airdrielife wintrer 2013

winter 2013/14

ROCKET MANBRIAN JACKSON

Is Airdrie DISASTER- PROOF?

PLUS Special Report: Aging in place in Airdrie

EverydayHeroesFrom puppies and parades to speed

and strength

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8 airdrielife.com | winter 2013/14

Group publisher sherry shaw-Froggatt

eDiTor Anne beaty

Copy eDiTor Vanessa peterelli

DesiGN MANAGer Kim Williams

CoNTribuTors sergei belski, Michelle Carre, leslie Davies, Alex Frazer-harrison, James Froese, ellen Kelly, Kurtis Kristianson, Jeff MacKinnon, Tina McMillan, Carl patzel, Kristy reimer, Kent rupert

ADVerTisiNG sAles Corey Wine

priNTiNG print West

DisTribuTioN MANAGer John pirzek

ContaCt Us

editorial [email protected] Advertising [email protected]

Where to find Usairdrielife is delivered to all homes in Airdrie and surrounding areas. if you do not receive an issue please contact [email protected]

airdrielife is also available at more than 50 locations around the city. you can also find airdrielife in every showhome in the city and at more than 100 locations in Calgary. airdrielife is published quarterly by Frog Media inc. with the co-operation of the City of Airdrie economic Development Department.

VoluMe 10, NuMber 4 issN 1916-355X

Contents copyright 2013 by Frog Media inc. May not be reproduced without permission. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for the contents of any advertisement, and all representations of warranties made in such advertising are those of the advertiser and not of the publisher.

editorial PoliCy airdrielife editorial is not for sale. editorial is completely independent from advertising, and no special editorial consideration or commitment of any kind can form any part of the advertising agreement. All editorial inquiries must be directed toward the editor. A copy of Frog Media inc. Writers’ Guidelines can be downloaded from the editorial page on our website.

airdrielife does not accept unsolicited submissions. Freelance writers and photographers interested in assignments are asked to send an inquiry, with samples from at least three published magazine articles, to [email protected]

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exploring the good l i fe in Airdrie for 10 years!

winter 2013/14ContributorsQuestion: What will you remember the most about the subject of your story?

Carl Patzel(assist dog trainer Samantha Edgar, pg 68)

“Forming a dedication and unconditional love for and from a cherished pooch is no surprise to most pet owners, but to willingly give up that dog after two years takes further dedication. That kind of devotion is what makes assistance puppy raiser Samantha Edgar stand out from the crowd.”

Jeff MaCKinnon(teacher Brian Jackson, pg. 70)

“It became obvious to me after talking with Brian Jackson that there are a lot of lucky students at Ralph McCall School who enjoy a science experi-ence that most other students don’t. His enthusiasm must be contagious with his kids.”

alex frazer-Harrison(Youth Justice Committee, pg 66)

“I was impressed with how the volunteer members of the Youth Justice Committee help keep alive the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child, by offering kids alternatives to incarceration and, hopefully, a chance to get back on the right track in life.”

All illustrations are artist’s concept. All dimensions are approximate. Prices, specifications, terms and conditions subject to change without notice. E.&O.E.

mattamyhomes.com

10 Things To Enjoy When We Open Southwinds In Airdrie.

Abundant park spaces throughout the community.

Neighbourhood playgrounds where you can hear children’s laughter daily.

Walking trails and natural pathways winding through the community.

A wide variety of distinctive home styles.

Streets built in progression to minimize construction noise and traffi c.

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Access to popular Chinook Winds Park and the Mattamy Splash Pad in Windsong.

Schools near the community.

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Calgary_Airdrie Life_Winter 2013.indd 1 2013-10-21 11:33 AM


editor’s note

Every fall, as I gear up for the football … excuse me, the yuletide season, I think about the heroes whose faces are plastered all over every form of media, who receive enormous amounts of recognition for what they do (on the playing field or off), their ability to inspire, the difference they make through their selfless acts.

These people whose faces we all know deserve recognition but so, too, do those people who quietly carry on making a difference in their world, be it at home or halfway around the globe.

In Airdrie, I am constantly amazed at just how many people in our community volunteer, support worthy causes, give of themselves and their time, donate financially. Whether it’s reading to a senior at a local assisted-living facility or travelling to Asia to build a school in a remote community, helping out with a school field trip or stocking the food bank shelves, organizing a community event or sponsoring a summer program for children, teaching newcomers English or mending a much-used library book – people here make a differ-ence every day of the year.

This issue is one of my favourites (OK, they’re all my favourite) because it gives us a chance to present some of these incredible people to the community. We know that we can’t fit everyone into one issue, but our subjects are certainly representative of the community as a whole.

So please enjoy your reading, think about the people around you (family, friends, neighbours) who make a difference in your world and have a great winter.

(And Go, Seahawks, Go!)

Anne Beaty, EDITOR


70 On the Cover brian Jackson

educational hero inspires all ages

PHOTO BY KRISTY REIMERexploring the good l i fe in Airdrie for 10 years!

