With just over two years until the Bow Valley hosts the 2014 Alberta Winter Games, organizing for the event has begun with selection of a chairperson for the organizing committee.
Canmore and Banff town councils each voted unanimously to accept Bob Ellard’s application for the position.
The Canmore resident has a long record of board and community activities that include being president and chair of the board for the 2005 Canada Summer Games and two Grey Cups.
Ellard built a home in Canmore 10 years ago, but moved here full-time with his wife 3 1/2 years ago. He still works in Calgary.
He said he was encouraged by his wife to apply for the position and it gives him a chance to meet more people in the community that he now calls home.
“This is an opportunity for me to meet a lot of people, which I have already done in the few short weeks I have been involved,” he said.
Ellard has already begun assembling the executive committee of the host society, with John McIssac agreeing to take the position of senior vice-president.
McIssac was instrumental in bringing the two communities together during the process of crafting the winning bid to host the games.
Ellard said as of right now there is a successful bid and his work will be to set up the board of directors and a host society. That work includes establishing the organizational structure of the society and getting key people from the two communities to lead the 14 portfolios as vice-president and associate vice-president.
“My job is to put this group together,” he said. “Getting the games is one piece and it is the first step, now we have to put the whole thing together and effectively host it.”
Part of that planning process includes running a test event in each sport next winter and recruiting local sport associations to be involved in that and running events at the games themselves.
“It is actually very complicated,” Ellard added. “Logistically, it has big challenges to it. What I bring to the community is that I have done this on a comprehensive basis.”
The games will need thousands of volunteers and will see 2,600 athletes, coaches and managers housed, fed and transported around different venues – not to mention the friends and families of the participants in the games who will stay in local hotels and eat in local restaurants, which represents an economic boon for the valley.
Right now, Ellard is looking in particular for members of the Banff business community to step forward into leadership roles in various areas.
He said he would like the host society to be made up of leadership members from both communities and once those are in place it will seek volunteers and begin training and assigning them roles.
“There is a big need for volunteers – it is going to be a high profile event,” said Ellard, adding it is the first multi-sports games to be hosted in the valley. “I think people who get involved will take something away and be very happy with the time they spent with the games.”
Those interested in leadership positions in areas such as administration, facilities, food services, legal, medical, promotion, protocol, tech services, sport and transportation can contact the committee at [email protected]
