Public access – check; public safety – check; the arts and athletics – double check.
It was Christmas in July at the office of MLA Ron Casey last Thursday (July 3), as he presented Community Initiative Program (CIP) grants to four local organizations whose individual fields of diversity showed the range in community services/events found throughout the Bow Valley.
The four organizations included The Alberta Avalanche Recue Dog Association, the William Watson Lodge Society, Alberta Cup Cross Country Society and Canmore Folk Music Festival.
A non-profit association of dog handlers, the Alberta Avalanche Recue Dog Association’s goal is to offer help in saving the lives of skiers and wilderness enthusiasts during avalanches. The association received a grant of $31,925 for continued operations.
“This grant means everything to us, it’s the first grant that we’ve got,” said association president Logan Bennett. “It’s not just money, but someone saying, ‘yep, you’re heading in the right direction and I think it’s something we all really need.’ In terms of what we’re spending the money on, it’s vests for our dogs because often we have to fly with them and we have to be able to secure them.”
He added fuel and equipment are always a high expense for backcountry rescue.
The William Watson Lodge Society, an organization committed to ensuring Alberta seniors and people with disabilities have access to nature and the outdoors in the Rockies, received a grant of $31,000 to ensure continued success.
“We can look at ways to enhance the facility for people using our facility (located in Kananaskis Country),” said William Watson Lodge Society president Wayne Pelletier. “Right now, we’re looking at extensions of the trail and we’re looking at doing comfort camping.
“People can come out and enjoy a camp setting and we’re also building a gazebo over the firepit – the money will go to very good use and I know from my past experience everyone will enjoy it.”
The Alberta Cup Cross Country Society received a grant of $75,000, which will help with the organization’s upcoming host duties for the FIS World Cup in 2016; cross-country ski events which will take place in Quebec, Canmore and Lake Louise.
“We are planning for the Tour de Canada in March of 2016. This will be a new event, which will be the pinnacle event of the season that year,” said society president Norbert Meier. “There will be no Olympics or world championships, so this will be the equivalent to the Olympics and world championships in our sport in that year.”
The Canmore Folk Music Festival, which holds the honour of being Alberta’s oldest music festival, received $4,095 to go towards the festival’s 37th year in bringing internationally renowned musical artists to the Bow Valley.
“One of the key tenets of the festival has been our dedication and determination to support young artists. That is done though the festival with a variety of workshops, for example, The School of Song, an incredible program run out of Edmonton,” said festival director Kurt Bagnell.
“We also have a number of scholarships we provide to high school students who are pursuing music or performance art careers.”
CIP grants exist in order to reinvest provincial revenues back into communities through organizations committed to responding to local needs and concerns.
“These Community Initiative Program grants really are a foundation to a lot of the work that’s done in our communities,” Casey said. “I think this is absolutely a great example of the diversity of the groups, the diversity of interests that take advantage of these (grants).”