Columns and regular features

30 events 33 Makeover with leslie Davies 38 Healthylife 40 Petlife with James froese 44 Parentlife with Vanessa Peterelli 52 Citylife 59 lifetimes with ellen Kelly 86 lifestyles with tina McMillan 93 livemoves with Michelle Carre 98 Businesslife with Kent rupert 110 last look

life in the moment 18 Living Each Day – Band’s music has deep roots

20 Winning Ways – Musician looks ahead

22 Expressionism – Artists follow different paths

26 Fine Dining – Golf course offers great food

28 Holiday Tradition – Gingerbread houses delight

36 Unique Events – Volunteers march to a different beat

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life in the community 54 Fond Memories – Museum marks anniversary

60 Cultural Activities – Filipino community gathers

62 Community Heart – Lionesses create Christmas cheer

64 Strength Training – Bodybuilder provides role model

66 And Justice for All – Youths benefit from direction

67 On Ice – Speedskater overcomes adversity

68 It’s a Dog’s Life – Young canines live and learn

70 Up in the Air – Teacher brings science to life

72 Young Hero – Jayden Phaneuf was an inspiration

76 Home for Life – Age in place in community

life at home 82 Clean Sweep – Companies provide break for homeowners

84 Showmanship – Homes offer unique features

88 By the Creek – Condos offer great lifestyle

90 Crystal Clear – Builder makes mark in Airdrie

92 Good Neighbours – Families connect in Ridgegate

life at work 100 High-Tech – Company expands to meet needs

102 SMARTstart – Economic development initiative kicks off

106 Safe and Sound – Businesses safeguard community

108 Ready and Willing – Program prepares young people

109 Think Tank – Airdrionians take the challenge

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For Airdrie’s de Jong brothers, music is not only a family affair, it’s a lifelong love that has its roots in their church.

Building on their love of music and their abilities as individ-ual musicians, Allen, Chris and Colin de Jong, along with good friend Leroy Cassell, came together to form Race the Sunset, a

rock/pop band that has been part of the local and Calgary music scene for the past three to four years.

Both the de Jongs and Cassell grew up in families where church and church music played important roles.

“We were raised in … Christian gospel music,” Allen says, adding that he and Colin played piano for several years until their musical tastes changed. (Chris never did take piano lessons.)

Cassell’s father was another lifelong musician in his church. “My dad always played guitar,” Cassell says.

That musical background is just one thing that ties the four band

members together, even though their sound is a long way from organ hymns or gospel. But it’s the structure of that church music that forms the basis of much of what they create and play, says Allen.

Growing up, Cassell had another musical passion, one far removed from his church roots.“I listened to a lot of metal,” he says.

He and the de Jongs also continue to listen to some classic rock bands – such as Van Halen, Nirvana and U2 – for enjoyment and inspiration.

When it comes to the band’s own original work, Allen is usually the lyricist and provides the arrangements. Then it’s a matter of working it through, with each musician adding his own unique touch. “We all kind of jam out,” Colin says.

The four musicians had known each other for years through their church, but they had not thought of creating a band. But something clicked when the three brothers added Cassell to the mix.

“(Leroy) just blended … really well,” says Colin.

life in the moment|band of brothers

RaCIng THE SunSET

winter 2013/14 | airdrielife.com 19

The plan was for them to join up for a one-time event – “We got to-gether just to play [a song] for a fundraiser for a friend,” says Chris – and the rest is history.

As for the band’s name, Race the Sunset came from the lyrics of an-other musician’s song, and it seemed to fit right into their take on life. “It’s just … living every day to the fullest,” says Colin.

Race the Sunset’s special mix is making waves. Along with playing such local events as Airdrie Fest and Banded Peak Musicfest in Spring-bank, the band was also a finalist in the 2013 SLAM on AIR contest with their original song The Comeback, penned by Allen.

As for the future, Race the Sunset would like to be able to up the ante a bit. While Cassell has a music studio at home – as a hobby, he says – that doesn’t quite allow the musicians to get the professional sound they would like to achieve, so they’d jump at the chance for time in a pro studio.

“It would be nice to do more local shows, too,” adds Chris.And although the band members would love to spend more of their

time creating and fine-tuning their music, all are married with families and have other commitments, as well. (For example, Allen, who is a pas-tor at his church, recently returned from a mission trip to the Philippines, where he and his co-members worked at an orphanage.)

For now, though, they are happy to be able to share their music with their audiences, and they are also passing along the love of music to the next generation. Colin’s three-year-old son already “rocks out” on his toy guitar, enthusiastically accompanied by his one-and-a-half-year-old brother on drums.

And the community support for Race the Sunset and other local mu-sicians is heartening.

“Ever since SLAM started up it’s been awesome,” Chris says. life

story by anne beaty | Photo by sergei belski

RaCIng THE SunSET

race the sunset – left to right, Chris de Jong, Colin de Jong, allen de Jong

and leroy Cassell – gets in a bit of practice before the snow falls.


Airdrie vocalist and fi refi ghter Rob Dawson put his songwriting talents up against 19 other entries to earn top spot at the original music SLAM on AIR competition held this past September. airdrielife caught up with him after the victory.

AL: This was your second time around at SLAM on AIR. What made the difference this session?RD: Last year may have helped me because there were a couple of judges [who] were familiar with me. I’m not sure if they saw a wider range in my music or a difference in my performance. I didn’t think I was going to win this year but I was defi nitely excited to ... because there were a lot of good acts there.

