Games on

We arrived at the Suncor Community Leisure Centre just before 12 noon, the appointed time for the final visit of the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games selection committee.  Dylan, Ben and I walked into the building, a little unsure how to proceed as the cavernous entrance hallway was lined with people cheering and banging thundersticks.

This energy creating strategy was employed during the original pep rally that had wowed the judges in a way that left most everybody involved thinking we had the Games in the bag.

Broad smiles crept across the faces of my sons as they joined me on the jaunt down the invisible red carpet to the end of the gauntlet where I could see my Council colleague Jane Stroud.  It truly felt like we were celebrities arriving for an awards show.  Councillors Mike Allen and Don Scott had a similar experience when they arrived a few moments later.

"They are leaving the KISS stage and will be here in two minutes," announced emcee Ross Jacobs, as the crowd erupted.

The volume reached a pinnacle as the colour guard penetrated the crowd and led the honoured guests through the spirited collection of Games supporters who had ducked out of work and school to deliver a final and resounding message that we really, really, really wanted the Games.

Minister Cindy Ady took the podium and expressed her awe at the welcome.

"We had five incredibly strong bids for these Games," she said.  "But I'm proud to announce that the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games will be held right here..."

Photo by Myra Ross, RMWB

Hundreds of guests rose to their feet in celebration as a cluster of helium-filled balloons were released.  Minister Ady craned her neck upwards, draped in an incredible smile, watching the colours of the Games sail to the top of the atrium as supporters cheered  hysterically.

Minister Cindy Ady, Co-Chair Kassie Singer, Co-Chair Jeff Fitzner, Mayor Melissa Blake, and Emcee Ross Jacobs

Off to my left, lead co-organizer Sally Lockhart was sobbing in jubilant satisfaction while her partner Monica Lance wiped away the tears.  Bid committee co-chairs Jeff Fitzner and Cassie Singer were beaming as they accepted congratulations and fielded an onslaught of media questions.  Mayor Melissa Blake was as happy as I've ever seen her, soaking in the incredible opportunity we've earned to host over 4,000 athletes from across Western Canada.

Dylan will be 16 years old when the Games arrive in 2015; Ben will be 12.  I was so pleased that they were able to be there to experience the birth of an event that will become a significant piece of Wood Buffalo history four years from now.  Games on!

Pike Niblets

We woke up this morning to the familiar smell of smoke thanks to a northwest wind blowing the detritus from the mammoth Richardson Lake fire, now smoldering muskeg.  Patrick, staying over at our house for a few days, decided to join me for some early morning fishing at the confluence of the Snye and the Clearwater River.  I was grateful for the fact that I was well dressed, as the wind blowing down the backside of MacDonald Island was rather cold.

The whitecaps on the Clearwater were as pronounced as I've seen them, whipping up the water into a bubbly froth as we cast our rigs as far as we could on the much calmer Syne stide, trying to find the sweet spot where a fish would rise.

After a couple of hours of battling the breeze, we were really struggling to figure out whether we were getting nibbles or if the rods were twitching because of the relentless current and wind.

"What do say we go till 9:30 then head out for breakfast?" I said.

"That sounds great," said Patrick.  "Now that you mention it I'm getting hungry."

The tip of my rod took a definitive lurch forward.

"Hold on," I said.

I picked up the rod from its holder and whipped it back.  Something was there and it wasn't small.

Weeeeeeeee, went my line as the fish took off, trying to free itself from the surly bonds of my hook.  I started reeling it in, steadily, careful not to give any slack as that would provide just enough give to facilitate a swift escape.  Weeeeeeeee, purred my reel as I started to make some progress, getting the fish close enough to spy a glance at its size.

A long white belly broke the surface of the water about 15 feet from shore giving us our first look at a nice looking pike.  It took about a minute more to get him safely on land and on to my fish weigh scale.  Just a hair over 5 pounds, the pike measured out at 77 centimetres, well over the legal limit of 63.  He was a keeper.

