Steering/Fundraising Committee

Rick Berry – Chair (New Dundee Minor Ball Association President)
Cathy Vollmer-Ashley – Treasurer
George Barnard – (Firefighter’s Association Rep.)
Sue Cunningham – (Lion’s Club Rep.)
Anne Fischer – Secretary
Elliot Fung
Stephen Imrie
Al Junker – (Township of Wilmot, Ward One Councillor)
Doug Moyer – (Board of Trade Rep.)
Tom Maxwell – (N.D.M.B.A.)
Ken Moody - (N.D.M.B.A.)
Don Poth – (Old Timers Slo-Pitch Team Rep.)
Lynn Sararus
Mike Schiedel – (N.D.M.B.A.)
Brad Smith – (N.D.M.B.A.)
Jim Stirling - (Multi-Purpose Park Chair)
Linda Stoltz – (Women’s Institute Rep.)
Brad Thomson
Joy Thomson – (N.D.M.B.A.)
Debbie Underhill
Jon Underhill
Debby Whittle
Terry Yuzwak – (Optimist Club Rep.)

Multi-Purpose Park Committee

Jim Stirling – Chair
George Barnard – (Firefighter’s Association Rep)
Rick Berry – (N.D.M.B.A.)
Graham Barraclough – (N.D.M.B.A.)
Sue Cunningham – (Lion’s Club Rep.)
Elliot Fung
Al Junker – (Township of Wilmot, Ward One Councillor)
Terry Mutton
Beth Poth
Laurie Weber – (N.D.M.B.A.)
Kyle Thomson

Ball Diamond Committee

Bob Reich – Chair
Al French
Ken Moody - (N.D.M.B.A.)
Lynn Sararus
Brad Thomson
Rick Berry - (N.D.M.B.A.)

Communications Committee

Terry Yuzwak – Chair (Optimist Club Rep.)
Elliot Fung
Dennis Mighton
Pat Mighton
Don Poth – (Old Timer’s Slo-Pitch Team Rep.)
Mark Cameron

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Dreams do come true!

DREAMS DO COME TRUE!


Our park has a name!

The Ball Diamond Naming Committee met on November 10th to go over the name submissions. Doug Fischer’s name appeared on 17 of the 23 submissions. Doug Fischer Memorial Park was an obvious and appropriate choice. The ball diamond names, however, were another story. There are many deserving people in the ball community, past and present, who could be honoured; and there were some very good suggestions related to the New Dundee community. The committee decided to honour all past ball players by naming one field Dodgers’ Field, a name associated with great teams from the past here in New Dundee. Their choice for the other field was Dundee Diamonds, representing all the people in the community that made the new diamonds possible. These two diamond names, along with the name Doug Fischer Memorial Park, were put before council at their meeting last November. Former Ward One Councillor, Elliot Fung, made very nice presentation to council on the reasons we felt the park should be named to honour Doug. Before it was put to a vote, former Mayor Wayne Roth also made a very sincere and thoughtful speech commending Doug’s achievements in his life. The motion was passed unanimously.



Multi-use Park Committee

The committee met with the township staff last fall and came up with the final layout of the Community Park. All suggestions put forth by the public at the information night were considered and we believe we have satisfied the major concerns put forth. The committee is in the middle of picking out the playground equipment that is to be placed in the park. Five different companies have submitted a design with lots of options to choose from. This will not be an easy task but with the leadership of committee chair Jim Stirling, the final product will make us all wish we were kids again. We would also like to welcome our new Ward One Councillor, Al Junker, into our fold. Already he is regularly contributing to our meetings and is as excited about this project as the rest of us.



Ball Diamond Committee

Bob Reich and his committee are working on the final designs and projected costs for the concession stand/equipment storage building and a picnic shelter down at Doug Fischer Memorial Park. They will be meeting soon with the township to determine how much budget money is available.



Communications Committee

Not to be outdone, the Communications Committee has also been very busy applying for different grant money that is available. In addition to the Trillium Foundation grant that the committee and township co-applied for, they have also submitted an application to the T.D. Friends of the Environment for money for fifteen trees and three park benches for the Community Park playground area. The wording is so important on the applications and I’m so glad we have an outstanding group working on these.



