A
message from Paul Mercer, Chair, Leaside Gardens Board of Management
8 September
2009
Welcome
Back!
Yesterday,
Labour Day, marked the unofficial end of summer, and today is the day we get
down to business again. Vacations are over. It’s the first day of
school for most kids. And many fall programs start this week. At LeasideGardens, the ice is back in and we are
ready for another season of minor hockey, figure skating, public skating,
shinny and other activities beginning today. I want to take a moment of
your time, by way of this brief email, to update you on a few items pertaining
to LeasideGardens.
1.
Arena Expansion
Although
the pace of progress remains frustratingly slow and
was hindered for the past 3 months by the strike at the City, I can
confirm that we are indeed making progress. A couple of important
milestones happened in the past year. First, the sale of the adjacent
property, on which the second pad will be built, from the province to the city
was approved and finalized. Second, a detailed business plan was
completed by the Arena Expansion Committee, under the chairmanship of Bob
Brent, approved by the Board of Management, and has been submitted to City
staff for review. We are in regular communication with these city officials
-- our next scheduled meeting is this week -- and are grateful to have the full
support and assistance of Councillor John Parker. We are planning a
Community Information Meeting at LeasideGardens later this
fall. This will be a chance to update our user groups, neighbours and any
interested persons on our progress, next steps and how the Leaside community
can be involved. When a date for this meeting is confirmed we will get
the word out and I encourage you to attend.
2.
SecondAnnualLeasideGardens Fundraising Golf
Tournament -- Friday, October 2nd
Please
consider joining us for a day of golf at Deer Creek Golf Course in Ajax on Friday October 2nd
for our second annual Leaside Gardens Fundraising Golf Tournament. All
proceeds will be used by the board to promote expansion plans. There
will be a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m., with lunch before and dinner
afterwards; competitions on the course and draw prizes as well. A flyer
and registration form is attached. If you can help by sponsoring a hole
or donating prizes, or for more information, please contact Bruce Thornton
by email at leasidegardens@on.aibn.com
or call
Anna at the arena office 416-421-4944.
3.
Peter E. Oyler Lifetime Service Award for Significant Contribution to the LeasideGardens Community
The Peter E.
Oyler Lifetime Service Award was set up in 2003 to recognise extraordinary
contributions by volunteers and staff in supporting and developing the
activities and programs of the Leaside Hockey Association, Toronto Leaside
Girls Hockey Association, Leaside Skating Club, LeasideHigh School
and the Leaside Memorial Community Gardens Board of Management. If you know of
someone who merits recognition in this way, please consider nominating them for
this award. For more information call the arena office at 416-421-4944.
The deadline for submitting nominations will be Tuesday, October 20th at 4:00
p.m. It is our intention to select the 2009 recipient(s) after that date
and to honour them at the Community Information Meeting later in the fall.
4.
CPR and Defibrillator Training Course -- Sunday, November 1st
An
instructional course presented by HeartSaver EMS, which includes both CPR
training and an introduction to the use of a defibrillator, will be offered in
the William Lea Room on Sunday, November 1st from 1:30 -- 4:30 p.m. This
is an ideal introduction for anyone who might ever be called upon to use a
defibrillator, whether at LeasideGardens or
elsewhere. Coaches, trainers and parents are all invited to
participate. The course is offered as a community service and is open to
any interested member of the community, whether you are affiliated with LeasideGardens or not. The fee to
participate is $42 (GST included) and is payable in cash.Please complete a registration form and make payment
by Monday October 26, 2009 to the arena office between the hours of 9:00am – 4:00pm
Monday thru Friday.FYI, the arena
defibrillator can be found on the main concourse level, at the east end of the
arena, next to the snack bar.
If you have
any questions or comments about LeasideGardens or about this
email update, please feel free to contact me directly by email at leasidegardens@on.aibn.com or by calling the arena office at 416-421-4944.