I gonked him on the head with the hammer, took it home and watched a YouTube video to remind me how to properly fillet it.

Heather put together her classic pike niblet marinade:  soy sauce, olive oil, crushed garlic and some ginger.  We let that sit in the fridge for the day then skewered the pieces and cooked them up on the barbecue for dinner.  Fantastic!

Heart of Wood Buffalo

"Who's gonna play your music, if you don't play it yourself?" asked Michael Jones, using a music metaphor to capture the essence of community leadership.

Nominees and presenters at the 2011 Heart of Wood Buffalo Leadership Awards

A total of 28 nominees gathered in Keyano Theatre along with their nominators, friends and family for the first annual Heart of Wood Buffalo Leadership Awards, a part of the Wood Buffalo Community Building Project.  Pianist and leadership consultant Michael Jones weaved a keynote presentation that brought words together with music in a completely unique way.  He shared his story of discovering his musical voice, his unique sound, his place in the world, and then sat down at the ivories to create two different pianoscapes.  It was beautiful, reflective, deeply impactful.

Pianist Michael Jones

"I was in this small club and found this upright piano off in the corner and began playing," he shared.

"After awhile, a young man came and sat on the bench while I played.  Eventually he became really quite serious and suggested rather forcefully that I should find my own sound, that I was playing just like Michael Jones."

It was a crystallizing moment for him, as he continued to play, trying to figure out how to tell this guy that he actually was Michael Jones.

The list of individuals and organizations nominated for the four awards - Philanthropy Leadership, Nonprofit Organization Leadership, Nonprofit Board Leadership, and Nonprofit Staff Leadership - was nothing short of impressive.

Emcee Claude Giroux announced the names of the various winners and then sat down with them in a living room setting on stage left and engaged in a delightful dialogue that also revealed to which nonprofit their $5,000 award would be going.

Raymond Floyd from Suncor, Marty & Dennine Giles from Northstar Group

Marty and Dennine Giles from the Northstar Group (Ford) were the winners of the Philanthropy Award, in a tough field that included some strong nominees like Cr. Mike Allen and Cr. Dave Kirschner and his wife Iris.  The group of seven also included a media maven (Andryia Browne - Mac Media), retail store owner (Frank Saraka - Canadian Tire), and several contractors (Shawn Chaulk - Stratford Contracting and John Wilson - H. Wilson Industries).

Both visibly touched at being singled out among this prestigious group, Marty and Dennine reflected on leadership and announced their intention to give their cash award to the Family Crisis Society.

David Peters from WBHDC and Cathy Glover from Suncor Energy Foundation

The Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation won the Organization Leadership Award and also shared that their winnings would go to help build a new Unity House (Family Crisis Society).  They were selected from a group that included Events Wood Buffalo, Fort McMurray Association for Community Living, Victim Services, The HUB, Primary Care Network, and Volunteer Wood Buffalo.

Sana Elache from Leadership Wood Buffalo and Christine Burton from The HUB

For her formative and passionate leadership of The HUB Family Resource Centre, Christine Burton was announced as the recipient of the Nonprofit Board Leadership Award.  Along with several of the other winners, she was asked to share the last three things she does before going to bed.  I can't remember what the first two things were, but her final thing was "crawling into bed with the wonderful man who has stood by her all these years as she did her stuff."

"He's a hottie, isn't he," asked Claude.

"Yes, no question," she replied.

"I feel the absolute same way."

"About my husband?"

The audience laughed, and Claude blushed.

Christine was in another strong group of nominees that included Greg Butters - Events Wood Buffalo, Kathy Flett - Fort McMurray Food Bank, Steve Kelly - Volunteer Wood Buffalo, Curtis J. Phillips - Huskies Booster Club, Dale Unruh - Keyano College Foundation, and Michelle Velez - Fort McMurray Victim Services.  She announced that her $5,000 award would go back into the organization she has served  since its inception.

"I love sports metaphors," said Claude, as he introduced the Nonprofit Staff Leadership Award.