AL: You won with the song Waste Your Time With Me.RD: I fi nished writing that song a week before the competition last year and didn’t plan on playing it. I really wanted to write something that was up-tempo and had a two-step shuffl e beat to it. I just had this phrase ‘waste your time with me.’ It doesn’t really have much of a meaning. I thought it was very catchy and developed that theme.

AL: You won a nice prize package including some studio time. How will you use that?RD: We only have eight hours. I’m hoping that we can get two songs done, but it has to be really well-rehearsed. I’m going to do the acoustic guitar, bass and all the vocals. I’m so excited that I can actually get some real good professional recordings done.

AL: Where will we be able to hear these new recordings?RD: I will put them up on iTunes, etc., and get them out there. I’m trying to record an EP record right now. We’re trying to put something small together to get it out there and see if anybody likes it. life

life in the moment | musician Q&A

Songwriting ED NOTE: airdrielife was pleased to be a sponsor of the SLAM on AIR competition. One of the perks for the winner is a feature in airdrielife! Rob Dawson was featured in our June issue – we are delighted to follow up with him as the recipient of this profi le.

story and Photo by Carl Patzel


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Our team of dental professionals has been bringing friendly, top-quality dental services to the families of Airdrie and area since 1994.


Rylee Petkau and Randy Bates held art shows at Airdrie Public Library this past fall. Their artistic interests are very di� erent but both appreciate the opportunity to show Airdrie their work. Meet the artists.

RYLEE PETKAU, POTTER“I love creating. I love seeing what’s been created in me come out and how I can release it,” says Rylee Petkau, local artist and potter. She has been experimenting with various art forms since she was three years old, but was drawn to pottery in high school and has returned to it as her favourite form of artistic expression.

Petkau, who has lived in the Calgary-Airdrie area her entire life and in Airdrie for the past 20 years, has travelled extensively, absorbing the colours and textures of the cultures she’s vis-ited. She has been to Africa three times and has been immersed in the culture during her visits. “The art stands out for me,” she says, impressed with the ability of Africans to make art from simple materials.

While visiting India, Petkau learned henna and studied symbolic meaning so she could be artistically authentic. “I don’t want to misrepre-sent,” she says. “When I fi nd something I enjoy, I research it to understand.”

After an absence of 15 years, Petkau has re-turned to her obsession with clay and pottery. She makes cups, mugs, bowls, platters and din-nerware on the wheel, as well as hand-formed items such as jewelry. “I never tire of working with clay,” she says. “I like making things that are a little bit different, like taking what’s traditional and putting my own spin on it.”

Shortly after acquiring her own wheel, Petkau was offered a position with Clay for Kids, a com-pany that contracts clay instruction to elemen-tary schools. “Children are so wonderful to work with,” she says. “It’s fun going into class when they’re so excited to see you.”

life in the moment|artist profi le

Di� erent StrokesA tale of two artists

story by ellen kelly | Photos by kUrtis kristianson

Potter rylee Petkau’s art is infused with her life experiences.


We want to thank the community for your continued support with our Toy Drive for the kids at theChildren’s Hospital. If you are able to donate a new unopened toy, game, book or puzzle, we will be collectingfor infant to 17 year old boys and girls from now until December 18th. We will also be accepting cash donations, which we will use to buy toys and games just before we make our delievery to the hospital the week beforeChristmas. Please help make Christmas ‘Special’ for those little ones that are at the Hospital over the holidays.

Towerlane II - 705 Main Street Airdrie, ABPhone. Fax. 403.948.9572 www.thebutchershoppe.ca

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Petkau admires the pottery of Hsin-Chuen Lin (U.S.) and Dan Un-sworth (Ingleton Pottery, North Yorkshire, U.K.). Her inspiration comes from the love, determination and artistic encouragement of her talented family. “My aunt bought me my fi rst paint kit and canvas because she knew I liked painting. She’s a phenomenal painter,” she says. “My sister does theatre and short fi lms. She’s so determined. I am so proud of her.

“I believe that I was created with my skills, my talents, my passions and it just takes a while to fi nd what it is,” Petkau adds. “I fi nd inspiration in the things around me because I’ve been given the ability to do so. It’s the release of creativity that I like the most.”

RANDY BATES, ARTIST/ILLUSTRATOROriginally from Savannah, Ga., Randy Bates moved frequently with his family while growing up. A brief stay in Airdrie during the 1970s when Bates was in junior high school inspired him to move to Airdrie from Calgary with his wife and two daughters 11 years ago “because it was a smaller town, a nicer place to raise my kids,” he says.

Bates, who has drawn all his life, still favours illustration (the act of graphic drawing, typically a clear visual representation of recognizable subject matter) and chooses pencil crayon as his favourite medium. He enjoys oil painting and studied with Ed Martinuk several years ago. He

has also worked with water-based paints and pastels but returns to draw-ing with pencil crayon because of the fi ne detail he is able to achieve.

Bates’ artist mother was his fi rst mentor and, he says, “Some of my friends growing up were really good artists and they encouraged me.” He draws artistic strength from the constant support of his wife, daughters and extended family and enjoys watching his daughters draw and de-velop their artistic talents.

“Inspiration comes from almost anywhere,” says Bates. “I’ve moved around a lot and the different places I’ve lived have inspired me.” He draws both from real life and from pictures and while he doesn’t have a favourite subject, he does like drawing people, mountain scen-ery and scenes taken from nature. “I draw whatever moves me at the moment,” he says.

