BARRHEAD - They made it.
That was what Rita and Steve Lyster said before the conclusion of what they hoped would be the final fundraiser to name Barrhead's all-wheel park after long-time doctor Marvin Brent Wray on Nov. 16 at the Seniors' Drop-in Centre.
"But I don't think we made it by much," Steve, who acted as the event's MC, said.
However, Steve said they would not have made it without the generous donation from the now-defunct Barrhead Rotary Club, which contributed $10,000 to the campaign.
Former Rotary Club representative Tate McNelly announced that the not-for-profit organization recently made the difficult decision to fold because it did not have enough members to continue.
Wray passed away in November 2019 at 70 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He first came to the community in 1978 after completing his medical training, including three years residency at the University of Alberta.
In previous interviews, Rita said they wanted to honour the doctor who served the community for more than 40 years, including a lengthy stint as Barrhead's medical director, due to his devotion to children.
Rita noted that Wray, a general practitioner specializing in obstetrics, delivered dozens, if not hundreds, of babies in Barrhead.
Rita also noted that when Wray wasn't in the delivery room, often with the assistance of his life partner and nurse Bonnie, he could be seen volunteering at children's sporting activities.
He was especially active in hockey, volunteering for the Barrhead Minor Hockey Association, more often than not as a timer in the penalty box.
Prior to the event, the campaign was $25,000 short of the $100,000 the Town of Barrhead set out to secure the facility's naming rights.
When the municipality first launched the all-wheel park sponsorship program in October 2022, the naming rights were open to any group or individual meeting the criteria on a first-come basis.
However, a year later, the group convinced the council to give the campaign a year to raise the funds or risk losing them to another group that had raised the money. That Memorandum of Understanding is set to expire at the end of this month.
Rita said the next step would be for the organizers to meet with the municipality's new chief operating officer, Collin Steffes, who officially resumes his duties this week, to figure out the logistics of signage, et cetera.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