"And this metaphor comes from a terrible movie called THE REPLACEMENTS with Keanu Reeves.  At the point where the game was on the line, the coach asked Who wants the ball?"

"The people in this category always want the ball, and they're the ones who take it all the way to the end zone."

Laura Barnes from Victim Services and Ed Kamps from Nonprofit Sector Link

The winner, Laura Barnes from Victim Services, was brought into the living room for a quick chat.

"Tell me a little bit about Victim Services," asked Claude.

"We're the people who arrive on your door late at night with the police to share news that you don't want to hear."

It was  sobering moment, a reminder that many nonprofit leadership roles are often filled by unsung heroes, people who deeply affect lives, one at a time.  Laura was joined by nominees Cathy Baker-Morrell - Big Brothers Big Sisters, Melane LeBlanc - Keyano College Foundation, Trudy Malone - Soup Kitchen, Gayle Phillips - Fort McMurray Boys & Girls Club, Elaine Reed - Safe Community Wood Buffalo, and Tracey Robertson - Children First.  Laura announced that her $5,000 award would be going to Fort McMurray Search and Rescue.

Winners of the 2011 Heart of Wood Buffalo Leadership Awards

"Transformational leadership is about finding your voice," said keynote presenter Michael Jones.  These 28 nominees, individuals and organizations alike, have found theirs and are making beautiful music in our region; they are the Heart of Wood Buffalo.

Meeting Michael Smith

Chef Michael Smith is mountainous, tall, with a shock of hair that helps him seem even larger.  Standing next to Country 93.3's Ben McCully, who readily admitted his short-comings, Smith is towering.  He was in Fort McMurray for the second annual fundraiser for the Family Crisis Society, raising money for a new women's shelter, desperately needed in this rapidly growing community.

"We spent a lot of time trying to figure out how we would top what we did last year," said Chef Michael.  "We decided to give you a real back home Backyard Extravaganza."

Arriving on the curling surface at MacDonald Island Park, though incredibly festive, nothing was earth-shatteringly different.  Colourful banners were festooned between the pillars and tables were adorned with lettuce-filled centerpieces, hand-painted rocks, small Play-Doh containers - one at every setting, and an old-fashioned mason jar partially filled with what was labeled as dressing.  Interesting yes, earth-shatteringly different, no, not yet.

Following opening remarks about why the event was so meaningful and important, Chef Michael gave us the first phase of instructions. We were all given a numbered dish, corresponding with our table number (which was 19), and we were to collaboratively create, out of the various colours of Play-Doh, a plate full of food.  We would be given about 30 minutes to do this while enjoying our first course which would be a large bowl of soup.  We also had to make our own salad using the lettuce and vegetables comprising our centerpiece.  And by the way, if we didn't like the soup that had been prepared for our table - they were all slightly different - we were encouraged to visit our neighbors to grab some of theirs.

"It is a backyard barbecue after all," said Chef Michael.

Claude and Dave started on the salad while everyone else (Heather, Tiffany, Iris, Sheldon, Gerarda and Melissa) started turning the green, yellow, orange, blue, and red Play-Doh into a plateful of faux food.

A total of 77 tables submitted a plate containing everything from lobsters, hot dogs, French Fries, fish, vegetables and a few items that were indescribable.

The first course done, Chef Michael signaled to Cam who raised the curtain on what had been prepared next door on what is normally a skating surface.  Thanks to an amazing donation of sod from Dunvegan Gardens, a backyard had been created indoors and flowing outdoors into the parking lot.  There were six food stations - barbecued bison, lobster risotto, beer can chicken, grilled salmon, barbecued baby back ribs and skewered beef.  To top it all off, the food was being served by military personnel from CFB Edmonton, using their own mobile kitchen facilities.

Tables were called at random, and over 700 guests magically served themselves following the strict instructions of the Chef to "stay on the grass," as it would take us where we need to go.

It was an incredible experience, completely unique, comfortable, welcoming.  It was made extra special when it came time to find out which table out of the 77 would win the best plate of faux food award.