His creativity extends to his job. He installs custom leather interiors in vehicles at Wright Restyling and enjoys working with the choices of styles, textures and colours. He also works for Subaru/Jaguar.

Bates aspires to paint like his favourite artist, Robert Bateman, but also enjoys fantasy art. Some of his pictures have been adapted into tattoos by his friends. “My art is part of me,” he says. “When I’m done something, a part of me is in it.

“I draw because I like to draw,” he adds. “It’s my hobby, my passion when I can fi nd time to do it.” life

life in the moment|artist profi le


illustrator randy bates fi nds inspiration all around him.


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Like most people who work at a golf course, chef Richard Daoust loves the game and wishes he could play more, but can’t. Time won’t let him.

“Since I left the golf course world in 1999 I started to lower my score because I actually had time to play,” Daoust says. “Now that I returned to my passion of working at a great golf course, my playing time is limited and my handicap has started to climb back up because of the work re-quired to run the clubhouse.”

Daoust came to the Calgary area in 1999 after starting out in the restaurant business while attending cooking school and working at the prestigious Beaconsfi eld Golf Club in Montreal. When he relocated to Calgary he moved from fi ne dining to chain restaurants.

Returning to the golf business, Daoust is now the chef/restaurant manager for Airdrie’s newest facility, Apple Creek Golf Course, which opened in May.

Daoust and his hand-picked staff – former coworkers from his 11 years working in the industry in Calgary – spent the late summer and early fall getting the club’s snack shack ready to become a fi ne dining es-tablishment.

A 2,200 square foot log-cabin-like building, it was known as a place to refuel during a round over the summer. Five of Apple Creek’s 18 holes converge at the building, making going hungry or thirsty during a round there a very diffi cult thing to do.

Looking ahead, the chef is excited about the dining possibilities.“I want everything local and all natural,” says Daoust, who also does

some private catering on the side in the Bearspaw area.Daoust is back at a golf course at the behest of Apple Creek’s principal

owner Rick Skauge of Calgary, whom he’s known for 11 years. Fourteen years ago, Skauge bought the property, located six kilometres northeast of Airdrie on Township Road 275, and ran it as a tree farm until fl ooding wiped out that business seven years ago. Plans to build a driving range ex-panded and construction began on a 5,000- to 7,000-yard public course six years ago.

Living in the Sage Hill community in north Calgary, Daoust is right next door to the new farmer’s market at Symons Valley Ranch. He’s working to establish relationships with suppliers there to provide the clubhouse with all natural meats and vegetables, following along with the current trend among restaurants to serve organic fare.

story by Jeff MaCkinnonPhotos by sergei belski


life in the moment|fi ne food

story by Jeff MaCkinnonPhotos by sergei belskiIN THE

KITCHENWITH CHEF

RICHARD DAOUST


While the kitchen was being put together, Daoust and his staff worked out of an ATCO kitchen trailer over the summer serving typical golf course fare to the cli-ents, using fresh food.

“It’s been a challenge but it’s been fun,” he says. “A lot of people didn’t know we were here yet, so we actually grew with the busi-ness. We’re looking forward to next year.”

Course general manager Bob Choma believes they were lucky to land Daoust to run their food services.

“He was a hidden gem,” Cho-ma said. “We were very fortunate to find someone like him.” life


Mango Chipotle Lime Roast Chickeningredients3 whole chickens1/2 oz. fresh rosemary1/4 oz. fresh thyme 3 fresh limes, cut in half5 fresh garlic cloves, rough cut10 tbsp kosher saltwater to coverchicken spice (see recipe below)

Tie chicken with twine. Add all ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. place chicken in a 20-litre cambro and add water mix to the chicken. Make sure to add water to the brine if there is not enough boiled to cover the chicken. Cover the cambro and brine for 12 hours. remove chicken from water and place on a lined baking tray. place chicken in a 375 F oven until chicken temperature reaches 165 F, about 25-30 minutes. Take out and let cool.once cooled enough to handle, cut chickens in half and evenly spread with chicken spice. bag the chicken and store in the fridge.

ChiCken sPiCe9 tbsp mango chipotle spice7 tbsp paprika1 tbsp onion powder3 tsp fresh rosemary, choppedzest of three fresh limes

Mix all ingredients and spread over prepared chicken.

Chef richard daoust (with cook Mike Phenix in the background) prepares and serves some of his

specialties for the apple Creek crowd.


My first impression when I walked through the door at 4Cats Arts Studio was: “This looks like fun!”

The walls were covered in colourful art, giving that warm, inviting feel-ing. We were greeted by owner Cheryl Web-ster at the front door and each of us received a name tag, hung up our coat and settled in for an evening of creativity.

Everything we were going to need to make a gingerbread house was set out and pre-pared for our class. There were little muffin liners filled with candy, bowls with icing and tools for the job. Hot chocolate was steam-ing in the corner and the kids were eyeing the colourful candy!

After Cheryl gave us a little intro, we were taken into the splatter room for stretches – re-ally just some fun games to get everyone ex-cited. The splatter room is used to create art at splatter parties for birthdays and stagettes. What a fun idea. It’s a room in which you’re allowed to make a big mess!

