Numerous projects have been completed in the Township of Mapleton over the past 10 years that would not have happened without our community volunteers and service clubs, including a new soccer field in Drayton, with funding provided by the Drayton Kinsmen Club.
In 2005 the township celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Holland with a huge Tulip Festival. The community volunteers did an amazing job in putting together a very successful event in a very short period of time. Plans are under way for the 2010 Tulip Festival (interested volunteers are asked to contact the township office).
The Green Legacy and Trees for Peel (now Trees for Mapleton) have contributed continually to the reforestation of the municipality. These two projects have also involved hundreds of school children, including a visit to the municipal office to plant a tree nursery.
Most recently, two very active groups in the community have been instrumental in fundraising activities for new recreational facilities.
The Mapleton Arena eXpansion (MAX) committee has been very busy with fundraising for the five new dressing rooms nearing completion at the PMD Arena. In Alma, the Alma Optimist Club and ACRA have been busy planning and fundraising for the new Alma Community Hall to be located in Wallace Cumming Park. The park land was donated to the municipality by long-time resident Wallace Cumming. A walking trail and toboggan hill have already been completed at the park.
The Moorefield Optimist Club and the Moorefield Athletic Association have completed numerous upgrades at the park and ball diamonds in Moorefield. The Maryborough Horticultural Society always makes the flower bed at the Community Centre a colourful and beautiful place to visit.
Enhancements at the Riverside Walking Trail in Drayton have been completed by several partners: the Drayton Rotary Club, Kinsmen Club, the GRCA and the CELP (Community Environmental Leadership Program) students from Norwell District Secondary School. CELP has assisted our parks and recreation department in numerous outdoor projects, including tree planting beside the soccer field in Drayton.
The Drayton Rotary Club also contributed to the clock and sign at the Drayton/Peel Fire Station.
There are so many individual volunteers who contribute to the well being of our strong community, including those who help plant and maintain flowers at our various parks and gateway sign flower beds.
There are too many projects and financial contributions made by local service clubs to mention, but they certainly do not go unnoticed in the community.
Community participation in the Township of Mapleton is extraordinary and is not only appreciated by our residents, but also by visitors.
Community participation has also been recognized by the province, and that is one of the reasons the township was chosen as a provincial pilot project for downtown revitalization.
The Drayton Downtown Revitalization Committee has worked for two years now on the planning stages of the revitalization project. The township has submitted funding applications to complete a beautification program in the downtown core, including new sidewalks, streetlights, planter boxes, banners, benches, etc., and we hope to begin some of the work later this summer.
On behalf of Mapleton Township council and staff, we wish to say thank you to each and everyone who, as an individual or a member of a service club, gives so generously to make Mapleton the best place to live and work.
Each and every one of you make a difference in your community.
Patty Sinnamon,
CAO/Clerk and Economic Development Officer