"For creating a healthy plate of vegetable and fruits, including a lovely blueberry pie, broccoli, strawberries, peas and kernels of corn, the winner is table 19," said Chef Michael.

Watching our reaction, you might have thought that we had won the car donated by Alberta Motor Products for the event, as our collective hands shot up in the air and Tiffany dashed to the stage to accept our prize of a couple of original drawings by Chef Michael Smith.  (They will reappear at a fundraising event down the road)

Joy was experienced in good measure, great food was enjoyed, and money was raised for a great cause.  One item, a trip for two to P.E.I. including a full day with Chef Michael, sold for an incredible $46,000 - in my memory one of the highest prices paid for any item at a fundraising event in Fort McMurray.  The same item had recently been auctioned off in Ontario.

"You didn't just beat Toronto," said Chef Michael.  "You beat them to the ground and gave them a good kicking!"

The entire crowd rose to its feet in appreciation and celebration, several times, as the $46,000 bid closed, as the military personnel came out front, and as the incredible kitchen staff emerged from the kitchen to accept our thanks.

"Thank you," I said to the Chef, as I walked by him to grab my food earlier in the evening.

"Greet to meet you," he replied, as his mammoth grip swallowed my hand, genuine to the bone.

Solstice Shines

Several thousand people ignored the clouds and imagined the sun as Keyano College hosted its 11th annual Summer Solstice Picnic in the Park on Friday.  A cultural melting pot, the free community event has grown into a reflection of the rich diversity of our region.  In a short couple of hours, conversations were enjoyed with people originally from Columbia, India, Venezuela, Pakistan, Japan, Russia and of course, Canada, and many other countries scattered throughout the globe.

From the science tent where they were doing the bridge building competition, to the Telus tent where Keyano Theatre & Arts Centre was celebrating a new partnership with a community-minded telecommunications company, Keyano College staff members were omnipresent and smiling in their blue "Papa Smurf" volunteer shirts as they celebrated the annual rite of passage into summer.

With the expertise of the wonderful staff of Events Wood Buffalo, the support of Canadian Natural (Summer Solstice's major sponsor), and the gang from Ovation Catering & Banquets (they provide the BBQ) a relaxing, fun, and entertaining time was had by all.

"This event was very different," said face painter Tiffany Bishop.

"I painted more adult faces here than at any other event that I've done."

Summer Solstice is as much for moms and dads to kick back and enjoy a free and joyful picnic as it is for the children, who came out in full force in 2011.

Inflatable activities provided an incredible outlet for the little ones to burn off energy, while the large lawn games like chess and checkers offered adults a chance to test their mental mettle.  From chalk-drawing to bubble blowing, from getting a balloon animal made to having a tattoo painted, the Summer Solstice Picnic in the Park proved to be pure fun.

On the mainstage, dancers from Generation Dance Studio, Keyano Conservatory and the Belly Dance Academy wiggled, jumped, twisted, turned and stretched, filling Doug MacRae Park with energy and unbridled passion for their craft.  Jazz bands from Father Mercredi and Westwood high schools filled the corner of Franklin and King with beautiful music while The Plaid Tongued Devils capped things off with their eclectic mix of folk and rock infused Klezmer and Gypsy tunes.

"This event will always be special to me," said Stuart McIntosh from KAOS 91.1.

"It was the very first public event I attended on the first day I arrived in town.  It's great to be back."

Many other people return year after year, from Eulalia Hernandez with her camera to Bruce Price with his majestic beard and hat.  After 11 years, Summer Solstice has become a treasured tradition, an opportunity to enjoy a wonderful time with friends and family, and also a great place to make new friends.

Children, parents and friends gather at the front of the mainstage, two or three hundred strong, as President Kevin Nagel from Keyano College and Senior Vice President Peter Janson from Canadian Natural tossed out a box full of prizes.  Smiles, looks of anticipation and appreciation, beamed up waiting from the next t-shirt or hat to come flying by.

As the evening wound down, a sliver of the sun poked through the clouds, reminding us of long days and the beginning of a brilliant summer.

