It was a long, winding road with its fair share of peaks and valleys to arrive at the opening of Outlook鈥檚 Van Raay & Community Swimming Pool last summer.
Long before kids and families were enjoying the slides and the inviting waters of the impressive facility, it all started with merely an idea back in November 2013 after the original pool in the Outlook & District Regional Park had finally seen its last days.聽 That idea begged the question, Could Outlook and area get behind the vision of a brand-new pool?
Over the next five and a half years, a flurry of community-organized events would help add to the coffers, people would come and go on the organized fundraising committee, and landmark occurrences would infuse new hope into the dream shared by all, such as pool namesake Cor Van Raay鈥檚 astounding $500,000 donation in the summer of 2016.
Finally, the pool would open its doors to the public on Canada Day last year.聽 Legend says if you were listening very closely on that day, you could hear a collective sigh of relief from those behind the scenes.
A year later, on a late Friday afternoon during the week that the pool opened for its second season, the fundraising committee 鈥� Tony and Betty Peter, Julie de Moissac, Teresa Weldon, and Ashley Austin 鈥� reunited to reflect on the hard work they poured into the project, which in turn was consistently supported by the people of the local community and those from far away.聽 The five of them enjoyed cupcakes generously donated by the Outlook Bakery, and in discussing the fact that the pool is now a reality, the group can鈥檛 help but smile together.
鈥淲e were just ecstatic,鈥� said Julie, asked what the group鈥檚 first feelings were when the pool opened.聽 鈥淭here was just a high we all had!聽 It just looks so good; the landscaping is unbelievable and it鈥檚 a place for people to come and play!鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting,鈥� said Tony.聽 鈥淚t鈥檚 a thrill to see the kids play.聽 Even today, it鈥檚 just as thrilling to see them all playing and enjoying it!鈥�
To see the vision of a brand-new aquatic facility come to life made the years of spearheading numerous fundraising initiatives worth it.
鈥淭he process was great, and the progress was exciting,鈥� said Julie.聽 鈥淎dmittedly, not ALL the time, but most of the time, it was.聽 The generosity of people that we never expected was astonishing.鈥�
Like any major project that has its own twists and turns, there were times when the committee members felt a new pool just wasn鈥檛 going to happen, but then the proverbial dark tunnel would shine a light.
鈥淵es, definitely,鈥� said Julie, on having thoughts of the pool maybe not opening at all.聽 鈥淨uite a few times, that would happen.鈥�
鈥淚 figured until there was a shovel in the ground, it might not have happened,鈥� said Ashley.
鈥淔or me, once we got the big donation from Cor Van Raay, that was just what we really needed at that time,鈥� said Betty.
鈥淭hat definitely was the turning point because people who may have been reluctant in giving, as soon as they saw that, they thought, 鈥榃ell, we鈥檝e got to move ahead!鈥�,鈥� said Tony.
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 NOT take advantage of a donation of that size,鈥� said Julie.
So now, with the pool enjoying its second season today and the work of leading the charge to bring it to life behind them, what else do members of the committee think Outlook needs as far as other recreation options?
鈥淥utlook needs a long-distance hiking trail along the riverbank,鈥� said Julie.聽 鈥淭hat鈥檚 one thing Outlook could really use, like a multi-day hiking trail because that brings a lot of people.聽 The park could use mountain bike trails as that would bring a lot of people.聽 Cross-country ski trails in the winter by the gun range or anywhere else with snow would be amazing!聽 Demonstrations of alternative sports would be interesting 鈥� kite skiing, for example.聽 A zipline across the valley would be freaking amazin!聽 Lacrosse in the rink in the summer because it just sits empty.聽 Short track speed skating in the winter because not everyone wants to play hockey.聽 Why not do these interesting things?鈥�
鈥淎 very simple thing that I think we need is a walking & bike trail joining the regional park and the pool, and the two should work together on that,鈥� said Tony.聽 鈥淭hese are two amazing facilities in town, and they should be coordinated.鈥�
With the support of an entire community and beyond along the way, the journey by these five people to turn an idea from dream to reality just goes to show that perhaps the best success stories happen right here in rural Saskatchewan.