Next we went back into the main room, sat down and got right into building our gin-gerbread houses. I really didn’t have a plan for my design and I feared that a two-year-old would make a much nicer house than mine. I grabbed some graham crackers, scooped up some icing and started to wing it.

life in the moment | holiday fun

The house that Kristy built (and later ate)

story and Photos by kristy reiMer

A fun look at a holiday tradition



Well, I should have thought a bit more before creating a structure that had nowhere to attach a roof! My walls were two squares by two squares of graham crackers, with a large hollow in the middle of the structure. I ended up having to make internal rooms so I would have load-bearing walls to support my roof. It worked!

The next task was decorating. Cheryl made the great suggestion of rolling icing-covered ice cream cones in sprinkles to make trees. Brilliant!

While I was working away, I overheard a couple of the dads discussing the structural integrity of their “home designs.” It was so awesome to see the men take a technical ap-proach. I know that the parents were having just as much fun as the kids.

As far as structural integrity goes, I could learn a thing or two. Part of my roof caved in from the weight of my ‘Christmas lights’ (a border of Smarties). Apparently I need some training in engineering. One of the dads created a curved barn roof, with an overhang atop a wrap-around veranda. My gingerbread house certainly wasn’t that spectacular, but it sure was fun to play, create and decorate!

At the end of the evening, the youngsters got to take the excess candy home in baggies. One little girl’s eyes really lit up when Cheryl handed her the candy bag. I love that look of excitement in a child’s eyes. It’s just how a child should look at Christmastime. life

Bringing You Home For 75 Years

The Tree of HopeDuring the month of November The Airdrie & District Hospice Society is taking pledges to honour the memoriy of loved ones passed, or to offer greetings of hope to those suffering.All proceeds from the pledges support the programming needs of the Airdrie & District Hospice Society.

Please join us Saturday Dec 1 at 5:30 pm in Nose Creek Park for a specialnon-denominational service and lighting of the Tree of Hope. The tree will remain lit every night during the 2013 Airdrie Festival of LightsDec 1 - 31 from 6 pm - 9 pm

Please check airdriefestivaloights.com for details and how to make a pledge


assorted datesnose Creek Players Christmas PlaysA small crew will be performing a short Christmas play called After the Special free of charge for residents of various nursing homes around Airdrie. Dates include: Nov. 16, 2 p.m., bethany Care Centre; Dec. 5, 7 p.m., luxstone Manor; Dec. 14, 2 p.m., Cedarwood station.

nov. 15the fugitives in Concertbert Church theatre, 7:30 p.m.Don’t miss this group of musicians, poets and multi-instrumentalists from Vancouver. The quartet features the songs of novelist/musician and former Canadian slAM poetry champion brendan Mcleod, and musician Adrian Glynn, recently nominated for emerging Artist of the year at the Canadian independent Music Awards. Together with their band, they create “dizzying, Arcade Fire-ish crescendos, replete with parallel melodies, complex harmonies and brimming torrents of emotion.” (Uptown, Winnipeg). Admission is $26.50; custom ticket package price is $24.50.

nov. 17 Christmas Marketbest Western regency inn, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. looking for a great place to discover some really unique gifts and get a jump on your Christmas shopping? spend a few hours browsing the Christmas Market sponsored by Airdrie Women in business Association. Admission is free. Donations will be accepted for Airdrie Food bank. e-mail [email protected] for details.

nov. 17dufflebag theatre presents Cinderellabert Church theatre, 2:30 p.m.since 1992, the “Nearly World-Famous” Dufflebag Theatre has become one of the most celebrated companies at festivals and schools across the country. The Dufflebag actors begin the retelling of original adaptations of select fairy tales and shakespearean classics full of wit and humour. Just when the audience becomes enthralled by the story – a twist is created! before your very eyes, audience members are asked to come onstage and join in the action. This unpredictable performance is hilarious for all ages and a truly unique interactive theatrical experience where the dream of living a fairy tale actually does come true! Admission is $12.50; custom ticket package price is $11.45.

nov. 23front Porch roots revue presentsUp on Cripple Creek: Songbook of The Bandbert Church theatre, 7:30 p.m.Front porch roots revue is a shifting group of western Canadian roots musicians who stir up a hearty gumbo of sounds that include blues, swing, gospel, folk and country. ron rault, J.r. shore and Crawdad Cantera more often than not are at the core of any given Front porch show. over the past three years, the group has won over audiences at such major festivals as the edmonton Folk Music Festival, established folks clubs and theatres. Admission is $29.75; custom ticket package price is $26.60.

nov. 29 to Jan. 15‘sense of Christmas’ exhibitnose Creek valley Museumengage all five senses in an interactive setting centred around enjoying the holidays. use smell, for example, to figure out which Christmas scent is your favourite. hours are Monday to Friday 1-5 p.m.; saturday and sunday 1-4 p.m.

nov. 30airdrie artisans holiday Market town & Country Centre,10 a.m. to 5 p.m.enjoy jewelry, clothes, ceramics, paintings, photographs, woodwork, textiles, drawings and more, uniquely made by local and surrounding-area artisans, at this seventh annual event.

nov. 30 Mall in the hallbest Western regency hotel, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Carter’s Quest for a Cure is pleased to be hosting this fourth annual event featuring Christmas shopping and family fun. Choose from vendors selling jewelry, artwork, clothing, candles, food and more, while helping raise some much-needed money and awareness for hemophilia. be sure to bring the youngsters for a picture with santa (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and to enjoy the kids’ secret shopping section, where they can buy a gift for Mom or Dad (all items under $20). Don’t miss the bake table, which will include the most delicious cheesecakes in a jar!

