A Reflection on the Recreation for Life Foundation (2001 – 2026)

By Iheoma Uzomba

Looking back, it’s hard not to see the story of the Recreation for Life Foundation (RFLF) as a kind of bridge built in the early 2000s when Alberta’s parks and recreation professionals began to wonder: What if we could dream bigger? What if the good we do for communities wasn’t tied only to municipal budgets?

The name “Recreation for Life” carried twice its meaning: the promise of activity and the span of a lifetime.

The Foundation was set up as ARPA’s support system. ARPA would carry the vision and advocacy, while RFLF would find the means to make it happen. By 2003, it was officially registered as a public charity, with the job of rallying donations, building endowments, and hosting events that could raise both money and morale.

And the results were impressive. By 2014, the annual golf tournament alone had brought in more than a million dollars. Over $140,000 in endowments with the Edmonton Community Foundation now help fund professional development opportunities for years to come. Because of these efforts, countless programs thrived: student bursaries, Emerging Leaders initiatives, keynote speakers who brought new ideas at conferences, and even a $1.5 million partnership in 2006 that helped launch Alberta Active Communities.

But if you ask anyone who was there, the Foundation was never just about the cash. It was about the recognition that recreation isn’t “extra,” it’s essential. It was also about people. Volunteers organized tournaments, raffles, and auctions that became beloved fixtures. And a steady stream of chairs, from Barry Mitchelson, who guided the first nine years, to Greg Krischkie, Wanda Wetterberg, Todd Reade, Roger Smolnicky, and Jason Simituk. They all kept the vision alive.

By 2025, though, the bridge had done its job. With ARPA turning seventy-five and RFLF hitting twenty-five, the Foundation will gracefully fold back into the Association that first imagined it. As ARPA’s 2025 President, Deb Comfort, puts it: “The fund development leadership and focus will be the torch that ARPA will have to carry moving forward.”

The RFLF was never meant to last forever. It was meant to stir a generation of investment and it did. What we have left is not just money in the bank, but the lasting texture of community, carried forward by ARPA.

Recreation for Life, in both senses of the phrase: enduring and complete. A good run and a life well lived.

By Iheoma Uzomba

Every association has a president, but the executive director is a little different. Think of them as the person with their hands on the steering wheel, keeping the day-to-day moving forward. When ARPA hired its very first executive director, Al McRoberts, in 1979, it signaled that recreation and parks in Alberta had grown up. The profession was ready for steady, full-time leadership. From then on, the executive director became the engine behind programs, budgets, and relationships.

In 1981, Bob Weller took over as executive director and expanded the role. Weller, always the Builder, thought big. He worried about how recreation careers were evolving beyond the singular role of “recreation director,” but now branching into aquatics, youth, facilities, and specialized work with different populations. “A career is a career is a career,” he wrote in the Mar/Apr ’86 newsletter, returning again and again to the importance of collaboration with universities, municipalities, and government. By the time he wrapped up five years later, Weller had poured the foundation for ARPA’s future growth.

The next decade brought steady progress under executive directors Dale Warwick, Mike Hanna, and Paul Servos. Then in 2000, Rick Curtis stepped in and helped ARPA see itself as part of something bigger. Over eleven years, Curtis shifted the focus from programs to province-wide impact. He oversaw a labour-market analysis of Alberta’s leisure sector, rolled out a provincial professional-development plan, and refreshed the Careers in Recreation guide for schools. Curtis was the strategist: more likely to be deep in research, frameworks, and partnerships than at a ribbon-cutting. 

After Bill Wells’ tenure, the role eventually landed with Steve Allan. By then, Allan was no stranger—he’d been with ARPA since the mid-1990s, starting as an intern and later taking on the Finance & Operations Manager role. Through one of the Association’s biggest shake-ups, he was one of the few constants, quietly keeping everything afloat. So when he became executive director in 2019, ARPA got a leader who was steady and reliable.

Allan is known for his calm, soft-spoken, methodical style. Staff will tell you he’s always in the right place at the right time, whether as Mentor Steve, Deadliner Steve, or even Tech-support Steve. You’ll usually find him at ARPA’s Edmonton office, collared shirt or T-shirt on, headphones at the ready as he shifts between calls and strategy sessions. Under Allan’s leadership, ARPA in 2025 has doubled down on two things that matter most: relevance and stability.

By Candy Lannan

“At various times, it has been suggested that we convene a meeting for Executives engaged in public recreation in Alberta and thus provide an opportunity for them to meet and discuss matters of common interest and concern.” Quote from the original letter sent to 12 executives of major urban recreation, health, physical education, culture and sports agencies by J. H. Ross, Director of Health and Recreation Branch in the Province of Alberta Jan. 18, 1950.

Feb. 20 press release by J. H. Ross indicated a meeting had been held and agreement reached to form the Alberta Recreation Executive Association.  Those in attendance were from Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat and included: Mr. J. H. Ross (chairman) Professor M.L. Van Vliet, Director of Physical Education, University of Alberta, Richard MacDonald, Coordinator of Cultural Activities, Department of Economic Affairs, A. S. Bird, Supervisor of Physical Education, Edmonton Public School Board, John Farina, Superintendent of Public Recreation, Edmonton, William Garnet, Director of Sports and Recreation, Calgary, Bill Hutton, Supervisor of Health and Recreation Branch, Bert Maltin, Director of Recreation, Medicine Hat, George B. McKillop, Supervisor of Physical Education, Lethbridge Public School Board, C. Jarvis Miller, Sec-Treas., Red Deer Recreation and Athletic Association, J. N. (Bud) Murdoch, Athletic Director, Lethbridge, Waard Stekel, Supervisor of Physical Education, Calgary Public School Board.

The constitution and bylaws were formed and Executives was dropped from the title.  In 1951, The Alberta Recreation Association was formed.

In 1952, the first annual meeting of the ARA was held in Calgary; membership was $2 and there were 16 members.  In 1954 there were 25 members; in 1955 32 members, In 1956 28 members; in 1957 42 members.  A municipal member category was added to the individual membership in 1958.  There were 63 individual members and 2 municipalities, In 1958 there were 62 members and 1 municipality.  Grande Prairie was the first municipal member with Three Hills being the second.  Three Hills is the longest continuous municipal member.