RE/MAX contributing $25,000 for Bradley Park project
January 30, 2019, 5:33 am
Kevin Weedmark
Rolna Pranke and Lynn Fawcett, Moosomin’s two RE/MAX agents, are contributing to improvements at Lloyd Bradley Park.
RE/MAX will contribute $25,000 over the next five years to develop RE/MAX Community Court, an area to the west of the main concession and east of the Elks Diamond.
“RE/MAX contacted us a few months ago and came up with a proposal for a project,” says Moosomin Rec Director Mike Schwean.
“We’re going to close the road between the main concession and the Elks Diamond at Bradley Park, and turn that into a nice sitting area where we can serve out of the concession, and people can watch ball games. We’ll have some furniture, some irrigated grass, we’ll have it fenced off so we could have a beer gardens in there.
“We did a lot of work on our main concession last year, so that’s going to be a better facility than it has been for the past few years. RE/MAX has committed to funding it over the next five years, so we can work away at it over that time. We don’t really have a nice seating area close to the ball diamonds. The Eventplex is nice, but it’s not close to the ball diamonds, so when we have provincials or a ball tournament, it will be nice to have this spot for people to sit and enjoy the day.
“We’re grateful to RE/MAX for the support. It’s not something we would be able to do without their help.”
“Our brokerage wanted to start giving money back into the communities,” says Lynn. “We went to Mike and came up with this plan.”
“They’ve been doing a lot in other communities,” adds Rolna. “The curling rink in Wadena is now the RE/MAX Wadena Curling Rink, and they also support the rinks in Theodore and Langenburg. The brokerage wants to give back to all the communities.”
Mayor Larry Tomlinson says the help of the community has made Bradley Park what it is.
“We’ve had so many service clubs take on a project, so many businesses willing to sponsor a project or donate for naming rights, it’s been great,” he says. “I’ve had lots of comments from people saying we have city facilities in a town, and we really do, and that’s thanks to Mike and Catherine.
“When people come into our town from other towns, they’re just amazed by what we have, and what we have is due to Mike’s persistence and the generosity of our business community and our groups that we have. It’s the people that make things happen here, and this sort of thing makes Moosomin a better town to live in.”
A quick look around Bradley Park shows how many groups and businesses have been involved—the Moose built Guinness Field, the first lit ball diamond, The Elks have their diamond, the Kinsmen developed Kin Field, the second lit ball diamond, Diamond 8 is known as RONA field because of Mullett’s RONA’s support, the Generals have developed the Battlefield, Moosomin United has developed the soccer field, the Rodeo Committee has made huge improvements to the rodeo grounds, and the generosity of corporate donors is seen in the Conexus Convention Centre, the Nutrien Sportsplex, the Tim Hortons Outdoor Eventplex, and Borderland Co-op’s Murray Newman Field.
“We have people like RE/MAX and all the others who help us develop parts of the park, and there is so much pride and ownership in the facility,” says Mike. “In the old days when I first came here, it was almost a place for kids to go and get in trouble. Now there is so much community ownership. Everything is well looked after by our patrons because of that. Everyone feels a sense of ownership, and that’s huge.
“Other towns often ask how we do it. They will ask how do you talk people into donating or buying naming rights or taking on a project, and I tell them we don’t—they come to us. They are asking how they can help.”
“We appreciate everything that has been done to improve the park at the recreation facilities,” says Rolna. “When we have new people come to town, we can list all these facilities, and they are amazed at what all is here. It makes Moosomin a great place to move to.”
“I think it’s an attitude that everyone wants Moosomin to be a better place to live,” adds councillor Murray Gray. “It’s contagious. In some communities that attitude is not there, but in Moosomin I think that attitude is there—let’s make Moosomin even better.”
