CANORA- On July 12, Dallas Harrison, Director of Operations, Richardson Pioneer Canora, presented a donation of $100,000 towards the Canora Aquatic Park Project. The donation was given by Richardson Pioneer on behalf of the Richardson Foundation, which is the giving arm of James Richardson & Sons, Limited (parent company of Richardson Pioneer).
“We felt a significant donation would be greatly appreciated by the community, as the cost of this worthwhile project is substantial,” said Harrison. “We believe the new aquatic centre would be enjoyed by our customers who reside in or near Canora.”
There were a variety of factors which contributed to the decision to make the donation, according to Kelcey Vossen, Manager of Communications & PR, Richardson Pioneer; including strong support for the project to this point.
“The total cost of the project is over $2 million and the Town of Canora had already raised approximately 60 per cent or more of the funds required to see it through successfully,” said Vossen. “We felt this was a great initiative to support, as the concept had received wide- spread approval from the community. The Town of Canora presently has a community pool that brings families in from the surrounding region. It employs local youth as lifeguards during the summer.”
The Town of Canora seized the opportunity to build a brand new aquatic park at a new location which is more centralized and is easily accessible by surrounding schools.
“This long lasting and accessible recreational hub will increase the quality of life for all ages, will attract families, and increase commerce through tourism into the future,” continued Vossen. “The project will include, at minimum, a new building, zero-entry (accessible) swim area, and an integrated lane pool.”
Attractive features of the project for the surrounding community also include: a lap pool which is 82 feet long with four swimming lanes; a leisure pool with zero to three feet depth main access; beach entry water features with two floor geysers, one tipping bucket and one umbrella; the vortex lazy river, and a waterslide complex. Additional features in subsequent phases of the project are still pending.