nov. 30 bids for bruisersbest Western regency hotel, 7-11:45 p.mJoin Carter’s Quest for a Cure for an evening of fun and fundraising. enjoy music, pictures, raffles and excitement, cocktail-party style, at this live auction of many local items. Come and support a great local non-profit organization and help raise money to fund a cure for hemophilia and other related bleeding disorders. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Contact Jen or lisa at [email protected] or visit cartersquest.com for more information.

deC. 1-31airdrie festival of lightsnose Creek Park, 6-9 p.m. nightlyit’s the 18th year Airdrie has played host to the largest outdoor walk-through lights display in Western Canada. look for the complete guide inserted into this issue of airdrielife or get all the details online at airdriefestivaloflights.com

deC. 6Jimmy rankinbert Church theatre, 7:30 p.m.Get in the holiday spirit with a favourite Canadian star. one of the east Coast’s hottest exports, rankin is a critically acclaimed master musician and the creative force behind the rankin Family’s stratospheric multi-platinum career. performing original songs from his brand-new Christmas album mixed with a good dose of beloved hits, rankin serves up a night full of fun and yuletide cheer. Admission is $40.75 in advance, $44.95 at the door; custom ticket package price is $37.10.

deC. 7 airdrie santa Claus Parade Main street, 5 p.m. The parade will start at Fletcher park, then proceed down Main street south, ending at ridgegate Way at about 6:30 p.m. City hall and Airdrie public library will be open, allowing citizens to warm up and also access the public washrooms. Note: There will be road closures along Main street between 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

deC. 8 singfest grace baptist ChurchAirdrie Community Choir hosts performances from various community choirs.

life in the moment | events

Arts & CultureWinter Calendar


Financial planning services and investment advice are provided by Royal Mutual Funds Inc. (RMFI). RMFI, RBC Global Asset Management Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Trust Corporation of Canada and The Royal Trust Company are separate corporate entities which are affiliated. RMFI is licensed as a financial services firm in the province of Quebec. ® / ™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. ©2011 Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence. 46136 (09/2011)

Looking for Investment & Retirement Advice? Talk to me today.

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deC. 12-14Grease is the Wordbert Church theatre bert Church high school Drama presents Grease at 7 p.m., Dec. 12-14, with an extra matinee performance Dec. 14 at 2:30 p.m.

deC. 18 bert Church high school Music Program Christmas Concert bert Church theatre, 7 p.m.

deC. 31new year’s eve fireworks showeast lake ParkThe park will open at 8 p.m., with the show to follow at approximately 8:30 p.m. spectators are encouraged to walk to the park.

2014Jan. 11Chris gibbs presents Like Father, Like Son? Sorry.bert Church theatre, 7:30 p.m.on June 30, 2007, a Canadian was born, and british comedian Chris Gibbs stepped into the world of horror that is … fatherhood! Veteran one-man show creator Chris Gibbs returns with a show that playfully explores the fears, worries and surprises of being a new father, and the absolute terror of wanting to be a good one. NoTe: May contain some mature subject matter. Admission is $12.50; custom ticket package price is $11.45. Jan. 18-19airdrie original one-act Play festivalbert Church theatreNose Creek players is once again hosting an original one-act play festival! registration is now open. participants are encouraged to submit their original work. All plays must be under an hour in length. Nose Creek players is not responsible for casting these plays, but we can assist in connecting you with interested actors. All participants must fi nd their own time and location to rehearse. Details available at nosecreekplayers.wordpress.com

feb. 7 blackie and the rodeo kingsbert Church theatre, 7:30 p.m.Now into their second decade and with one Juno Award and several Juno nominations under their belt, blackie and the rodeo Kings have organically evolved into one of the fi nest roots-oriented bands in North America. The performers have released seven CDs and gradually developed a feeling of brotherhood manifested in a sense of groove, timberal blend and melodic and rhythmic play that is distinctive, mystical, energizing and constantly evocative. blackie and the rodeo Kings remains one of Canada’s greatest musical treasures. Admission is $44.95, $50.20 at the door.

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feb. 15Outerbridge: Clockwork Mysteriesbert Church theatre, 7:30 p.m.prepare to be amazed! From the minds of Canada’s most popular touring illusionists – and the recipients of the b.C. Touring Council’s 2010 Touring Artist of the year award – comes a sensational new show. Ted and Marion outerbridge have taken the art of illusion to new heights by combining it with dance, theatre and day-to-day life. The outerbridges’ world-class illusion show has played to sold-out houses and standing ovations from coast to coast and in europe. Don’t miss this masterfully orchestrated, high-energy magical adventure fi lled with breathtaking new illusions. Admission is $19.25.

