Thriving Camrose

A Coalition of local leaders and community members have been working together with a focus of healthy living and active living. An important piece of this Coalition's approach is collaborative action which mirror's ACE Communities' focus as well. This group further reflects collaboration by incorporating research, strategic planning, relationship and partnership building. These aspects have made several successes for the Coalition and the community as a whole.

How did the Coalition make collaboration work in the community and amongst the groups? At one point, a World Cafe was held. Participants provided input on next steps by rotating in groups from table to table, discussing themed questions at each table and coming to consensus on their answers. Because the groups read and responded to each others' ideas, the session resulted in a rich bank of material for planning. And, of course, with any cafe good food was involved!

Linking, advocating, facilitating, and educating are four key intended areas that were indicated through a community meeting in Camrose. Some important actions from these areas were a healthy vending maching policy within all City of Camrose facilities, a Go To Book that centralizes many informaiton/promotion pieces on healthy lifestyle options in Camrose, a new logo and an amazing professional development seminar with Ian Hill for health care and business professionals.

What does this all mean in the end? It indicates that a group of dedicated, motivated, and action orientated community members are working together to make Camrose more active, creative, and engaged in several ways.

Highlights from Leduc County

Passion, vision, and connections definitely stand out in Leduc County. Leduc County is one of the 20 partner communities of ACE. Within the County, the support from ACE is directed to Warburg, New Sarepta, and Thorsby. During some recent community meetings, called Conversation Cafe, the residents focused on the community's strengths, assets, needs, priorities, and how to get there.

When residents began to list strengths and assets it was amazing that there is so much available in the County and the smaller rural communities. The passion for volunteerism and making the communities stronger and vibrant shone through. During the Conversation Cafe's residents were making meaningful connections with one another. People were exchanging phone numbers and recognizing others in the community in order to share resources and ideas. What was equally important was that the priorities were driven by the community. This means that whatever may unfold will have great community pride and ownership.

Busy Kitscoty

If people think small rural communities are slow and sleepy, they have not been to Kitscoty!

Kitscoty is a village where several organizations are active and involved in the community. Residents have many options available to be active, creative, or engaged. Lately, the community is working towards pulling together and bridging the gap between youth and seniors. At the community meetings youth, seniors, and the "in-betweens" discuss ways to bridge this gap and identify community needs. The discussions are always rich and meaningful and it is amazing to see how much people care about what happens inKitscoty.

The resources that are in place in Kitscoty help create a sense of community; a place where residents can stay, play, and be active. An arena, seniors' centre, community hall, two schools, and several more amenities all make-up an excellent infrastructure for the community. The numerous volunteers, passion, and vision that residents have for their community are what is building the foundation for great success in Kitscoty.