When Denise Spencer moved back to her birthplace in 2011, she was surprised at how little things had changed. However, in just the last year, she has seen Claresholm become the friendly, connected place we imagine small towns to be.
Denise was born in Claresholm, grew up in nearby Granum, and then studied recreation management at Lethbridge Community College. She landed a job in 2012 as the Manager of the Claresholm Aquatic Centre.
“When I moved to Claresholm,” says Spencer, “I got the impression the community was pretty stagnant. There weren’t a lot of significant changes that had occurred. But in the last couple of years there has been a re-branding of the community.”
In February of 2017, three organizations, Volunteer Alberta, Claresholm Family and Community Support Services, and the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta, brought together people in Claresholm to talk about the community’s future. Those conversations galvanized the population. One person came forward to start a Good Food Box program. Residents can order a box of fresh fruit and vegetables at a nominal cost. Another person pushed for outdoor fitness equipment in parks on the east and west side of town, close to seniors housing. They should be in place by next spring.
The West Meadow Elementary School hosted a Pickleball workshop and lent its gym to players one night a week between October and December. It’s a sport that combines all the fun of badminton, tennis and ping-pong, at a low cost. The drop in fee is just $2.00 and that is spent on replacing equipment.
A Pumpkin Festival in September raised $27000 toward building an inclusive playground at the school. It took two months to plan, featured numerous old-fashioned carnival games, hundreds of donated pumpkins, a barbecue, silent auction, and most importantly, countless community volunteers to pull it off.
Even the slogan under the town’s logo was changed to reflect this new spirit. It went from the more individualistic “Now you’re living. Now you’re home.” to “Where community takes root.”
The overall effect of all this is noticeable, according to the application to the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association for one of the ARPA’s ChooseWell Healthy Community Awards. It reads, “The shift this last year has been tremendous. Walking down the street, you’ll see community members pursuing their activity of choice, groups congregating and laughing on the sidewalk, and people actively working together for the good of the community. “
In 2017, the Town Of Claresholm was presented with one of three awards for Creating Supportive Environments. It acknowledged concrete efforts to promote healthy eating, physical activity and active living, but also recognized the change in the social environment in the town.
“The community has opened up” says Denise Spencer. “We are a central Southern Alberta Community and we are playing to our strengths.”
By Anna Holtby (2017)