President's Report

Horizon Community League 2025 Presidents Report

Highlights

This last year was rewarding in a way that might sound unusual. It was nice for some of the things to feel repetitive. Several events have now become annual events. The summer and winter festivals, drop-in basketball, the skating rink in Walker Lake, seeing happy dogs at owners at the temporary dog park. These are events and programs that were introduced a few years ago and that have been maintained for the benefit of residents for several years. It feels like there is a core base of activities and board  continuity.

Plans for Upcoming Year

Board Director Continuity

Two new directors were added this year with at least one more to be confirmed at this year’s AGM. We also had one director resign and have another stepping down at this year’s AGM. Donna Molloy has served as a board member for close to a decade, helping the HCL survive through the pandemic and recruiting new board members since that  period to help renew the board and rebuild to where we are now. She has stayed much longer and been much more involved than could have reasonably been anticipated and her service to the community at large and the HCL in general  has been integral and very much appreciated. Continuing to engage community members interested in contributing as community leaders on the HCL Board will be an important focus this year as we continue to work hard to sustain  programming and provide resources and representation to our community.  

Community Needs Assessment

The community needs assessment is an important step in our goal to explore community support for the potential additional of amenities to our community. We are the largest league in the City, but do not have a recreation centre,  public pool, community garden, permanent ice rink, permanent dog park, skate park, bike park or community hall. In order to apply to use designated city land for any of these purposes, we must engage with the community to determine what they would like to have. This will involve a variety of surveys and data collation. Once this is completed, the board can determine a hierarchy of priority and then begin subsequent steps of determining budgeting and timelines. This is an intensive process that our board has committed to completing in the upcoming year.

In addition to the above two goals, we are committed to maintaining programs that the community has displayed continued support of. The summer and winter festivals, the temporary dog park and the temporary ice rink will all be maintained in addition to a variety of smaller programs throughout the year.  

Building a Community

Community is both a descriptive word and an aspirational word. A group of people living in the same place; a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals. The former is happenstance; the latter is  what we continue to work towards. Creating events and conversations that allow people that happen to live near each other to build relationships and connect through common experiences. Our League is an exciting place to live in and one that we on the Board are all proud to try represent and improve. 

Greg Miskie
President