicurl at the Acadia Recreation Complex yet, do check it out. It’s super easy and has been getting a lot of play lately. Crokicurl is a hybrid of the wooden board game Crokinole and Curling. It sure is a great way to have fun together whether you have top-notch curling skills or just want to try a new ice sport. You can view the rules and ‘how to play’ on our website. They are also posted at the rink site. It’s a first-come, first-serve system. We just ask that if people are waiting to play, you keep your game to 30 minutes.
Typically, February is the month that the ACA puts out our well-loved winter carnival. With the existing restrictions in our planning month of January, we have chosen to forgo the event for this year. In saying that, we sure hope you find a way to connect with your families individually over the Family Day long weekend.
While we aren’t selling tickets yet, Brewfest and Wine-o-Dino are both coming up on the horizon. These two events will have beer and wine tasting done on a virtual platform. We promise for these events to be interactive and fun. Tickets are limited, so make sure to grab one as soon as you can. Watch our social media and website for more information.
This month, the Community Association is very excited to announce that we have hired a new General Manager for the ARC after an in-depth search for the perfect fit – Robin Mitchell. Below is a short introduction that Robin has written about himself and his background for you all to get to know him a bit better.
“In 2019, and the first quarter of 2020, I was working in Meadow Lake Saskatchewan as the Manager of Parks and Recreation. Working with the Parks and Recreation foreman and Aquatics Manager, we introduced many new programming initiatives and worked hard to utilize the existing facilities for rentals and user groups. The team embraced the opportunity to try new things and see what results they could achieve, and as a result, they gained the confidence to continue pushing forward, knowing the support and backing was there for them. In March of 2020, I returned to Calgary to take on the Executive Director’s position at the Millarville Racetrack and Agricultural Society, but unfortunately, COVID-19 struck, and I could not start the position.
I have been in the recreation field for over 25 years; I have spent most of my career in the Calgary Area. I was the GM and Executive Director of the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre in Cochrane for over 8 years, the President and COO of the Talisman Centre for 5 years, the YWCA of Calgary for 6 years as the GM of Fitness on 5th, and at Bankers Hall Club for 6 years where I was the GM and Assistant GM. In each of these positions, I was privileged to work with great ‘teams,’ and together, we were able to accomplish and surpass most of the goals we set out to achieve. My simple philosophy, if I look after the staff and volunteers, they, in turn, will look after the customer and each other, and the customer, in turn, will look after the bottom line.
Lastly, I am a Toronto Maple Leaf fan, please don’t hold that against me. One day soon, we will be planning the Stanley Cup parade in Toronto, and everybody will want to have front row seats!
I am looking forward to working with the staff and board at the Acadia Recreation Complex to see what opportunities we can unlock and grow.” – Robin.
As always, I encourage you to join our Facebook page @AcadiaToday to keep up to date with neat new initiatives. We would also love to hear from you. Send us your ideas of what you would like to see and do in our neighbourhood. How can you get a hold of us? It’s easy. Email us at [email protected].
Erika Topola
President
