KAWARTHA LAKES-The Coboconk, Norland & Area Chamber of Commerce announced the results of the summer community contest to name the Wellness Centre at their Annual General Meeting on Monday, October 4, 2021.
During the summer, the Chamber announced a donation of $250,000 from a local family to the Wellness Centre. With that donation came the right to name to the Wellness Centre. However, the donor family felt strongly that the Wellness Centre purpose will be to serve the community, and the community should have a voice in naming it.
“Our family, through donation, sponsored the contest and are so pleased by the level of community interest generated and the many thoughtful choices for names submitted. We learned more about the history of the area through stories of past residents who have made our community what it is today,” says the donor family, who don’t wish to be publicly recognized. “Our family has unanimously chosen the name, The Summit Wellness Centre, for its tie to Balsam Lake’s recognized status as the Fresh Water Summit in Canada. A Summit is also a place for people to come together, can represent the highest quality of health care and services, and reflects the location of the new Wellness Centre on the hill in Coboconk.”
Some of the name submissions were to honour well-deserving past community members, such as Dr. and Mrs. Millyard, Dr. Jamieson, George Laidlaw and Bill Shields. The donor family felt it would be very difficult to honour just one of these important community contributors.
The Chamber would like to thank this donor family for their generosity and excitement for the Wellness Centre, and for their careful consideration of the new name. We would also like to thank the person who submitted the “Summit” name to the contest: Kim Tuckett of Kirkfield, who chose to donate her prize in support of the Wellness Centre but will hold onto the bragging rights.
The new Wellness Centre will be a hub for community health and community space for the under-served northern areas of Kawartha Lakes. By renovating and expanding the historic Train Station building in Coboconk, the Centre will offer more doctors and after-hours care, along with dental, physio, and many more services, while preserving an important piece of the area’s history.
