On Aug. 29, the Lougheed family passed the keys of the Lougheed Centre (itself the former site of St. Clements Church) to St. John Ambulance, to be used as its new training and community services centre.
Now named the St. John Ambulance Lougheed Centre, it will carry on a history that dates back to the 1950s.
According to Geoffrey Lougheed, co-chair of the Lougheed Foundation, more than 10,000 events were held free-of-charge in the building before the official deed was passed to St. John Ambulance.
"It's huge," said Heather Roy, executive director of St. John Ambulance Northeastern Ontario. "This particular building frees up so much funds that we can use for our volunteer groups."
St. John Ambulance provides First Aid Training to members of the public on a non-profit basis. The relationship between the Lougheed family and St. John Ambulance spans decades. Family patriarch Gerry Sr. was the first ambulance operator to say people in his position should be trained, and that they should have basic CPR skills.
"We wanted to leave a legacy in the community and St. John Ambulance helps so many community groups — First Aid training, advocacy, so it's a great fit for Lougheeds and St. Johns and I think very much that this building continues to sustain value to our community," said Gerry Lougheed Jr. on Monday.