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PHOTO: KAREN SECORD
Community Profile
Kim Lamont
Eastway Gardens’ organizer extraordinaire
BY KAREN SECORD
The streets where Kim Lamont and her family live aren’t named after politicians
or trees or European cities. Their neighbourhood doesn’t have a sign with the
word “estate” displayed prominently. The landscaping doesn’t scream newness.
There isn’t a fancy community centre to act as a base for fundraising activities
and the like.
Eastway Gardens — a quiet enclave of about 400 homes off Tremblay
Road near Belfast — has a wading pool, a park and an undeniable feeling of
being “at home.” The streets, informally called “avenues,” are simply recognized
as numbers of the alphabet. “This is a beautiful place to live,” says Kim,
whose-stately looking town home is on Avenue O. “Many families have generations
living here. I was attracted to it because of the huge trees. I don’t think
we’ll ever leave.”
Eastway Garden was nearly 40 years old when Kim and her husband,
Robert, settled into the neighbourhood’s new development, an extension of
the avenues.
THE GO-TO PERSON
Ten years later the Lamont’s have two children,
Shannon, 7, and Cameron, 10. Kim, a pharmacy technician
at The Ottawa Hospital, is chair of the Eastway
Gardens Community Association. Over the past seven
years she has been the go-to person when events involving
children, neighbours and fun are involved.
In the summer months she organizes Olympic
days, super-hero days and jello eating contests. During
the winter months the community’s attention is on the
“hugely popular” outdoor rink that Kim oversees. Few
neighbours miss the annual skating party. It is a highlight
of the season.
“I came from a large family and I worked at a summer
camp,” she explains. “I enjoy keeping both parents
and kids active.”
Cameron calls his neighbourhood a “kind” community
and his mother’s involvement in it “awesome.” He exclaims, “Everybody
knows everybody, and there are lots of kids.”
Kim explains that she is just continuing a long tradition of volunteering in
Eastway Gardens. When her children were young, she recalls watching them play
at the park one day when organizer Bob Chenier approached the group of
women she was with and suggested that they think about getting more involved
in the community.
Kim welcomed the suggestion and has never looked back.
FOR THE LOVE OF COMMUNITY
“My street encircles the park,” she says. “I could easily spend my days there.
I wanted to get involved rather than just sitting around on a park bench.”
Due East Magazine • Page 16 • Summer 2008