Glenora Rink & Hall have received several upgrades
The Glenora Hall has been given an all-over face lift.
How many of our local Halls can say they have a steak pit?
The Glenora Hall can- and what a great idea it was to install it!
Like our own homes, our community buildings are always needing something fixed or upgraded – this maintenance ensures our buildings will be viable for many years to come.
We were able to catch up with the very busy Kory Van Damme who is the driving force behind these ongoing projects, saying they started the upgrades on the Hall back in 2012.
Over the past number of years they have upgraded the washrooms and put tin on the roof. They upgraded the insulation in the walls, (finding that one wall had no insulation at all), installed an air make- up unit and had stucco applied to the exterior.
The kitchen has also been completely upgraded and now includes stainless steel countertops, exhaust hood, steak pit and two triple-sink stations.
After the interior work was completed, a new coat of paint brought it all together.
Kory fully admits that without the army of volunteers who helped with the demolition and removal of discarded materials, there was no way they could have completed any of the projects on budget.
Local contractors were used to complete all the projects undertaken.
These upgrades were made possible with funds gained through both federal and provincial government grants and fundraising, as well as the very generous donations (both monetary and in- kind) from the businesses involved and private citizens.
After all of this work, the Glenora Hall is looking mighty fine!
I had to ask what was next for the Hall.
Kory thought about the question for a moment, “Who knows, maybe a deep fryer, but we really aren’t sure. That is something we are going to have to talk about.”
If you haven’t seen the Glenora Hall lately, there is a perfect chance coming up! On February 9th and 10th there is a 3-person Bonspiel, 6-end games, 3 events and cash prizes, with a Saturday night Steak Fry being held in Glenora.
GLENORA RINK
The Glenora Rink is a major winter hub for this community.
This building has realized many upgrades over the past several years, some for aesthetics, but mostly to catch up with ever changing codes for this type of structure.
The busy kitchen area rocks stainless steel backsplash, hood and countertops, turning it into the perfect place for a delicious rink burger.
But there have been many more upgrades!
The concrete floor has been covered with co mmer cial c arpe t in some areas and commercial linoleum in others.
New windows have been installed allowing natural light to cascade into the open space, and the roof has been outfitted with tin.
This much loved rink is now completely up to code, but there are still many projects that the people involved would like to see happen.
When speaking with Councillor Van Damme, he shared that many people would love to have a video system that allowed live streaming from the rink to the Glenora Hall – but that project is unfortunately, for sometime in the future.
Other ideas for future projects include LED lighting and pouring a cement floor on the curling rink area.
With ongoing fundraising, in addition to the many grant opportunities that are applied to, it shouldn’t take this dedicated group of people long to have these projects underway.
Donations can be made at the RM of Argyle office in support of the Glenora municipal buildings. Tax receipts will be issued for donations that meet the designated criteria.
PHOTO CAPTION: The Glenora Curling Rink kitchen now boasts a stainless steel backsplash, hood and countertops along with new flooring and windows. PHOTO BY SUZANNE PADDOCK
