Trochu officially launches their trails

Congrats to the alumni ACE Community of Trochu who recently hosted the official launch of their Trail systems. Not only was the sun actually shining for the event, the planning committee received congratulatory messages from ACE Communities, Crowfoot MP, the Honorable Kevin Sorenson, Reeve Bob Long of Kneehill County, and  Mayor Tim Shearlaw of Three Hills in addition to Trochu's own Mayor Barry Kletke.

One of the town's community leaders, Pastor Alan Powell, did a great job of being emcee for the evening and ACE leader Darla Gagyi presented a brief history of our Trails journey. Also included was a lovely letter from Trochu's ACE Coach Carol Ohler as well as representation from Encana and various other supporters.

All members of the Trails Committee were there with the eldest two ladies on the committee having the honour of holding the ribbon for cutting. These formalities were followed by the town's third annual Movie in the Park, with popcorn again, supplied and served by Elnora Servus Credit Union andout local Fire Department….the tradition continues!

We can't wait to pop into Trochu and check out the trails ourselves!  Great work as always, Team Trochu!

Hinton's Community Gardens Win Funds

The ACE alumni community of Hinton has received some great news recently! Their Hinton Community Garden Society can look forward to a healthy injection of funds next year after the community organization was named the recipient of the 2013 Canadian Tire Mayor’s Charity Event.

Mayor Ian Duncan made the announcement last week after the Garden Society was selected from nine applicants to be the focus of Hinton’s annual fundraising weekend in August. After forming three years ago, the Hinton Community Garden Society has seen operations grow at a rapid pace to more than 90 registered members growing food in two large greenhouses.

To read more about this, see this great article by Eric Plummer in the Hinton Parklander!

Longview gets active for the summer!

Congrats to the ACE Community of Longview who has now completed the 2^nd installment of their Xtreme town makeover! This accomplishment included the installation of their skateboard park as well as the remainder of the fitness equipment in Centennial Park.

The residents of Longview and their ARC Society would like to send out special thanks to 16-years old Austin Caumartin. Austin worked especially hard and was a key factor in helping assemble the whole skate park! Well done, Austin... this skate park is for you!

This means that Longview’s free Summer exercise-in-the-park program called GO ME!  (Go Out Move and Exercise!) is now up and operating.

The Longview ARC Society has been successful in securing funds from the Alberta Government and Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Association to run a 15-week fitness program in Centennial Park from June until mid September. This program, entitled GO ME!, will show local residents how to use the newly installed exercise equipment and participate in regular exercise classes tailored to meet all ages, levels and abilities.

Please register for classes online at http://www.longviewaceprojects.weebly.com

Way to begin the summer on an active note, Longview!  You are as inspiring as always!

Irricana goes the distance!

Check out this FANTASTIC update from the ACE Community of IRRICANA!

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I am excited to share that the time has been set for the installation of the Irricana Lion’s Centennial Park, one of our three ACE Communities initiatives. The Irricana Lion’s Club, an ACE Community partner, has taken over the task of spearheading, including fundraising, and planning the project. The Lion’s Club has taken the $4500.00 initial seed funding from our ACE Communities and grew it into a half a million dollar project. They have partnered with Alberta TrailNet to lease the land for a park and future development of Irricana’s trail system that includes plans for an outdoor amphitheatre.

The Irricana Lions Club was also able to access a donation of $10,000.00 plus in-kind funding from Encana towards the project. Larry Marshall, Community Relations Advisor with Encana, has rounded up 100 Encana volunteers for the installation and landscaping of the playground and park area. They will be providing food and drinks for all of the volunteers. Volunteers from the Irricana Lion’s Club, the Irricana Fire Department, the Town ofIrricana Staff and Community Members at large will be giving a hand with the event. 

The Lion’s Club members have been selling $100.00 bricks (engraved with your name) for the courtyard as a fundraiser; if you are interested please contact Lions Club Member Brian Culp, email: irricanalions@efirehose.net.  And if you would like further information, Brian will be pleased to speak to you.

    

The date for installation will be Friday, June 22^nd and will start at 9:00 am, if you are in the neighbourhood please feel free to drop by.

Thanks again for all of the support from ACE that we have received regarding our community development. It has been an amazing ride!

Cheers,

Cathy

ACE Community Leader

If It Works in Sangudo, Why Not In Your Community?

Check out this great blog by Dan Ohler entitled: "If It Works in Sangudo, Why Not In Your Community?". This blog was recently showcased in the Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN) newsletter and features economic revitalization projects like the Sangudo Opportunity Development Co-operative (SODC). This unique investment co-op is working to revitalize the economic viability of the ACE Community of SANGUDO, Alberta, one hour northwest of Edmonton.

SODC is revitalizing Sangudo’s economy by keeping local investment dollars in Sangudo and redirecting them into the community.

Click here to read more!

Collective Community Impact in Irricana

In 2010, IRRICANA was chosen to be a part of the Active Community Strategy (ACS) initiative together with three other ACE alumni communities in Alberta - High Level, Camrose, and Lethbridge. Having been involved with ACE Communities in 2007-2008, the intent of the ACS was to utilize their growing community capacity and leadership by focussing more specifically on a comprehensive active recreation/physical activity strategy.

Each community has taken a unique path using a similar process. Using the ACE Communities "Planning Framework for Community Development" as a guide, they all took the time to engage a variety of partners, build on strengths, and utilize existing knowledge, plans and research to inform priorities.

All four of the communities engaged community members, organizations and Councils to determine priorities for building a more physically active community. Each community's strategy was distinctive as it was based on their needs, resources, and location. All linked their priorities to local Community Sustainability Plans, the draft Active Alberta Policy, and other relevant plans and policies. Identifying the linkages with local, provincial and national efforts provided opportunities to build collaborative partnerships that extended beyond municipal boundaries.

This month, we'd like to share with you the plan that Irricana created as part of their Active Community Strategy initiative. The goal is to inspire and to assist other communities with their efforts in creating collective community action.

See this link for the report!

Longview Gets Active

Congrats to the ACE Community of Longview who has been recently approved for $1000 from SOGO Active through Communities ChooseWell (Communities ChooseWell is an energizing healthy eating and active living initiative supported by Alberta Health and Wellness and managed by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association) to run a fitness challenge with both school kids and anyone else who is interested using the Participaction suggestions and calendar. This challenge will run from April 1 until the end of June, culminating with a big party in the Centennial Park on Saturday, June 23 from 1-4 PM.

A second, even bigger bit of news to celebrate is that the ACE community team in Longview has just heard from the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation (ASRPWF) that they have received a $13,500 grant for a 15-week summer exercise program slotted to run in the local refurbished park. This program is entitled GO ME (GO OUT MOVE & EXERCISE) and will entail 3 different classes for 1) Moms and Tots, 2) Seniors, 3) Adults and Youth, three times a week, from June 1 to mid September. The aim is to also purchase some extra fitness equipment like exercise balls, weighted hula hoops and even a small shed to store the equipment in the park.

The final tidbit of info from Longview is that they are planning a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner for all of Longview's Volunteers from all of the groups in the town to be held on Saturday, April 21 during National Volunteer Appreciation Week.

Way to keep the community both active and engaged, Longview! We might be heading your way to participate in those workouts in the park now that the snow has finally said good bye!