Shuswap Recreation Society

Organizational Structure

The Shuswap Recreation Society (the “Society”) is a charitable not-for-profit society registered under the Society Act of British Columbia and is exempt from income tax under the Income Tax Act.  The Society consists of an independent Board of Directors with a maximum of 10 voting Directors and 3 non-voting Directors appointed by the City of Salmon Arm (the “CSA”).

Founded

The Shuswap Arena Society was formed in 1993 following a call to the community from Mayor and Council of the day, for individuals interested in the study of the concept of a new arena.  The initial mandate for the Society was to provide a needs assessment to determine the scope and location of a new arena for the community of Salmon Arm.  This assessment evaluated the municipal land inventory and developed a plan including costing for a new facility.

Funding

The Society also developed a fundraising mandate to advance the arena development process utilizing various fundraisers including a home raffle and charitable receipts.  Through these efforts the Society was able to raise a significant amount of cash which would prove beneficial in moving the project forward.  Eventually the funds were utilized for the Society purchase of property adjacent to the final location of the facility, to provide funding for preliminary construction plans and for construction costs of the Twin Sheet Arena.

Approval

In 1998 the Society had enough information and support from the public to convince the Council to go to referendum for the construction of a new facility.  The referendum easily passed with 87.4% approval from local residents and the Society led the process to immediately begin construction of the new Twin Sheet Facility.

Operations

During the construction phase, the CSA requested that the Society once again increase its mandate to include the operation of the new Facility on behalf of the CSA.  The Society began by recruiting staff and developing operational plans for the new facility. Early success in the operation of the Arena eventually led to the opportunity in 2005 to add the operations of the Recreation Centre and Field bookings.  This precipitated a name change to the Shuswap Recreation Society to better reflect the added responsibilities. The Society has since taken over the operations of the Indoor Soccer facility and Little Mountain Fieldhouse as well.

Board of Directors

The evolution of the Society in relation to its operations as outlined above has concurrently seen the evolution of the Board of Directors.  In the early years, Board members worked at events and on projects on a diverse range of duties from selling tickets, serving food and beverages to purchasing land.  As the operations and funding mechanisms of the Society matured, the addition of sufficient fulltime staff allowed the Board to take on more of an advisory role for the organization.  The Board meets monthly for regular reviews, assessments and decisions about the allocation of limited resources to fulfill recreational facility and service needs in the community.  The role of the Board is very diverse including regular budgetary and policy reviews as well as contract negotiation and strategic planning.  The Society operates at arms length from the CSA, with its own budget which is annually approved by the CSA Council.

Current Directors

Contact

Please direct any questions or concerns to staff.  Unresolved issues can be directed to the Board in writing through the appropriate Society staff member.

View a copy of our Complaint Policy