feb. 22sass Jordan – acousticbert Church theatre, 7:30 p.m.Juno Award-winning artist sass Jordan has made a living singing, performing, writing and recording music for the past 30 years. she is an internationally recognized singer/songwriter who has sold more than one million CDs worldwide. Winner of Billboard’s best Female rock Vocalist award, the bilingual Montrealer has toured and/or worked with many music heavyweights, including Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Van halen, Carlos santana and Joe Cocker. Admission is $37.10, $41.80 at the door; custom ticket package price is $33.35. MarCh 1abrams brothersbert Church theatre, 7:30 p.m.The Abrams brothers are a teenage bluegrass/Americana family band from Kingston, ont., featuring brothers John (vocals/guitar/mandolin) and James (vocals/fi ddle/guitar) along with cousin elijah (bass). The brothers, fourth-generation musicians, have been touring the folk/bluegrass circuit in Canada and the u.s. extensively since they were children. Their latest CD, Blue on Brown, was produced by Chris brown and includes guest appearances from bruce Cockburn, Justin rutledge and Amy Milan. Admission is $28.70; custom ticket package price is $25.55. MarCh 8Calgary opera’s Hansel and Gretelbert Church theatre, 2:30 p.m.The story of hansel and Gretel and their encounter with the witch of the magical gingerbread house is retold through beautiful melodies from engelbert humperdinck’s well-known opera of the same name. This 45-minute opera, sung entirely in english, is fully staged and performed by Calgary opera’s professional emerging Artist ensemble with keyboard accompaniment. Fun for all ages. Admission is $12.50; custom ticket package price is $11.45.

life in the moment | events

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life in the moment | makeover

Imagine – you’ve recently lost 65 pounds and are wearing clothes that are at least two sizes too big, hand-me-downs from friends, and haven’t had anything new in quite a while.

You’ve started a new job within the last month after being home with the kids for six years, and donate all your ‘outside-of-work’ time to the Sea Cadets

and your child’s Beaver’s group. Do you really think you have any time to think about yourself and what to wear? Not likely. And this is exactly where Jodi Hunter is at.

Our makeover team consists of Sasha from Sass Couture Salon; Kendall Wallis from Beauty Culture by Kendall; Pharmasave and The Store Upstairs for all clothing, shoes and accessories; Apple Wellness Center for a teeth whitening kit; Kristy Reimer of Kristy Reimer Photography; and me, Leslie Davies, IMPACT Image Essentials, for clothing selection and wardrobe styling.

All of us are thrilled by the privilege to help Jodi experience her beauty in a way she’s never dreamed. We get to transform her look and, best of all, her outlook!

Days before the hair, makeup and photo shoot, Jodi and I begin with a consulta-tion. I discover that she’s a super busy young mom who has a new body she’s

getting reacquainted with – and doesn’t have much in terms of clothing that fi ts her well.

Jodi’s attracted to very comfortable, layered, easy-to-wear, no-fuss clothing that accentuates her new shape and brings out a little bit

of her ‘sneaky sexy’ and fun side. She likes red, black and grey but is open to bringing a little more colour into her life. And with that knowledge we make our way to The Store Upstairs to select her outfi ts.

On the Hunt for a New Look

our winter makeover winner Jodi hunter discovers her inner fashionista

beforeMy goal with Jodi is to provide her

with some pieces she can easily wear in a business-casual work environment yet also transition to her after-work activities with ease. Mix and match is the name of the game for intelligent women who want the most out of their wardrobe and investment. For Jodi, we used a narrow-leg black pant and ‘third pieces’ as the cornerstone.

When I work with clients to help them create wardrobes that fl atter, are super-functional/mix-and-match-worthy and support their credibility at work, I always encourage that we build

story by leslie davies Photos by kristy reiMer


around jackets, cardigans and vests. (I call these “third pieces.”) A third piece balances the shape of the body, fl atters all fi gures, camoufl ages and highlights strategically, gives us lots of fl exibili-ty to create other outfi ts and elevates the look of professionalism.

Here are the outfi ts that made the cut on the day of the photo shoot:

Our fi rst outfi t features a long, shapely teal cardigan that but-tons just at the bust. Underneath, I’ve layered a sorbet multi-co-loured print blouse that peeks out from the cardi, giving a fresh, face-fl attering boost of colour. Our cranberry ballet fl ats in one

of Jodi’s favourite colours complete the look right down to her toes! The deep V of the necklines and necklace

create the illusion of a stronger shoulder and more whittled waist.

Jodi loves nature and fell in love with our next outfi t, featuring a silky exotic botanical-print top! Both elegant and comfortable, this key piece works beautifully with the narrow-leg black pant you see here (by Tan Jay) or a pair of dark-wash jeans. A little bit of polish has been added with the blush-coloured, unstructured blazer and super-comfy grey fl annel wedges.

Preparing for chillier days ahead, we were in-spired to create a stylish outdoor look that Jodi

can feel great wearing on weekends! A terrifi c leopard-print, grey-and-black zip-front tunic

has a high collar that frames her face, is fi t-ted through the bust and rib cage, fl atter-ing all the right places (wink, wink) AND is super roomy and feminine around the bottom and hips, with pleated pockets.


bottom and hips, with pleated pockets. bottom and hips, with pleated pockets.

life in the moment | makeover

around jackets, cardigans and vests. (I call these “third pieces.”) A third piece balances the shape of the body, fl atters all fi gures, camoufl ages and highlights strategically, gives us lots of fl exibili-ty to create other outfi ts and elevates the look of professionalism.

