Have you ever made a commitment you thought was a good idea at the time, but before the ink was dry you were trying to devise a way out?
I am sure we have all made these kind of regrettable decisions — having that third piece of cheesecake, buying the AMC Pacer, getting married. These are all choices were may have wished we never made.
I have found myself in a similar situation.
You see several months ago I agreed to join the fundraising committee for the new Okotoks-Foothills Regional Fieldhouse, which is being built near Aldersyde. Now, I do not regret joining the committee as this is going to be an incredible facility. You see I have spent plenty of time in similar buildings watching my daughters play volleyball or my son play hockey and I was always amazed at how many people use these facilities. For example, earlier this year we attended a volleyball tournament in Spruce Grove and during the day the various “fields” were used for hockey, volleyball, indoor soccer and lacrosse. Combined with the running track overlooking the playing fields and the gym literally thousands of people of all ages used the facility on that one day.
Seeing how much the building’s amenities were used convinced me the Okotoks-Foothills Regional Fieldhouse will become a focal point for our community. Children, adults and seniors alike will be using the fieldhouse for lacrosse, soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, trade shows, conventions and any other project the user groups can dream up.
This is an exciting opportunity for our community.
Although the MD of Foothills and Town of Okotoks (where are you High River?) have committed a combined $21 million to build the fieldhouse the user groups have been asked to raise $1 million to buy furnishings and equipment for the building. To reach that goal the various user groups and community stakeholders came together to form the High Country Sports Facility Fundraising Society.
The society’s first fundraising event is a 24-hour soccerthon at the Okotoks Recreation Centre on June 15-16. This is going to be an exciting day as more than 1,000 people will be playing soccer throughout the day helping to raise funds for the project.
This is where I regret my decision, as it appears I was caught up in excitement of the event.
Everyone participating in the soccerthon was asked to raise $240, but there is no hard commitment whatever is raised is welcome. We will take whatever you can raise from loonies to lunch money to lucrative cheques.
However, within a few hours some people surpassed their goal including a member of the U4 Comets. A four-year-old had set the pace and I was not going to let a four-year-old make me look foolish. It appears I can do that all on my own.
You see I set my sights high as I committed to raise $5,000. However, to sweeten the pot I also agreed to wax my back should my team surpass the $5,000 mark. As soon as that came out of my mouth I wanted to grab it out of the air and stuff it back in. Especially after a couple friends asked if I was absolutely insane. They said the pain was not bad, it was excruciating.
So, if you want to make a pledge to my soccerthon team and see me cry like a baby please do, but really, I be just fine if you do not. In all seriousness I hope to see everyone out to cheer on the players. To make a pledge to Team Barlow go to http://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=2110&AID=2374&PID=358169