A couple of ladies who attended the event showed up at my garage sale the following morning, as the rain poured down.

"At least it held off for the Solstice," she said.

"You know what, I saw lots of people who came at 4 pm and stayed almost to the end.  The kids were having so much fun, they just didn't want to leave."

I can't think of a nicer compliment for what is truly, a wonderful family event.

My Story of Stuff

My family is getting ready for a garage sale on Saturday morning.  Stuff is coming out of the woodwork and finding its way on to the rapidly growing pile in the garage, ready to entice early morning collectors and shoppers.

We are surrounded by stuff, some that we are eager to pass along, some that we hold on to despite our better judgement.

I have a long shelf full of records.  A bunch of them came from a garage sale that Heather went to in Anzac almost 10 years ago.  Some are part of my precious Bob Dylan collection.  Others have never been opened.  They sit there gathering dust; I don't even have a working turntable to play them on anymore - yet I resist the rational course which would be to lug them up the stairs, out the door, and on to the pile.

We have books in every nook and cranny - novels, plays, non-fiction and everything in between - upstairs, downstairs, from the bedrooms to the bathrooms.  Some I'm completely comfortable putting on the sale table,  trashy crime novels and the like, ones I'm likely never to reread.  But, the vast majority are treasured books, ones that I can picture returning to at a moment yet to be determined.

The boys perceive the garage sale as an opportunity to turn a profit.  Heather and I will be thrilled to give the stuff a new home and avoid the landfill, regardless of how much money we make.  Priorities change with age.

I'm surrounded by magazines: Maclean's, Vanity Fair and National Geographic.

"Why don't we sell these?" asked Ben, looking at the long row of yellow-spined glories.

"No way," I snapped, insistent that the colour yellow is off limits, images of the Kamsack Library popping into my head that boasted an impressive collection of National Geographic magazines going back almost 100 years.  There was a sense of majesty in that for me; there still is.

From DVDs to CDs to miscellaneous this, that and the other thing, I am comforted by stuff.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit it.  But, I love having all these little distractions, little packets of forgotten treasures and memories.

My story of stuff will end many years from now, when I reach that point of enlightenment, when the stuff becomes superfluous. For now, I hold on to the stuff that matters, pass along the stuff that doesn't, and revel in the empty spaces we've created, making way for the stuff that will surely come tomorrow.

Size Matters

The largest water bomber in the world is sitting in Gregoire Lake - the Hawaii Mars, one of two Coulson Flying Tankers that can carry a stunning payload of over 27,000 litres of water.  Normally, it's stationed at Sproat Lake, just west of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island.  I know the spot well because I used to live there, in a 1970s style, 2 x 2 construction trailer, on a property owned by this lovely older couple.

I lived up on a hill overlooking the lake; they lived in a 100-year old home that had apparently been a summer retreat for Ulysses S. Grant; his initials were carved in the foundation. From the front steps I could see the distant sliver of orange floating off on the other side of the narrow lake.

Because of the tenacity of the fires in our region and the extraordinarily dry conditions - we have not had any significant rainfall since the snow melt - the Hawaii Mars is enjoying its temporary digs in our local lake, a recreational honey pot, a short 20-minute drive out of town.  It's good news for the 700 firefighters working to get a number of wildfire under control in Wood Buffalo, one being the Richardson Lake fire which is now north of 500,000 hectares in size and one of the largest in Alberta's history; it's bad news for the local boaters as the lake is closed until said bomber flies away for good.

You see, not only does the Mars need much of the lake to take off - it is 117 feet long with a wing span of 200 feet - it also needs the lake to satisfy its thirst for water.

Knowing this I surmised that the boat launch would be an awesome spot to do some lake fishing while Heather and the boys were playing at the beach.  Normally, you have limited access to the water because boats are coming and going most of the time.  I was right. So, I grabbed a spot and enjoyed a couple of hours of fishing time.

