Dear Mayor Moghrabi and Council, On behalf of Active Kids Society as acting chair I am writing this letter in response to public statements made by councillor Nowak - “Active Kids is holding the County ransom”, on the Big Dog Radio on November 26 th
Dear Mayor Moghrabi and Council,
On behalf of Active Kids Society as acting chair I am writing this letter in response to public statements made by councillor Nowak - “Active Kids is holding the County ransom”, on the Big Dog Radio on November 26th. Active Kids Society has worked hard to advocate for safe places to play in our community. We are a small group of dedicated volunteers that wanted to make a difference in our community. We are active community members balancing careers, community commitments (many of us volunteer for numerous committees), and our families. To say the statements that were made were hurtful and malicious would be an understatement.
We have always been an open door, welcoming group that is always looking for new membership and projects. We have been approached by numerous projects in the community over the past couple months. If the Plamondon playground project had come to any of our meetings their project would be considered.
We are in the midst of finishing up our first project as we still have unfinished business and have not 100% completed this project. We are also undergoing some strategic planning to decide what next project best fits with our mission statement. The last project consumed our lives for 3 years and we are taking some deep breathes before picking a new project.
In the spirit of collaboration I would hope that a councillor or concerned community member would at least come to talk to us before putting our good name on the radio in such a negative way. Our name and reputation was damaged and we had to go on the defensive. This was mind boggling to us when we built a playground in the area you all represent. We are grateful for the county grants and CFEP, but our little group managed to raise $310,000 through significant personal commitment and sacrifice to improve this community for hundreds of children and families beyond those grants.
We would like a public apology to erase any of the damage councilor Nowak may have caused our good name and reputations. We would like to continue to support projects in the County but, when our Society’ s name is maligned, the Society may lose credibility because these poorly thought-out comments can become etched in people’ s minds.
We look forward to working towards collaboration and transparency in this matter and again would like some action in repairing the damage and stress this has caused our society and committee members. We would like to continue to help our many communities with projects throughout the years, and hope that our relationship with all of you is valued - as we all work to make this community a better place to live.
On behalf of the Active Kids Society board Members
Adrienne Sprecker - Active Kids Society Acting Chairperson
