To the Editor:
A huge thank you is sent out to the Riondel and East Shore Community, for your support of the Riondel Community Campground Society in its efforts to operate the campground in a sustainable manner and provide a place where community and visitors alike can enjoy the beauty of this exceptional natural setting.
Another camping season has come and gone, and the board members of the Riondel Community Campground Society are pleased to announce 2016 was another successful year!
Throughout this fiscal year the society enacted changes to its administrative practices and business operations for improved efficiency. Review and assessment of the campground infrastructure was initiated to identify and budget for necessary improvements. Besides installing some new facilities and improving the existing ones, the official society name was changed to Riondel Community Campground Society, plus a new website and new logo were designed.
Until the interior of the North Bay Pavilion is completed so the wind and rain are kept out, this structure remains unusable during stormy weather. Plans are afoot to resolve this challenge, through grant applications and fundraisers – more details will follow in the months ahead.
The Society would like to acknowledge and thank the following organizations who generously donated 2016 grant funding to Riondel Community Campground:
-Teck Metals Ltd. for the windscreen for the pavilion
-Community Initiatives and Affected Areas Program (Columbia Basin Trust) for the office renovation
-Creston-Kootenay Foundation for events signage and lighting for the pavilion
-Edwin Johnson (All-Rite Rooter) for bingo prizes
-Nelson & District Credit Union for the benches in the community picnic area
-Rec #9 (RDCK) for the new swim rope, floats and a rescue tube
As well, the Society thanks the generous individuals who volunteered their time to present 2016 events:
-Lorna Robin for the animal tracking variety night talk
-Many Bays Band for the free musical concert
-Dutch Harbour Christian Camp for the men’s work crew
-Niels Anderson for the carpentry expertise
-Saturday Market Vendors (Special thanks to Volunteer Coordinator Myrna Seefeldt)
-Nancy Schmaus - Bingo caller (free family-night Bingo)
A renovation of the administrative office is scheduled for early November, to insulate and finish the interior and provide a year-round office facility. The Society will then have its own office in which to hold monthly meetings, conduct society business and store Society records and documentation.
Paula Bailly
Riondel, BC