When you think of Drumheller, you likely think of dinosaurs. And for good reason. Alberta’s Badlands are home to one of the world’s richest dinosaur fossil deposits. Drumheller’s spectacular Royal Tyrrell Museum, Canada’s only museum dedicated solely to palaeontology, attracts more than 350,000 visitors a year.
Thanks to Tony Lacher, Drumheller may also soon be known as one of the province’s top destinations for conventions. Lacher, ATB Financial’s branch manager in Drumheller, is spearheading an effort to build a world-class community and meeting centre in the Badlands.
“It’s exciting to be a part of it,” said Lacher, a 30-year ATB associate. “To see the vision and the opportunities that lie ahead and how you can contribute to move that forward is special.”
The Badlands Community Facility, now in the design stage, will feature a multi-functional meeting space, a multi-use gymnasium/field house and an expanded municipal library in its first of two phases. “To measure how badly we need it, it would be 10 out of 10,” explained Drumheller mayor Bryce Nimmo. “We don’t have any facilities for meetings of any consequence. We don’t have any indoor activity areas. We don’t have a lot of things that would help seniors. It’s a facility that’s very much in need.”
Despite that need, gaining approval for the $23 million project has not been easy. Town citizens defeated a 2007 plebiscite to approve the project by a margin of just 56 votes. “Part of the reason we had trouble with the whole thing was that people weren’t really sure what we were talking about and it was hard to explain to them what the facility would do for their town,” Nimmo said. “Consequently, a lot of people were concerned.”
Still, the movement to build the community centre persevered. Lacher led a group of 13 local businessmen who convinced the town council to hold another plebiscite in 2009. Thanks to improved communication and increased participation from key citizens, the project passed easily, garnering 68% of the vote. “Winning that plebiscite was kind of like being elected President,” beamed Lacher. “It was a lot of reward for some hard work and energy that was put into it.”
“He was the glue that kept the whole organization together and has continued to be the glue to keep the people of our town involved,” said Nimmo of Lacher’s tireless efforts.
Lacher and Nimmo co-chair the project steering committee which has secured $3 million in grants from both the provincial and federal governments and is also seeking $6 million in sponsorships. Architectural drawings are now being done, with construction to begin in the spring. The centre is scheduled to open in the spring of 2011. Later, a second phase will include a new ice plant for the existing hockey arena, a second arena and a new curling rink.
Lacher believes once the Badlands Community Facility is complete, it will benefit Drumheller in many ways. “There is a lot of opportunity to attract business,” he noted. “We’ve had one company look into relocating 50 of its employees here. One thing an employer looks at when relocating is what you have to offer families. This will be a state-of-the-art facility that will cater directly to families. Plus, our meeting area will be able to seat 500 people, so it will accommodate smaller conventions.”
As much work as Lacher has put into this project, it’s only a portion of what he does in the community. He is also president of the local Lions club, the chair of the Drumheller Recycling Committee, coach & manager of the Drumheller midget hockey team and is involved with countless charities. “It’s probably because I don’t know what the word ‘no’ means,” he laughed.
“If you’re down at the rink and you want a hot dog, guess who’s going to give it to you? Tony,” said Nimmo. “I was down watching the Santa Claus parade and guess who gives you a cup of hot chocolate? It’s Tony. If you want to see somebody who’s involved in anything you want, you look up and there’s Tony.”
“ATB has always been strong on community investment,” added Lacher. “It’s nice to have a department that promotes those activities, and the investments it puts in the community aren’t always financial. A lot of them are associate-driven. The success of your town relies a lot on volunteers. We at ATB are just a small part of that.”
