Friday, April 27, 2012

IOOF Wants To Donate Clock To City

Clock At Hope Was Inspiration

The IOOF or perhaps better known as the Odd Fellows Lodge have undertaken to make a significant contribution to their community in the form of a four sided clock similar to this one located in Hope BC. After several meetings with Nanaimo Parks, Recreation and Culture reps a tentative location has been selected in McGregor Park across from the Port Theatre. Two other locations had been considered, one being Diana Krall Plaza and the other in front of the Great National Land Building on Commercial Street.

Easier Said Than Done

The exercise of giving a $50,000.00 clock to the city is not proving to be as easy as you might think. The first meeting Lodge members had with Parks and Rec was in February of 2011, as of April 25, 2012, they are still waiting for an answer. They had originally hoped to have all the approvals in place which would have allowed them to order the custom made clock last October making for a March 2012 installation. This timetable would have seen the clock in place well in advance of the tourist season. However, it seems that while the gears at city hall grind, they do indeed grind slowly and as of the last Parks and Recreation Commission meeting there still is no final decision made which would allow the Lodge to go ahead and place their order for the clock.

Lodge Background

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Black Diamond #5, was instituted in Nanaimo on April 7 1874 and is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization who have recently made several significant donations within the community. Last July they donated $50,400 to the Hospital Foundation for the purchase of a Vital Sign Monitor and also the furniture for the Family Quiet room in the emergency department. The room will provide a place of comfort for family members attending with a sick or injured loved one.

The Lodge also very recently  donated $50,000 to the Nanaimo Ladysmith Schools Foundation; the gift sustains a regular $1,500 a year scholarship for students pursuing studies in science, engineering or medicine.

The gift of the $50,000 clock fulfills one of three mandates, or covenants the Lodge operates by, which is to help the elderly, the young and their community. Like many other organizations in Nanaimo, their membership is aging and there are fewer young members taking their place.


allvoices

1 comment:

  1. The city needs to make sure that they spend $50,000 on consultations and sub-committees before accepting the donation.

    ReplyDelete

Your comment will appear after moderation before publishing,

Thank you for your comments.Any comment that could be considered slanderous or includes unacceptable language will be removed.

Thank you for participating and making your opinions known.

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.