Recognition Wall

The recognition wall is in the final design stages. We will be approving the final draft in the near future. This, along with a list of the recognition names, will be posted at various locations including our web-site. Please check it carefully before April 30, 2011, to make sure the information is correct. The deadline to have your recognition on the wall for the official openings of the parks is March 30th. Names will be able to be added after but is much easier to have all the information ahead of time.



Official Opening of the Doug Fischer Memorial Park

We are looking for people to help organize the official opening of the Doug Fischer Memorial Park slated for this spring. I welcome anybody from the community to help out with this. Please mention to friends and neighbours and inform me if you are interested in helping to plan and/or help with this event. Please feel free to contact me at newdundeeminorball@rogers.com



Fundraising

The more we fundraise, the better our parks will be... I can’t say that enough! If you haven't already donated or if you would like to increase your donation to the next recognition level please do so a.s.a.p. Donations received before April 30th will be recognized on our donor wall which will be unveiled during our opening celebration (unless the donor has asked to remain anonymous). Expressway Ford in New Hamburg is proposing that we get involved in their "Test Drive Program" We will be setting a date in the near future for you to come to the Community Centre and test drive the new Ford products. For every test drive they donate $20 to the Park Fund. If you have another fundraising idea please let me know.



I would like to thank all the people who have helped in this project so far and look forward to seeing the parks in New Dundee be the envy of all who visit from other municipalities.



Rick

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March 2010 Newsletter

March has been a very busy month and therefore the monthly newsletter went on the back burner. I thought I better get one done before the month is officially over and I might just make it if I get this posted in time.

There have been numerous meetings, get-togethers and discussions this past month on many different aspects of the whole park improvement project and one of the topics is “if we raise more money than our initial financial commitment, where does that money go?” The short answer to that question is the more we raise, the better we can make our parks. For example, we can add more and/or better playground equipment or other park amenities with the extra money raised.

February was the official start to our Business Canvass Campaign and we are rolling right along and we hope to wrap this up by summer. We are always looking for extra help in this very important part of our fundraising. At our last Fundraising/Steering Committee meeting I put forth a challenge for the Business Canvass Campaign to raise $80 000 and as an extra incentive, if we are to surpass this mark, I announced that the canvasser that brought in the most dollar amount, he or she could shave my head at a Community Park function. I have never seen so many evil little grins in one room before.

A special Thank You goes out the Lions Clubs of New Dundee and Kitchener for their very generous joint contribution of $9 000 towards the project. It is also rumoured that there may be more to come next year. Wow!

I would also like to thank the New Dundee Women’s Institute for hosting a very tasty and Irish, St. Patrick’s Day dinner. I was able to get one small piece of the pecan pie I took home before the vultures devoured it all. The, “other people’s treats are fair game to eat after being in the house for twenty four hours” rule was shortened to twenty four minutes when that came home.

Not to be outdone, the New Dundee Board of Trade held their “Pancakes for Park” brunch the following Sunday. I overheard more than one person say, and I must agree that they were the best tasting pancakes they ever had. They sure don’t turn out like that when I attempt to make them.


February 2010 Newsletter

As I write this, the deadline for the "request for proposal" for our new ball diamonds has come and gone and I eagerly await the decision of the township on the "winning proposal".

February is the official beginning of the business canvass part of our fundraising campaign. A few of our local businesses have already donated to the project when we contacted them in our residential, door to door campaign. I wish to thank these businesses. We have made a note of this and will relay to the canvassers that you have already made a contribution. Remember, you can always add to your donation to take it to the next recognition level.

Feeling a little Irish? Even if there is no Irish blood in your ancestry, be sure to come out to the New Dundee Women's Institute, St. Patrick's Day Feast. This event will be held on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010, (of course) at the New Dundee Community Centre. The cost for you to enjoy their world famous Irish Stew is only $20 per person, with the proceeds going to the Park Improvement Project. For more information, please contact Linda Stoltz at 519-696-8956, or any Women's Institute member.

Stay tuned for details on a public information night coming up in the near future.


