History

Fairview Community Association was established and incorporated under the Societies Act as a not-for-profit association on July 14, 1960. We began as a small sports shack and outdoor rink. As a new community, ours was well populated with young families. Guiding and scouting groups flourished, softball teams filled our fields and an outdoor rink ran at capacity to include all children with a desire to participate in ice sports. Parents volunteered to keep fields and ice in optimum playing condition, and to run these programs for their children. Bingo revenues more than allowed the subsidy of all programs.
In 1972, an indoor arena was built and in 1976, a large hall and two level hall addition were added to become the complex we know. For many years following this upgrading, our community was bustling, busy and volunteer run. Bingos and pull-card revenues supported all the operating costs of the complex, paid off the bank loan and allowed us to foster a Boy’s and Girl’s club in the lower hall.

During the 1980’s our community base grew older. We faced reduced participation in all our programs, and a drastic drop in our volunteers. Amalgamation of our sports programs with other communities became necessary. To maintain operations we instituted an ice rental fee, began booking our ice to other sports associations and volunteers from community resident Senior Sport teams volunteered for regular scheduled ice maintenance.

In the mid 1990’s Fairview saw an influx of young families. Realizing the need to respond to this change in our demography, and the urgency to get our financial affairs in order, our Community Association began looking carefully at operations, membership, programs and events. Through a concerted effort of the board, membership had rose from approximately 200 in 1996 to over 500 in 1998. Operations were tightened and became self-supporting. Programs and services were reviewed regularly as Fairview continued to meet the changing needs of the community.

In early 2005, a need for assessment of the future of the Fairview Community Association was acknowledged. A number of initiatives took place to address how best to gather information required from the membership to help determine the future of the Association. Ongoing struggles with Board volunteer recruitment, an aging facility, increased operational costs, and labor shortages brought hard decisions. It was clear that the demographics and social dynamics of Fairview had changed in the 45 years since Fairview was established. As well, the operating conditions that allowed a dedicated group of volunteers to build and operate the facility had changed. After careful examination of our building requirements, and our resident needs and preferences, it was determined that the Association had minimal needs for a facility to carry out its mandate of community and public service. Fairview Community Association’s many years of facility management ended December 31, 2006. The City of Calgary undertook their process and found other non-profit groups interested in leasing the building for the future. The In-Definite Arts Association and the Fairview Women’s Hockey Arena Society (FWHAS) are now partners in occupying and operating the Fairview Community Building.

With a want and need for an active association within Fairview, and a renewed focus on meeting the “Objectives” of the Community Association, the Fairview Community Association volunteers will continue to plan, fund and host events for its members, its residents and the community as a whole.