Time to celebrate the golden years

Next week is Seniors’ Week in St. Albert but if you ask Leslie MacEachern, it’s still business as usual.

For the executive director and everybody else at the St. Albert Senior Citizens’ Club, every day is a celebration of our local seniors. MacEachern often makes the point that her organization is more than it seems. The illusion makes for an apt analogy to who and what seniors are.

The club is a hidden little oasis right next to Red Willow Park a little bit west of St. Albert Place. It has a modest storefront but it harbours a sprawling ranch-like building and grounds that are larger once you’re inside. This is a place of both safety and adventure. The secret truth is that so many more people could take advantage of it than already do. According to its website, it’s a facility for recreation, arts, and social resources for all people 50 years of age and older throughout St. Albert and area. Currently, it only has about 600 members.

While MacEachern doesn’t really have any big parades or celebrations planned for the week, she admits that it’s great advertising. Spreading the message about the seniors’ club is a challenge but it’s still very important to do so because getting the word out means getting the people out too.

“I think that the seniors’ centre has become a place where there’s so many opportunities that the seniors do get out of here, whether it be the classes, the activities, the programs … or just a place to socialize with other seniors. It’s definitely known in the community and a lot of people come here,” she stated.

From her point of view, it really serves as a focal point in so many essential ways. “The other thing that I believe that it provides is that when people first move here or when a family brings a senior here, it’s a place where they can come to show them all the different opportunities, whether it be something that’s at the centre here or something out in the community, this is the starting point of what’s available to seniors in the St. Albert community.”

A quick overview of club goings-on includes woodworking, dance and exercise sessions, arts and music, games tournaments, social lunches and so much more. Seniors’ Week has some special programming (see sidebar) but it really isn’t that much different than any other week. MacEachern and her staff celebrate seniors every day.