Arbec Wellness Centre Donations Honours Donors’ Parents
Deborah Lyons spoke via Microsoft Teams about her $250,000 donation to have the gymnasium space in the Arbec Wellness Centre named in honour of her parents, Rita and Joseph Lyons.
The parents of Irene Christie and Deborah Lyons have been honoured with donations that will see three areas nside the Arbec Wellness Centre named for them.
On behalf of the Campton Christie Foundation Inc., Christie donated $300,000 and Lyons, who serves as the honorary chair of the fundraising committee, donated $250,000.
The $550,000 in donations were announced at the City’s Regular Council Meeting on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
In recognition of the $250,000 donation to the City of Miramichi that Lyons made, the gymnasium space will be named in honour of her parents, Rita and Joseph Lyons.
In her remarks via Microsoft Teams, Lyons, a diplomat who now serves as Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, said she and her family wanted to give back to the community that helped their family many times.
She said local service clubs helped her attend Operations Crossroads Africa during her first year of studies at the University of New Brunswick which she felt set her on the career path she chose. Those same clubs helped pay to send her sister to Montreal for treatment after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, which she ended up beating.
“It’s an honour for me to make this donation,” Lyons said. “It’s an honour for me, my siblings, and our many grandchildren to see the gymnasium in this facility named after our parents.
“The river, and the people on it, gave us so much as we grew up and saw families struggling, overcoming challenges, and doing that together.”
Campton Christie Foundation Inc. , represented by Irene (Kerr) Christie, standing with Mayor Adam Lordon, made a $300,000 donation to honour her parents, Genevieve and J. Fraser Kerr with the naming of the pools in the Aquatic Centre in the Arbec Wellness Centre.
In recognition of the $300,000 donation made on behalf of the Campton Christie Foundation Inc., the leisure pool will be named in honour of Christie’s mother, Genevieve Kerr and the competition pool will be named in honour of her father, J. Fraser Kerr.
Christie, a former pharmacist and community volunteer, said her parents would have taken a keen interest in the benefits of the multiplex. She added her father, a former manager of the former Canada Cement Company of Montreal, now Lafarge, would have been interested in the amount of cement being used.
“My mother and father were eager to use their capabilities for the betterment of other people’s lives right here on the Miramichi,” Christie said.
Christie said mother, a former teacher and busy mother never had much time for leisure. Her father held various roles in banking, municipal and provincial politics as well as management throughout his career.
“He encouraged economic development,” Christie said.
Mayor Adam Lordon thanked both donors for their generosity on behalf of City Council and the residents of the City.
The City of Miramichi launched a fundraising campaign in 2024 with a goal to raise $5 million for the Multiplex. A fundraising committee, working DCG Philanthropic Services , increased the goal due to significant contribution. More announcements will be made soon.
If anyone is interested in donating to this fundraising campaign for the Multiplex project, they can contact Sandra Gauger at the City of Miramichi.
Multiplex Project
The Arbec Wellness Centre is scheduled to open in September 2026. It will offer an 1860-seat arena, walking track, double gymnasium, 25m/6 lane competition pool, leisure pool as well as enhanced community spaces - all of which incorporate sustainable design features.