By Rizwana Shaikh, Federation of Calgary Communities
It’s been two years since the North Haven Community Association celebrated their 50th anniversary with a gala dinner and a video highlighting the history of their community association.
Residents had a glance at the people who built the community association more than 50 years ago. The video features interviews from past and present residents of North Haven, sharing their stories about the community association and their experiences in the community.
“It (the video) brought out a lot of pride from people,” said Katie Mikalson, a board member with the North Haven Community Association.
The video was unveiled at the anniversary Gala in October 2016, which featured a silent auction and speeches from past and present presidents of the community association. There were roughly 75 people at the sold-out dinner that was organized by a total of 12 volunteers. Everyone was full of positive emotions and pride sharing their own stories with each other.
Mikalson remembers the video received “great” feedback once posted on the web as well, where a larger audience was able to see what North Haven is made of. It got people curious about the community association and their available programs and events.
“A video like that has been really valuable, and every time we circulate it, people enjoy it, because it puts a face to the community,” she said.
The North Haven Community Association hired a local high school student to film the video to help build his portfolio for film school. He was awarded an honorarium for his hard work and long hours, organizing and filming the interviews.
“He did a really good job,” Mikalson admitted.
The gala was a sit-down dinner that also had a wall display of collected historical photos for residents to enjoy. People gave positive feedback from the event and the community association truly saw how valued they are within their community.
*Photos provided by the North Haven Community Association
