Bourkevale Bulletin

Bourkevale Community Centre 100 Ferry Rd Winnipeg R3J 1V7

New Edition Volume 1 Issue 1 April, 2013. Visit our website at www.mybourkevale.com

Garage Sale
Bourkevale is hosting a garage sale in the main club Saturday May 25th from 9 am 3 pm. For sellers, tables cost $10 each. Call Joan at 888-8548 to reserve your spot. For buyers, cmon down and take advantage of some great deals. A neighbourhood garage sale will also be held that day.

What an ice season!

Annual General Meeting

Bourkevale is holding its Annual General Meeting Monday, April 15, 2013 at 7 pm in the clubs main hall. Come out and discover all the exciting things happening at your club. Our board members will present their annual reports to the community and an election for board members will be held. This is your chance to find out more about how your club operates, including how you can get involved. The position of special events coordinator is currently open. _____________________

Its a record, at least in recent history. We cant remember the last time we still had an ice rink open well past the third week of March. But we did, with shinny games popping up until the dying days of March. The rinks were open for almost four months this year. Our south rink was open until March 26. It was a great season and a very busy one that included the hosting of two Bourkevale hockey teams, who practiced at the club throughout the year. Bourkevales 10A2 team won gold in the winter Altona, MB tournament. It was a challenging season, too, for our volunteer ice crew. Record amounts of snow this year double the average amount coupled with the extended season made the job of cleaning and maintaining our ice extremely difficult. Wed like to send out a big thank you to our ice crew Ron Templeton, Jeff Valgardson, Scotty Nystrom and Mike Templeton who performed above and beyond the call of duty this year. Thanks guys!

Yoga class at Bourkevale runs every Tuesday evening 7-8 pm. Drop-in fee is $5. Please bring your own mat. Moms and Me drop-in for parents and preschoolers, every Tuesday 9:15 -11:15 am. Its free! No sign up. Meet local families. Bourkevale has just renovated its kitchen. It looks fabulous! If youre looking to rent our hall for birthdays, showers or other celebrations, please contact Joan at 888-8548 For general information, contact us at bourkevale@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @Bourkevale.

Visit our website at www.mybourkevale.com for all updated information. Bourkevale is in need of an individual to help our volunteer soccer convenor organize the clubs mini-soccer program. Our soccer program is run entirely by volunteers and we need help to keep it going. If you can help, please call Gary at 227-1980.

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Bourkevale celebrates 60th year

Bourkevale Community Centre officially began operations in 1949. However, until 1952, the club consisted of little more than an ice rink and a small, heated skate shack. Bourkevale was given a modest parcel of land to use during the winter months from the City of St. James in the south-east corner of what was then a nine-hole golf course. Area residents maintained the club through a $2-a-year membership fee per family. There were no government subsidies for community centres in those days. Over time, the club realized it needed a larger clubhouse to hold functions, dances and other activities. And in 1952, Bourkevale had an opportunity to purchase an "H-hut" used during World War II as temporary housing for airmen on Ferry Road near the airport. The cost of purchasing, transporting and transforming the building into a clubhouse was pegged at $4,000. Bourkevale had $1,700 in the bank and $700 in pledges at the time, according to board minutes. Then-club president Bob Pyne loaned the club $500 and Bourkevale raised the balance from donations and fundraisers. The H-hut was transported down Ferry Rd. on a flat-bed truck and was placed at the existing club site. It remains today as the clubs main hall. With great fanfare and a dance on Dec. 5, 1952 Bourkevale's new clubhouse was officially opened. The main hall was packed and the ceremony included a ribbon-cutting by then St. James mayor Reg Wightman, club president Art Stephens and past-president Bob Pyne. Check out www.mybourkevale.com for more historical information about your club.

Bourkevale Bruins, 1958. Check out the boards in the background.

