Woodbend 
Community Society

To the Community of Woodbend,

It is with regret to inform you that the future of The Woodbend Community Hall is at a crossroads, literally and figuratively. The current members of The Woodbend Community Society have put in countless hours of their time to plan events and maintain the facility for more than 25 years - some have put in 40 years of service! With that being said, it has been a long journey but with many members getting older and moving to the city, the current board has collectively agreed to step away. For years, they have tried to find replacement members to pass the torch, to no avail. The result: A majority vote to sell The Hall simply because there isn’t anyone who’s willing to keep it running anymore.

There are now only two choices: 1) To sell The Hall with the future of the property up in the air, the proceeds heading back to the county. Or 2) to find new members that choose to keep The Hall running for years to come. It doesn’t take many members to make this happen but it does require some who are willing to regularly show up to a monthly meeting and at times volunteer to contribute some time and effort to basic maintenance tasks that would keep the hall operational. The amount of time and effort is totally up to you and whatever you may be willing or capable of doing at that time. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Some argue that the face of volunteerism has changed. Nothing to argue there because it has. So many people are just too busy these days and unwilling to perform a task without having a monetary value attached to it. In a post pandemic world it may not make sense to have a gathering place for the community, especially when it seems that nobody has interest in their community hall anymore.

It's the Last Call for Woodbend Hall. However, there is a spark of hope. The entire board has voted to sell the hall except for one. I’ve gathered a few other like-minded folks to establish the necessary roles of President, Treasurer and Secretary, and there is plenty of room on the board of directors. The existing members still care immensely and are willing to pass on their experience and knowledge to all new board members. They want to keep this hall in the community as well. Woodbend Hall is one of the most profitable halls in all of Parkland County. This makes it a prime opportunity for having new community events and also has the potential, supplemented with fundraising, to add on to The Hall with infrastructure that families can enjoy for years to come.

The financial viability is not enough to prevent the sale. Without a group of new directors and volunteers to take over management of the hall and property, it will pass back into the hands of Parkland County and could be sold for any number of new purposes. If just one person from every subdivision East of Highway 60 chose to volunteer we would double our current board! But we need your time, commitment and energy and we need it right now. Perhaps community halls are a thing of the past. Time will tell. What’s for sure is that once she’s gone, she ‘aint comin’ back. This is YOUR hall and it’s YOUR call.

If you so choose, reach out to the current board or myself and express your views. Please volunteer to be a member of the board. Thank you for your time.

Yours truly,

Matt Pastorius
pastorius.matt@gmail.com info@woodbendhall.com
Newest member on the Board of Directors at Woodbend Hall