Keystone Centre launches foundation

The Keystone Centre has announced the creation of a foundation to support the ongoing operation, improvement and accessibility of the non-profit facility.

The new Keystone Centre Foundation will focus on educating the community on the importance of the regional hub, volunteer executive director Barry Cooper said during an official announcement at the centre on Thursday.

“The Keystone is a key economic and cultural driver for Brandon and for Westman, one of the best value-for-money investments we could ever make,” he said. “And we need to talk more about this.”

The event was attended by Brandon politicians, business leaders, Keystone Centre staff and board members of the new foundation, which is a partnership with the Brandon and Area Community Foundation.

The foundation’s fund will invest tax-receiptable donations over time, with the Keystone Centre able to use the annual interest or a portion of the capital investment for specific projects, the centre said in a news release Thursday.

Cooper said reminding the community about why the Keystone Centre is important for the area is vital.

“Being part of a community for over 50 years, it’s so easy to forget how truly important this building is,” he said.

“What would Brandon, Westman look like if the Keystone Centre wasn’t here? What a scary thought.”

The foundation will focus first on community engagement before it goes into fundraising mode.

“I’m not selling anybody anything. I’m just talking about the value of the facility, and I hope that people see that as something they want to come on side with,” Cooper said.

“This building has done so many things in my own life and in the lives of everybody in this room, to shape them and to change the experiences that they’ve had,” he said.

“Everybody has a story about this building and about these grounds, and that’s why it matters so much.”

The foundation’s community engagement strategy will include asking people how they feel the centre falls short and what it can do better.

Keystone Centre CEO and general manager Connie Lawrence said setting up the foundation has been in the works for years.

“We want to make sure that our doors stay open for years to come, and that your children and grandchildren get to use this magnificent facility,” she said after the announcement.

She said a 50-year-old building can be costly to maintain, and that having “a strong, structured foundation” will hopefully help “bring us prosperity.”

The centre has posted operating deficits in recent years, which have been managed with both the city and province pitching in funds.

“I need to make sure is that it is properly funded as we move forward,” Lawrence said. “So, by educating and teaching people the importance of the Keystone Centre, I think that gives people peace of mind of where they could invest their money, for their kids, their grandkids, and be proud of it and for years to come.”

The problem with the centre, Lawrence said, is that people think of it as a “big, ugly kid in the middle of the city,” but that if the doors were closed, it would hurt businesses in the entire region.

“If we don’t have events, what’s the attraction to Brandon? If our doors are closed, what happens to the hotel rooms? What happens to the restaurants?” she asked.

“It is really a pillar in our community.”

The foundation also announced it is hosting two “signature events” to raise awareness and “bring people in to the process,” the news release said. They include a free family fun day on Dec. 20 and the inaugural Keystone Centre Foundation Dinner on May 14. The dinner will include a keynote speach from former NFL player and Brandonite Israel Idonije.

The Keystone Centre is also an important part of growing up in the region, said Brandon-Souris MP Grant Jackson, who is from Souris.

“As a small-town kid getting to come into a facility like this, you just don’t see that every day,” Jackson said. “In fact, you find out as you get older that very few other communities have a facility like this at all.”

Jackson said the foundation is a “call to action” for residents to think about what the centre means to them and how long they want it to continue to be a part of the community.

“I think it is so important to go out there and do that hard work of asking the community, as well as governments, to invest in this facility, to ensure that it is here for decades to come,” the Conservative MP said.

He said he will see how the federal government “potentially, possibly, could be convinced to play a role” for the centre.

Jennifer Ludwig, president of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, said until she became an adult and a business owner, she had no idea how important the centre was to the city.

“I’ve really begun to see the building and its true value,” Ludwig said. “The Keystone Centre is an economic anchor of this community. The value and economic stimulus from events that are hosted within this facility (are) remarkable and so important to the business community in Brandon.

“There is not another venue like the Keystone Centre in Manitoba, and dare I say, western Canada.”

» alambert@brandonsun.com