A newcomers' meet-and-greet event planned for last week was postponed due to extremely cold weather conditions.
Although a tentative date has yet to be rescheduled, Greenwood Neighbourhood Place Society (GNP) still wants to make the initiative available to the public.
Sari Werezak, the society’s community resources director, said the goal is to not only acquaint people who are new to town, but local residents as well, with local programs and recreational opportunities.
“We want to try to provide answers, or at least help to look up the answers,” she said.
The endeavour would benefit substantially from having additional volunteers from other groups and organizations on board to coordinate and prepare as comprehensive a welcome package as possible, she said.
The meet-and-greet had been scheduled for Monday, Feb. 11, with one afternoon session and one in the evening at GNP’s office on the west side of the Sundre Community Centre.
“We have this lovely space in the lobby, with a welcoming and cozy atmosphere,” she said.
“We would like to make more use of that space.”
Although a date has not yet been set for another attempt at hosting a meet-and-greet, Werezak said it could possibly happen in the spring.
While she mused about the possibility of putting on the event on a quarterly basis, how frequently meet- and-greets would be held would in the end really depend on overall interest, she said.
“If we get a few people showing up, I think we could continue,” she said.
There is no Welcome Wagon and it has been quite a few years since any kind of meet-and-greet event has been held in the community, she said.
“But we have been making available the newcomer's bag,” she said, adding that on average a package is handed out every month.
“So we know we got to keep making them.”
The bag includes pamphlets and printed materials from the Town of Sundre, Mountain View County, the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce’s Visitor Information Centre as well as several other service groups and organizations. There is currently no complete community directory, although the society does offer a copy of the organization’s monthly Sundre on the Go newsletter as well, she said.
The town donated the bags that are distributed to newcomers or interested residents, and also added some resources from the municipality, she said.
Anyone who is interested in getting involved to help put together an even more comprehensive welcome package as well as perhaps participate in a newcomer meet-and-greet is encouraged to contact GNP at 403-638-1011.
“The purpose is to give people information. But also, hopefully they can make a few new connections in the community,” she said.
