“I love the neighbourhood,” Rob says. And for him, that feeling is inseparable from the single word he uses to describe Briargreen: community. That may sound simple or obvious even, but Rob’s decade and a half of volunteering have given him plenty of opportunity to think about what “community” means.
When Rob Welch first came to Briargreen in August 2008, he wasn’t looking for a title or to be a leader of a community association. He and his wife, Alana, were simply looking for a home in Ottawa’s west end. They had often walked through Briargreen, coming from Centrepointe, and liked the feel and charm of the neighbourhood.
Their eventual house came through word of mouth, having known the previous owners of their home on Crofton (no need for a“For Sale” sign.) Eighteen years later, Rob has a much deeper relationship with the neighbourhood. After nearly 15 years as President of the Briargreen Community Association (BCA), he is handing the role over to Josh Rottman – but rest assured, he isn’t going anywhere.
Rob’s involvement with the BCA began casually. At a social event, Fiona Johnson invited him to a meeting. Before long, he was helping with the Briarvine, Christmas parties, the skating rink, and other activities. When then-president Dan Howe stepped aside, Rob found himself at a table where everyone seemed to be looking at him when the question was asked: “who will step up?”
His response was characteristically straightforward: “Well, okay, I’ll do it.”
Growing up, volunteering was simply part of life. He recalls his parents being involved in their community, and he followed that example through ski patrol, Scouting, coaching and other activities. “It was just in my DNA,” he says.
There was another reason to get involved, beyond his experiences growing up. As a semi-empty nester arriving in a new neighbourhood, Rob discovered that meeting adults was different from meeting other parents when your children are young. Kids provide an automatic social network; without that, you have to make the effort yourself. Volunteering provided a natural way in for him.
Rob’s philosophy of, “if everybody does a little bit, more and more stuff gets done,” is rather simple, but it shaped how he approached the presidency. One of the biggest lessons, he says, was learning how to lead people who aren’t being paid to be there. Volunteers have different skills, different amounts of time, and different reasons for getting involved. The job of a leader isn’t simply to tell people what needs to be done; it is to understand what people are able and willing to contribute.
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Rob's selfie game is stronger than his trivia prowess. |
Over time, Rob deliberately made the Association less formal. When he joined, he felt that some of the processes felt “too much like a job.” He introduced more technology and organization, but also tried to give people greater flexibility.
The result, he believes, was that volunteer turnover went “way, way down.” People wanted to participate and felt they had a place.
Some of Rob’s favourite memories aren’t necessarily big accomplishments, but rather the moments when an event comes together and gets enjoyed; those small moments where something you help create becomes more than the sum of the planning and organization efforts. He remembers one early Winter Skating Party when, 15 minutes before things were supposed to begin, he found himself alone, outside in the cold snow, trying to set up the sound system. The horses had already arrived for sleigh rides. As he looked around, slightly panicked, he wondered where everybody was. Thankfully the volunteers arrived, at the last minute – as did the people arrive fashionably on time – to enjoy the event.
Today, Rob describes those events as an oiled machine. “It’s beautiful… we've got a formula now and people know what they're doing. And if they don't, we just let them know what they [need to do]. And it works... my job was made a lot easier by being surrounded by such outstanding professionals on the Association.”
The skating rink has also been one of his proudest projects. As rink manager, Rob expanded the pond skating area alongside the boarded rink, nearly doubling the available skating surface. But what matters to him isn’t really the ice, it’s what happens when people have somewhere to gather.
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Once a hockey player, always a hockey player. |
Rob sees the rink and Briargreen Park, as potential “rallying points” for the neighbourhood. He worries that children today have fewer opportunities for the kind of informal play that was once commonplace. He describes the kind of experience many had growing up right here in the early days: a group of kids calling on each other, meeting outside, and figuring out a game of baseball, football, or shinny without adults to organize every detail. Rob would like nothing more than to see a return of that spontaneous spirit.
His ideas for the future are similarly informal. A pickup baseball game, an adults’ Halloween party... perhaps another Christmas formal. Nothing too elaborate, but more opportunity to get out and see the people who have a big impact your day-to-day life. “Pick a date and just do it,” he says. “And maybe for the first few times, there's only going to be ten people, and are you just going to throw a ball around or sit [around and] tell tales. But, you know, eventually it'll morph and somebody new will get pulled in. Before you know it, you've got you've got [a lot of] people out there just having fun... More things like that.”
For Rob, community doesn’t have to be complicated. It grows when people are willing to step outside their homes and make the first connection.
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Rob, along with Liset Stanton, were awarded a 2023 Good Neighbour Award for all that they do. |
Rob’s interest in Briargreen goes beyond its present-day activities. He is fascinated by the neighbourhood’s history and by how quickly the landscape around it has changed.
The previous owner of his house had moved in during July 1967. At the time, Greenbank Road was still a two-lane country road, Barrhaven was barely established, Bayshore didn’t exist, and the Queensway ended at Bells Corners.
Briargreen itself predates Centrepointe. Rob had learned about an early proposal to extend Meadowbank into what became Centrepointe, and how the community opposed it. “That was fought tooth and nail by the previous homeowner, as well as many in the community. At the time, the chair, Andy Hayden, who was the chair of [the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton], was a strong proponent of extending Meadowbank into Centrepointe, but the community at large fought against it successfully. For better, for worse, we do not link into Centrepointe right now through roadways.”
That insular nature of Briargreen really is really the secret to it’s close-knit feel. If you come into the neighbourhood, you do so with intention, to be here or to interact it in some way. “You’re never just [going] through,” he says of Briargreen, “you’re not on your way somewhere else.” That sense of place ultimately comes back to people knowing one another, looking out for one another, respecting one another’s space, and choosing to participate.
Our history gives him a particular perspective on today’s debates about growth and densification. Rob isn’t opposed to change or to a growing city, but he believes neighbourhoods need to have some say in how that change happens. To him, Briargreen is worth preserving – not to remain frozen in time, but because the qualities that make it work are worth carrying forward.
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Signing up for the Dunk Tank shows that Rob's always willing to take one for the team. |
As Rob steps away from the presidency, he is also retiring from his professional career, instead spending time and finding meaning as a bike tour guide, exploring Ottawa and its history from a different perspective. He plans to travel more, but also to continue contributing to this community in new ways.
But Briargreen remains home.
After fifteen years of helping shape this community, Rob’s advice to Briargreen is direct. “Love the neighbourhood, love your home, and take care of you, take care of it, take care of each other, help each other out. Don’t be shy.”
Rob didn’t create Briargreen’s sense of community. But by joining it, helping organize it, challenging it, and learning from it, he has helped to make it stronger. As he reflects on a decase and a half with the BCA, he has one message for the people who will carry it forward.
“I can’t stress enough how gratifying it’s been to have been a part of the community… Join! If you’re not [running it], then fuel the people who are doing it through positive reinforcement and let them know that they’re doing the right thing and it’s appreciated.”
Characteristically, he ends by bringing it back to the neighbourhood itself. “I think without the Community Association, this would be a very different neighbourhood. It would be a lot less interesting. Let’s just keep pulling together as a team.”
This article and quotes may have been edited for clarity. Interview with Robert Welch, conducted by Ben Wood, August 24, 2026. Photos by Ben Wood.