The Hawaii Mars was floating off to the left, about 50 metres or so off the shore, waiting for its flying orders.  Well, it might as well have been the Statue of Liberty with the amount of attention it grabbed.  Residents were rotating in and out the entire time I was there - iPhones, BlackBerrys, digital cameras and camcorders in hand capturing the scene in deferential reverence to the giant orange and white flying fortress floating in the water.

"It's normally gone at this time of day," said the Ranger engaging the tourists.  He didn't know why it was sitting idle, but it offered him the opportunity to share some salient facts.

"It is here with a crew of twenty - that includes maintenance and ground support and of course, the air crew."

Ears tuned in, I heard him say that it cost the province about $80,000 per day to cover the costs of services delivered by the fire smothering leviathan.

"How much water does it carry?" asked one person.

"Let's put it this way:  if it were to drop a full load on your home, your house would be flattened."

Size matters, and when people find out that the biggest of something is in town, they flock to it.  They came out of their cars, off their bikes, out of the bushes, drawn to it like it was an extraterrestrial space vehicle.  They came and they kept coming, and I kept fishing.  They got their pictures and videos; I got a tan and not much else.

Clearwater Morning

It was a great way to start my 44th year as a human being - at the confluence of the Snye and the Clearwater.  The water was glass, save for the faint lines drawn by the feet of the early morning insects, making contact with the mirror-like surface.

I nestled up next to a familiar couple, a lady I used to see quite a bit in the early days down at the Oilcan Tavern, back in the day when we (CJOK) used to do the talent competition there, and her husband.

"They're biting this morning," she said.

"What?  The pickerel?" I asked.

"Pike!"

And just a few minutes later, the tip of my rod dipped - gentle, subtle, yet absolutely definitive - letting me know that a fishy friend was in the neighborhood.

I grabbed my rod, sitting in its pvc-pipe holder sunk into the sand with a piece of rebar taped to the side, and yanked.

It felt like a dead weight as the pike started ambling toward the shore, as they are apt to do - unlike goldeye who come up for air (sic) and pickerel who swim for the bottom.

He/She/It veered left and ended up about five feet away, just before arriving at the vantage point that would have given me a sense as to its size, and slipped the surly bonds of my hook and swam away.

It was a brief moment of glory, the blissful connection point between fisherman and fish, a beautiful yet brief dance - a great way to start the day.

Twitterish Delirium

When I'm running a fever my nocturnal mind gets stuck on one thing and becomes an endless loop, circling back and forth over the same territory.  The other night, as I descended into the pit of inclement hell, I became trapped in the Twittersphere.  I would wake up, stumble to the kitchen for a glass of water - in hopes of breaking the cycle of tweets, retweets, hash tags - only to return to my tousled side of the bed and slip right back into my twitterish delirium.

I've never done drugs, but I imagine its trip might be something like this, unstoppable, repeating, and, ultimately, inescapable.   I got up at 6:30 am to send the Good Morning Keyano email, a daily bulletin of news and announcements, then woke up the boys.  By 7:30 am I was back under the sheets, beginning another twisted circuitous sleep time storyline.  Up for a half hour here and a half hour there, I pretty much spent the entire day shivering and sweating with the blankets tucked up to my chin.

Do you think he's gonna die, I'm certain my sons were thinking, puzzled and completely out-of-sorts with their normally nimble Dad down for the count.

I finally woke up and felt I needed to eat, a nice bowl of sugary cereal.  That was a good sign and the first glimpse of hope off on the foggy horizon.  A few hours later I was free of the shivers and the constant layer of sweat on my brow.  The fever had broken, the worst was over and it was time to check my Twitter feed.

Jewel of the North shines

There was a sense of excitement as you weaved back and forth down the road leading from Thickwood Boulevard, down Real Martin Drive to the Fort McMurray Golf Club. Beautiful signs highlighting some of the record number of 73 sponsors were beautifully pitched off on the right side of the road providing a warm welcome and setting the tone for what would be a memorable day of golf.

