The Rosedale Recreational Society has made great progress on the first phase of its Revitalization Project, and is gearing up for its second phase.
On Tuesday, April 30, the Rosedale Recreational Society met to draw the winning ticket for its 4-day/3-night guided trip on horseback into the Willmore Wilderness Area near Grande Cache, AB. The package includes 6 people, meals and camping. The trip is through Indian Trail Adventures and was donated by some generous donors.
The prize winner was close to home as Keith Hodgson of Rosedale was selected. In fact, Ticket #001 was drawn. Hodgson chuckles and admits it has been about 55 years since he has been on a horse.
The $17,460 raised by the raffle will go towards Phase 2 of the revitalization project. Secretary Cate Samuel explains Phase One has been a great success as last summer the Miner statue was refurbished. Inside the hall, the flooring was replaced, as well, the ceiling was replaced and textured. The lighting has been replaced with high-efficiency LEDs, and the entire hall has a fresh coat of paint. There are plans to install new windows.
“We received a CFEP grant at the end of last year. It was a matching grant for $25,000, so we did a $51, 000 renovation of the hall in the last couple of months,” she said.
“The proceeds from this draw will go to the next phase, and that will either be washrooms or the kitchen.”
They are also planning to refurbish the skating rink and shack. They received a grant from Old Man Wind Farms which operates the Wintering Hills Power Project, and have applied for support in kind from the Community Assistance Grant to use asphalt millings to resurface the rink base.
“We want it to be used year-round,” said Samuel.
The work endeavoured by the society has injected vitality into the hall and in turn, the community.
“Last weekend we had a volunteer appreciation dinner and we had about 60 people in here. We provided dinner and refreshments. It was a really good community night and everyone enjoyed themselves.”
