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From the Centre: Users and staff deserve credit for Creston community complex award

Creston and District Community Complex wins the 2014 BC Recreation and Parks Association Facility Excellence Award...
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Neil Ostafichuk is the recreation supervisor at the Creston and District Community Complex.

Well look at that: We received another award! And when I say “we”, I mean the collective we, which includes all of you in the Creston Valley, as well. This was the 2014 BC Recreation and Parks Association Facility Excellence Award and, of course, it refers to the Creston and District Community Complex, which many of you have visited, watched or participated in something at these past few years.

First off, I want to say when you examine the roster of award winners back to 2005, there were 16 recipients from the Lower Mainland or Vancouver Island and one from Kelowna. I realize where the Hub and Hub Jr. of civilization rests in the domain, so to me, at least, it really means something to see an award like this be extended into the hinterland of the east side of the province.

The application and questioning process for the award was kind of a Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol form — a past, present and future. It asked us about citizen, board and user group input into the development of the project, which was demonstrated through the master plan process everyone in the valley had a chance to contribute to, through the local design team and aquatic feasibility study, and on to the referendum, which, of course, was successful.

We also had to address accessibility for the general public and special needs groups, which was covered through the entire design; from handi-capable parking stalls to washrooms to level access to pretty much everything. Did you know you can get to pretty much anywhere in the building without having to use stairs? The only exceptions are the half-dozen steps down into the lap pool and the three or four steps up and into the hot tub. Pretty amazing for starting with a 1970s-era building — I can hardly wait until I retire so I can shuffle around here in my open back bedroom slippers.

We also described the unique and innovative designs in the building, along with environmental and resource management systems (demonstrated by the FortisBC Kootenay Conservation Excellence Award we received in 2012), which were selected based on a payback schedule and future savings.

OK. We have the place built. Now what? Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us.” Very true, and for me, this splits into two at this point: you and us.

The “you” is our Creston Valley community so we talked about public acceptance and usage, and I could fill a page of this newspaper with all the events and user groups and increased numbers through the doors. You made answering that question easy; we just had to look a schedules and bookings for the past three or four years.

“Us” is the group of dedicated people that govern and staff the place, from the Area Directors that have to make sometimes tough decisions through to the staff that manage, program and clean the facility, right to the instructor providing a one-on-one lesson to you. Funny thing is, us is also you, all part of this great community we call the Creston Valley, and all of us get a little slice of this award.

As society is starting to regard recreation as an essential service — not just here, but in our schools and communities and homes — I’ll give the last kudos to the us group, which I feel demonstrates the passion and dedication to recreation that makes you want to come here.

“A group of people get together and exist as an institution we call a company so they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately — they make a contribution to society, a phrase which sounds trite but is fundamental.” — David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard

Neil Ostafichuk is the recreation supervisor at the Creston and District Community Complex.