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THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2009 12 IMP LAN T DEN TUR ES Township wins grant to build Marden Field House By Rebecca Ring Guelph/Eramosa will soon be home to a brand new state-of-the art in- door field sports facility at Marden Park, thanks to a more than $4 million grant from the Building Canada Fund. The federal and provincial govern- ments will each contribute one-third of the project funding, while the remain- ing one-third, or just over $2 million, will be contrib- uted by the Township. The total construction budget is $6.2 million. According to Mayor Chris White, this will be done at no cost to the property taxpayer. The Township will borrow its portion, then repay it with user fees. The plan is based on 80% usage, however, White expects the facility to be booked 100% of the time and eventually earn revenue for Parks and Re- creation. The 50,000 square foot steel field house will fea- ture a full size artificial turf playing surface and an indoor track around the perimeter. The field can be used for soccer, football, lacrosse, ultim- ate Frisbee, rugby, etc. and can be divided into sever- al simultaneous playing areas. White says the track will help to make the facil- ity multi-generational, appealing to all ages and abilities for walking or running. The building will be constructed using the latest energy saving technologies, including geo-thermal heating and cooling. There will be a connected amenity structure with classroom/ meeting space, office space, and maintenance storage. Outside, there will be a fully lighted outdoor regulation sized sports field. Marden Park was the chosen location because of its size and central lo- cation in the region. Both Centre Wellington and the City of Guelph councils passed resolutions sup- porting the project. The field house will be used as a regional facility, drawing users from these and other municipalities. White says the Guelph and area popu- lation base is large enough to support the facility, al- lowing the loan to be repaid and revenue earned for the Township. In order to apply for the Building Canada Fund, Rockwood was ruled out as a location because the Township does not cur- rently own a suitable property there and it could have been forced to use the Rockwood Hydro Fund, which has so far been used for water and sewage. We know that the core soccer use is in Rockwood with over 600 kids play- ing, says White, We do intend to expand sports facilities there and will announce the plans when they are finalized. He adds that passing up the oppor- tunity for this grant would have been irresponsible, as it would take years to save the $4.2 million in re- serves with the Township taking in $3.7 million in taxes annually. Without these grants, this project would be way beyond our financial capability. Guelph/Eramosa was g ran ted the h ighes t amount from the fund in Wellington County. White attributes its success to the hard work of Parks and Re- creation staff and manager Robin Milne. Construction for the project will begin this summer, and comple- tion is expected in spring 2010. World Day of Prayer By Rebecca Ring St. Johns Anglican Church on Main St. will be hosting World Day of Prayer in Rockwood on Friday, March 6 at 2 p.m., with refreshments to fol- low. All are invited to join in. The worldwide ecumen- ical movement began in the 19th century, initiated by Christian women so that people of many trad- itions could come together to observe a common day of prayer each year. The motto is, Informed prayer and prayerful ac- tion and the philosophy is that through participa- tion in the World Day of Prayer, people affirm that prayer and action are in- separable and that both have immeasurable influ- ence on the world. SIGN OF GRATITUDE: At their Open House, the Rockwood and District Lions Club showed its appreciation to the Guelph/Eramosa Fire Department for all their help and support by donating six signs that will alert drivers to give the right-of- way to vehicles with a flashing green light, which means a volunteer firefighter is en route to an emergency. Shown, from left, are president Lion Ken McNab, fire fighter Steve Liebig, and Lion Darryl Nichol. - Rebecca Ring Photo MPP Ted Arnott charms crowd at Open House By Rebecca Ring The Rockwood and Dis- trict Lions Club hosted an open house last week, with MPP Ted Arnott as guest speaker and local club presi- dent Ken McNabb as MC. Over 70 people attended the event and enjoyed a roast beef dinner, prepared and served by the Rockwood and District Lioness Club. Lion and Mayor Chris White introduced Arnott, saying he has been in gov- ernment or opposition since 1990, focusing on local health, manufacturing jobs, public safety and infrastruc- ture. He added that Arnott received a commendation for saving a drowning man at the Rockwood Conserva- tion Area when he was only 15 years old. Arnott talked about the beauty of Rockwood, how it has grown and changed, yet maintained its commu- nity spirit, saying, Your Lions Club is a big part of this, and for years has been the heart of this community. I want to thank you all in- dividually for your service in this fine organization, which has a local focus but a worldwide footprint, or this being the Lions Club, maybe I should say, paw print. He went on to talk about his experience in public office and his observations on leadership. He quoted David Gergens seven con- clusions about the essence of leadership: The first is that leader- ship starts from within if you dont have integrity, nothing else matters. The second is that you need a central, compelling purpose, thats clearly de- fined, understandable, and rooted in core values. And it only works if your followers understand it and embrace it. Third, leaders must have a capacity to persuade, but they also need to pick their spots. Fourth, a leader needs to be able to work within the system. In an increasingly egalitarian society, where power centres are con- stantly shifting and no one individual or institution is all-powerful, you have to build alliances to achieve success. Number five, for newly appointed leaders, you cant beat having a quick, sure start out of the blocks, and hit the ground running. Number six, every leader needs strong, prudent advi- sors - and that includes your spouse. And finally, a leader must know how to inspire others to carry on the mis- sion, creating an army of followers who will march forward - even after the lead- er departs the scene. And to Gergens seven rules of leadership, I would add Arnotts eighth: In time of crisis, people need to work together - leaders, and those they lead. Lion Darryl Nichol spoke about the history of the an- nual event for showing the clubs appreciation to the community. Originally, the community was made up al- most exclusively of farmers, so it was called Farmers Night, then as the village began to grow and diversify, it became Community Ap- preciation Night, and now, to be even more inclusive, it is called the Lions Open House. Nichol introduced special guests, presenting them with certificates of appreciation. Rebecca Ring of the New Tanner, and Dave Hannah and Neill Clemens of CJOY radio station, were recog- nized for bringing public awareness to the Lions com- munity events and projects with press coverage. Vicki Hafner was recog- nized for all her work on behalf of the Guelph/Era- mosa Parks and Recreation Department. The department was also recognized for all it does to facilitate community events and projects. The Li- ons donated 100 coffee cups MPP Ted Arnott Continued on Page 13