The Don Campbell Elementary School gymnasium was packed with students, staff and guests on Friday afternoon for an assembly celebrating the Red Deer school’s opening, and the man behind its namesake.

After the speeches, choir performance and ribbon-cutting ceremony, Alberta Education Minister David Eggen described the atmosphere as “electric’ and said a new school is a marker of societal health.

“We're a very young population here, youngest in the country and people are staying, they're moving and they're putting down roots,” Eggen said. "Red Deer's a perfect example of the vitality of Alberta in 2017."

The kindergarten to Grade 5 school opened in August with about 360 students enrolled. It is located in the Inglewood neighbourhood, in the city’s south end. The capital cost was $13.4 million.

In a growing city, the building provides “breathing room” for other schools, which have been dealing with overcrowding on the south side of Red Deer, said Red Deer Public Schools superintendent Stu Henry.

As well, families can now send their kids to a school in the neighbourhood instead of travelling elsewhere in the city, he added.

Campbell was the first principal of G.H. Dawe School, regarded as a visionary of the community school concept. In a video screened during the assembly, many of his friends, colleagues and family members talked about how he made everybody feel welcome at the school.

As a community school, Don Campbell Elementary doubles as a community centre, with a multi-purpose room that can be booked by the public, from neighbourhood associations, to arts, culture groups to sports groups.

A number of Campbell’s family members attended the ceremony, including Campbell’s eldest daughter, Jan Ludwig, who teaches Grade 2 in the school bearing his name.

“It’s kind of humbling. I love that what he stood for is carrying on in this space,” Ludwig said. “And the people that nominated him, we’re very grateful to all of them and his past staff, students. It’s just really wonderful. Just wonderful.”

Campbell’s widow Millie Campbell was particularly touched by the dedication, saying her late husband loved being involved in all activities of the school.

“It’s wonderful. It makes you feel a little bit hyped up. But what a great hype … I thought there might be 20 people or something. We might have a little gathering. I had no inkling of a day like this. Not at all,” Campbell said.