“A True Community Effort”
Arne Hanna Aquatic Center is the only city pool in Bellingham. It opens Monday through Friday at 5:30 and closes at 9. Weekend it opens just a few hours later, but also stays open later. Every minute it is open it is filled with community members using the facility to workout, learn how to swim, or for pleasure! As a employee of the pool, our focus on the patrons using the facility is evident by how we are trained behind the scenes. But, one of the most obvious ways we show our love for the community is through the acknowledgement of community members.
In order to build the pool it took donations of money and time from everyone in the city. The display at the pool showcases that effort. There are so many names, one after the other on a seemingly never ending list. By this display, community is the group of people who put the effort in together for a common goal. This particular genre, a display of names, shows community because it puts every single person who worked on this project in the same place. It is hung up high and big right at the front door. New members coming in become part of the community of the board by using the pool. It acknowledges how big the community is as well as gives the feeling that it will keep growing. It is also maintained by the community who uses the pool though. One frequent user of the pool has the responsibility of watering all the plants by the windows. The more kids who need swim lessons the more instructors you need to hire from the community. The manager of the pool has been working there since the day it opened. She continues the story of building and embodies the community of the pool. Community is the before, during, and after of the pool’s story in the genre.