There are a lot of changes on the way for Woodlands County, especially from a financial standpoint. The highly-publicized tax issues they faced over the last few years and the breakdown of agreements with the Town of Whitecourt have left the municipality shaken but not down for the count. During the Woodlands County council meeting on March 2, 2021, council voted in favour of starting corporate sponsorship, and the first recipient is Eastlink Park.
Mayor John Burrows is excited for what the future holds with this new funding model. “With corporate sponsorship, we don’t have to be on their board and have any liability. When you are a partner, your name is on the paperwork. With this model, we are not involved in the organization part of it. We are just supporting the activity and the community.”
The Eastlink Park T-bar is officially open! On Saturday, December 19, at 1:00 pm, the staff at the hill removed the barricade and let everyone hit the slopes. For about an hour ahead of the grand opening, enthusiasts from families directly connected to the project, either through an employee or sponsor, were able to try the hill first as a way of saying thank you. All the hard work, dedication, and patience had handsomely paid off. “After two years of work and looking after it and making things happen, it’s all worth it,” said volunteer extraordinaire Guye Lappin with a big smile. He spent much of his late morning skiing with family and enjoying the fruits of his labour. “Without the help of the sponsors and in-kind sponsors, we could never have gotten this done. It was our town and county that stuck together and made this all happen. It is a great community,” he said, getting a bit choked up.