Apart from the first-class branding elements, there are many things about the annual Keyano College Foundation fundraising tournament in Wood Buffalo that make it special. From the moment you arrive and Huskies athletes grab your clubs and take them out to your cart, to the activities that are peppered throughout the course, the Jewel of the North First North Catering Golf Classic offered an unforgettable experience.

The tournament featured two shotgun starts, morning and afternoon, and a full slate of 248 linksters. The event attracted a broad mix of players, some graciously competitive and others just wanting to be part of the fun. They all enjoyed the various College departments and sponsors who added their unique sizzle to the 18-hole trip through the lush, green and comfortably crisp course set in the Athabasca River valley.

“People were really great about sharing their ‘Someday I will be…’ ideas,” said Renee Summers, Marketing Manager, who was on the 8th hole for the afternoon round.

“There were a lot of great responses-some funny, some serious-but the one that kept us laughing the longest was the guy who said that someday he would be Brittany Spears.”

Throughout the day, we spied chocolates wrapped in the Keyano Theatre Company’s 2011-2012 season sitting on the dashes of the golf carts, ready to provide that extra injection of sugar – a welcomed prize being dished out on the 11th hole by Marketing Coordinator, Alanna Bottrell and Theatre & Arts Centre Director, Alan Roberts.

“It was great to interact with everybody,” said Bottrell.

“They were not shy at all about sharing their great comments about the season that just wrapped up. It was also fun to give them the goods on what’s coming up next year. It was awesome to be out there telling our story.”

From the striking views of the river valley to the random encounters with local wildlife-foxes, squirrels and others, from the uncharacteristic absence of mosquitos to the wonderful abundance of fresh air, the Golf Classic offered up a day away from the hustle and bustle of business, a chance to visit with old friends and the opportunity to meet new ones.

Keyano staff and students, along with community volunteers, numbered over 100 this year.

“We can’t thank the volunteers enough for their efforts,” said Melane LeBlanc, Annual Giving Manager.

“It takes a lot of hands working together to put something like this together. From our Golf Committee to our sponsors, from the great Keyano staff and our many students, they made the event extra special. They were the champions that helped us raise a record total of over $210,000.”

Shortly after the Phoenix Heli-Flight Helicopter drop its load of golf balls over the specially made hole for the much-anticipated Sky Drop, the First North Catering staff unveiled a delectable banquet. Patrons of the event enjoyed an entertaining live auction, the passing out of prizes and the invitation to return in 2012 for what will undoubtedly be another record breaking tournament.

Remembering Julius

Ben has been going through a toy gun phase in recent months, spending all of his allowance money on plastic weaponry from the Dollar Store.  He asked me to make him a wooden AK-47 on his birthday, which turned out not too bad.

As Dad watched Ben run around the house with his cache of guns, spending a couple of days in Fort McMurray while we were in NYC, he was reminded of a kind gentleman that made him a wooden pistol when he was little.

"His name was Julius Liepert," he shared.  "He was a hired hand at the farm, changing over some of the equipment to hydraulics.  He took the time to make me a wooden pistol.  It was great, and he was such a nice man."

This was over 70 years ago, probably in the early 1940s on the family farm near Stornoway, Saskatchewan maybe 30 kilometres southwest of Kamsack.

"He was tragically killed in a farming accident, crushed I think," he said.

"I wonder if he was related to Ron Liepert, Alberta's Minister of Energy," I asked.  "He's originally from the Saltcoats area."

"Saltcoats?  That's where Julius was from."

I had met the honourable Minister on a number of occasions but didn't have his email handy, so I looked it up on the government website.  I sent off a note and had a reply the following day.  Sure enough, he had an Uncle Julius, his dad's closest brother, who was crushed by a tractor that slipped out of gear and pinned him up against a wall.

It's a small world and I'm always surprised at the random examples of extreme connectivity.

I sat down on the edge of Ben's bed last night and told him this story, marveling at the impression this kind man made on my father all those years ago.

Seventy years later, the kindness of one man, whose life was cut way too short, still resonates.  I think that's something to celebrate.