Lacombe is a community.
By that, I mean more than the painfully obvious, that Lacombe is a locality which is inhabited by people within that locality. What I mean is that Lacombians truly embody the spirit of community and exude that same spirit.
It is a difficult thing to write about, as it is not something that can be seen. Nonetheless, wherever I go in this City I feel as though I am surrounded by a sense of community. In fact, that sense of community, what some might call a ‘small town feel’ was the greatest contributor to a high quality of life in the City’s recent Citizen Satisfaction Survey.
Feelings of Lacombe being ‘home’ and the friendliness of the people here were also mentioned as things that make up Lacombe’s identity and reasons why people enjoy living here. I tend to agree, and I’m happy to a part of this phenomenon.
This underlying feeling of community gives Lacombe a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
It makes Lacombe come off as a friendly community, open and welcoming to new people. Indeed, as I have said before, that has been my experience for the short time I have been living in this city.
As I mentioned in an earlier column, I have found Lacombe to be openly welcoming and friendly. Being friendly is a trait that is often attributed to small communities, but I have found none so immediately welcoming to newcomers as Lacombe has been to me.
Not only does this make Lacombe a good place to move to, I think it makes it a good place to live in. Because of this feeling of community, Lacombians take ownership of their City and strive to improve it.
While you can’t see it, it is as if you can feel all the connections between the individuals, organizations, businesses, even the different geographical locations of Lacombe that are constantly working together to make Lacombe a better place.
Already during my time working in Lacombe, I have written about a number of initiatives, charities, fundraisers, not-for-profits, etc, that are dedicated to bringing a needed service to Lacombe, or improving something that exists in Lacombe. Those that aren’t dedicated to bettering Lacombe are dedicated to using Lacombe’s resources for the betterment of a bigger cause, sometimes not even nearby.
Yet, no matter what the cause, Lacombians support it and they do indeed have resources.
As I said, I have spoken with and written about several special interest groups in my short time working here and all of them have credited the people of Lacombe for their overwhelming support.
Despite its small size, Lacombe contributes greatly to all kinds of these organizations.
Members of some charities have said they have seen better financial support here in Lacombe than they have seen in cities three times the size.
People are taking notice too, both inside and outside the community of Lacombe. Recently Lacombe was rated as one of the top 10 places to live in Canada and more recently, 96% of participants in the Citizen Satisfaction Survey said the quality of life in Lacombe was good or better.
As such, I would like to congratulate and thank you, the people of Lacombe for everything you do. Your actions continue to make Lacombe a better place, which makes it a more appealing place to live, which makes more people come to live here, which makes people want to improve it even more.
It is a pleasant cycle that will continue to make Lacombe grow and become a better, stronger community.