Robert Albert Pyne

Bob Pyne was the founder of Bourkevale Community Centre. Naturally, there were a lot of people involved in the creation of the original club. But Pyne, the clubs second president, was the driving force behind getting a clubhouse for Bourkevale. Without his vision and perseverance, Bourkevale may not exist today. When it appeared that the club didnt have enough funds to purchase an H-hut from the military to transport down Ferry Road to the site where the club still stands today, it was Pyne who offered to loan Bourkevale the money required to make the dream happen. All of this and much more is found in original hand-written and later typed board minutes from the 1950s the club still has today. In those early years, board members held meetings at each others homes and in public facilities like Assiniboine School on Winston Rd. from 1949 to 1952 before the main club was built. Board meetings were often held at Pynes home at 1860 Assiniboine Avenue. After Pyne passed away in 1963, a commemorative trophy was created in his name and was awarded to local amateur athletes.

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New track and soccer fields

Bourkevale residents have thrown their support behind a proposal to build a new running track at St. James Collegiate. In a 57 to 25 vote, the majority of Bourkevale residents who cast a ballot in a two-day plebiscite held at the club in February expressed their support for the proposed project, which will use 35 metres of Bourkevale land. Our goal was to get area residents involved in this project and to allow them to decide the fate of the proposal in a democratic fashion, said Bourkevale Community Centre president Gary Kristiansen. I think we succeeded in doing that.

At the request of Bourkevale, St. James-Assiniboine School Division recently held two, wellattended public information meetings on the proposed project. Bourkevales board of directors decided last year to hold a community vote on the proposal to allow area residents to express their will on whether the project should proceed or not. The school division is planning to build a regulation-size running track behind St. James Collegiate. The project includes a full-sized crowned soccer field inside the track. As a result of Bourkevales negotiations with St. James-Assiniboine School Division, the school board has agreed to fund a new soccer field on Bourkevale grounds. This is a very exciting development for Boukevales soccer program. Under the proposed plans, we will now be home to our existing mini-soccer fields (5-6 year olds), our 7-8 year-old soccer fields, a new field and access to a brand-new full-sized soccer pitch.

Bourkevale is now poised to become a soccer mecca for all ages and one of the few complexes in the city with soccer fields for players aged 5 to adults. Did you miss soccer registration? Its still not too late to sign up for Bourkevales soccer program. Please email our soccer convenor Natasha at nstconway@shaw.ca for details.

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Presidents Report
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our board members for a job well done, the extra effort shown in all that you do and the pride you take in our little club by the river. Also thank-you to the many volunteers who helped with soccer lines, picked up a shift at one of our events, and stayed to the end to help clean up. Because of everybodys efforts BVCC had another great year and the club continues to improve. Special thanks goes to our ice crew who because of the ridiculous amount of snow and the long season put a lot of hours in keeping the rinks open and the ice in outstanding condition. So come out to our AGM and show your support. Dont worry, there will be no pressure to take a board position. In 2012/13 we made a number of cosmetic improvements to the club. Our kitchen was re-finished, with new counter tops, new cabinets and a fresh coat of paint. Doors were replaced on our garage, north club exit and the skate room, and our ceiling tiles have been replaced. For 2013/14 the club is looking at painting the outside of the building and continues to work with the city and the Greater Council of Winnipeg Community Centres to get a grant to re-asphalt the north rink. We are also going to buy a much newer ice cleaner for the back of the tractor as ours is at the end of its life. Our club has become quite popular with rentals for birthdays, showers, anniversaries and family gatherings as we are booked months in advance. So if you are thinking of booking the club, plan ahead. The only area of concern is in trying to fill the position of special events coordinator. Board members, in the absence of a person in this position, have put on the events, however it is too much to organize these events and complete the board responsibilities. The club needs help in this area or events will have to be cancelled. Maybe you dont want to take a position with the board, how about being the organizer for one of our events such as the Halloween Howl, or Pancake breakfast or organize an Easter egg hunt or other kids events. If you are interested in helping out give me a call 204-227-1980. Gary Kristiansen, President BVCC

Hall Bookings
Excellent rates for birthday parties, showers, dinners, meetings etc. We rent out our main hall for all types of functions. The hall includes tables and chairs and a newly renovated kitchen. Call Joan at 888-8548 for all booking information. Please book well in advance at least three months as dates go fast.

Canteen open this spring

Bourkevales canteen and skate room will be open again for the spring season. During the months of May and June, the skate room at the south end of the building will be open Monday to Thursday from 6-8 pm. Washroom facilities will be available. Come by for a freezie or a cold drink!