January 2010 Newsletter

Well the New Year is here and with it comes a renewed optimistic outlook to the future. I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing Christmas break.
Our township staff has put out the “REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL” (invitation to submit a tender) for “FINAL DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION” for our new ball diamonds. This is very exciting! The following are a few noteworthy excerpts from this document;

Project Description:
The Township is seeking the services of a qualified contractor with proven experience in the design, preparation and construction of high quality sports fields, to undertake the final design and construction of two (2) softball diamonds in New Dundee in 2010.
A concept plan has been produced showing the general layout of the sports fields in relation to the other amenities on-site. This concept plan shall be used as the basis for the preparation of the proposal. A property survey, site plan, sports field illumination plan and detailed design are required as part of the scope of the work.

Qualifications:
Only qualified bidders will be considered. Bidders shall provide a list of similar projects completed in the past 5 years identifying the project completed, project value, location, client contact information. This information shall accompany each proposal upon submission.


The deadline for the proposals is 12 noon, Wednesday February 10, 2010 with the project to be completed by September 30, 2010. It’s going to be very exciting watching the progress of the project over the next few months.


December 2009 Newsletter

Christmas is fast approaching so we will be taking a break from the Door to Door canvass until next year. Yes, we are letting our dedicated and wonderful canvassers have some time off for a while. (A note to all canvassers that have not handed in their envelops; Please submit what you have collected so far so that it can be processed and taken to the township before the end of the year). If you didn't get a chance to give your canvasser your donation, they will return in the New Year to collect it. You can still mail in your non-post dated cheques directly to the township if you wish.

Have you noticed the thermometer lately? No, I'm not referring to the one that is reminding us that winter finally arrived, but rather the Fundraising ones on the blog(s), web-site ( http://abetterplacetoplay.ca/ ) and the big one on Bridge Street. We are past the half way mark and we are only three months into our campaign! This is very exciting and it's all thanks to you, the community, for getting behind a great project.

I would like, at this time, wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.

Rick


November 2009 Newsletter

The door to door canvassing is still underway and the response, so far, has been good. We are tracking all the donations carefully and if you decide to up your donation to achieve a higher recognition level, you may do so by sending a cheque to the township with a note on the donation form informing us that it is to be grouped with a previous donation. It would be helpful if you included your receipt and/or cheque number of your previous donation.

There have been a few questions and concerns about the initial concept drawings of the Multi-Purpose Park and most were already addressed by our Multi-Purpose Park Committee at a meeting in September. There will be a new set of concept drawings in the New Year and we are planning on holding an informal information night at that time.

It is with great sadness to relay that there is a large void in our Ball Diamond Committee with the passing of committee member, fellow ball player and friend, Al French. Our condolences go out to Marilyn and family. Al’s insight, fair play and competitive spirit will be missed greatly.


October 2009 Newsletter

Thank you to all that showed up for our Sod Turning Ceremony on September 27th. If you were unable to attend, you missed a great afternoon. The New Dundee Old Timers Slo-Pitch team served up some tasty hot dogs and refreshments and a big thank you goes out to ”The Village Caterer”, Bob Thomson for helping us out by providing the food, condiments and barbeque. The speeches from the politicians were concise and focused on the event of the day. Our fundraising thermometer was unveiled after Optimist President, Kevin Dopko presented Mayor Roth with a $30 000 donation to get our fundraising off the ground. Over 100 people lined up along the edge of our future ball fields and dug in their shovels to give the excavators a head start on the project. It was also announced by Board of Trade President, Jim Sterling, that the $5 000 profit from the September Fish Fry was going to be donated towards the park projects. We’re off to a great start!

October is the residential canvass month. A neighbour will be knocking on your door asking for a donation for our parks project. Any amount you are able to support us with is greatly appreciated. There are many recognition levels to choose from including a special “Player” level that is geared towards an elementary school aged child that can get involved in these projects by donating $10 from their allowance, paper route money or money raised by doing extra chores around the house. We are encouraging that it not be handed to them but comes from their own pocket. This will help them feel a sense of involvement and satisfaction that they contributed to a great community project.