Our fi rst outfi t features a long, shapely teal cardigan that but-Our fi rst outfi t features a long, shapely teal cardigan that but-tons just at the bust. Underneath, I’ve layered a sorbet multi-co-loured print blouse that peeks out from the cardi, giving a fresh, face-fl attering boost of colour. Our cranberry ballet fl ats in one

of Jodi’s favourite colours complete the look right down to her toes! The deep V of the necklines and necklace

create the illusion of a stronger shoulder and more

Jodi loves nature and fell in love with our next outfi t, featuring a silky exotic botanical-print top! Both elegant and comfortable, this key piece works beautifully with the narrow-leg black pant you see here (by Tan Jay) or a pair of dark-wash jeans. A little bit of polish has been added with the blush-coloured, unstructured

Preparing for chillier days ahead, we were in-spired to create a stylish outdoor look that Jodi

can feel great wearing on weekends! A terrifi c leopard-print, grey-and-black zip-front tunic

has a high collar that frames her face, is fi t-ted through the bust and rib cage, fl atter-ing all the right places (wink, wink) AND is super roomy and feminine around the bottom and hips, with pleated pockets.

Our fi rst outfi t features a long, shapely teal cardigan that but-tons just at the bust. Underneath, I’ve layered a sorbet multi-co-loured print blouse that peeks out from the cardi, giving a fresh, face-fl attering boost of colour. Our cranberry ballet fl ats in one

of Jodi’s favourite colours complete the look right down to


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I’ve wrapped a scarf around Jodi’s neck to add a kick of rosy colour to her cheeks and chic leather gloves. The pants (not shown) are a little different from the other pair selected for the shoot. Also by Tan Jay, these feature a subtle and fun black-on-black leopard print. Jodi went wild over them!

The day of the photo shoot begins with Sasha at Sass Couture Salon. Sasha is keen to make sure Jodi is completely at ease and on-board with her new hairstyle and after an in-depth consultation, she learns that Jodi wants to keep the length of her hair the same but is open to adding some sparkle by enhancing her colour.

Various shades of copper, caramel and red are woven into Jodi’s natural warm brown to fl atter her skin colour and bring out her eyes. Sasha refi nes Jodi’s current cut by trimming up her ends and giving her a face-framing fringe. The end result is a versatile style which has movement, fun-yet-sophisticated colour and can be worn up (essential for Sea Cadets) or down.

Finally, the fi nishing touch to Jodi’s trans-formation is a trip to the private studio of Beauty Culture by Kendall. Kendall begins with a face primer and then applies Cover-Girl/Olay Simply Ageless compact foun-dation to Jodi’s skin – blending into her jawline and down her neck. (Kendall shared that this is her new favourite product!) She warms up Jodi’s skin tone with a sweep of bronzing powder. Next, Kendall enhances Jodi’s pretty green eyes by fi rst defi ning her brows and then using neutral-coloured shadows in cream and brown. (Ladies, if you don’t already defi ne your brows with either a brow powder or pencil, try it! It’s the easi-est way to bring focus to your face.) A pretty coral lip stain and cheek colour brings a glow to Jodi’s newly whitened smile.

Last but not least, it’s off to the photo shoot at Kristy Reimer’s studio to capture Jodi’s fi nal transformation! life

Know someone who is deserving of his or her own makeover transformation? Want to nominate yourself? Contact us at [email protected] And don’t forget to send a full-length photo.

a great new colour and trim from sasha at sass Couture salon and an offer to style Jodi’s hair when she and her husband plan a special night out!

a makeup how-to session from kendall of beauty Culture by kendall, plus insider makeup artist tips

a gift certifi cate valued at $350 from Pharmasave and the store Upstairs

a teeth-whitening kit from apple Wellness Center

a list of what to wear and what to avoid to make the most of her new body and style, plus recommendations on must-have wardrobe items from leslie davies, iMPaCt image essentials

a celebrity-for-a-day photo shoot and experience from kristy reimer Photography and airdrielife magazine

Jodi’s entire Makeover transforMation exPerienCe inClUded:I’ve wrapped a scarf around Jodi’s neck to add a kick of rosy colour to her cheeks and chic leather gloves. The pants (not shown) are a little different from the other pair selected for the shoot. Also by Tan Jay, these feature a subtle and fun black-on-black leopard print. Jodi went wild over them!

Sasha at Sass Couture Salon. Sasha is keen to make sure Jodi is completely at ease and on-board with her new hairstyle and after an in-depth consultation, she learns that an in-depth consultation, she learns that Jodi wants to keep the length of her hair the same but is open to adding some sparkle by enhancing her colour.

are woven into Jodi’s natural warm brown to fl atter her skin colour and bring out her eyes. Sasha refi nes Jodi’s current cut by trimming up her ends and giving her a face-framing fringe. The end result is a versatile style which has movement, fun-yet-sophisticated colour and can be worn up (essential for Sea Cadets) or down.

formation is a trip to the private studio of Beauty Culture by Kendall. Kendall begins with a face primer and then applies Cover-Girl/Olay Simply Ageless compact foun-dation to Jodi’s skin – blending into her jawline and down her neck. (Kendall shared that this is her new favourite product!) She warms up Jodi’s skin tone with a sweep of bronzing powder. Next, Kendall enhances Jodi’s pretty green eyes by fi rst defi ning her brows and then using neutral-coloured shadows in cream and brown. (Ladies, if you don’t already defi ne your brows with either a brow powder or pencil, try it! It’s the easi-est way to bring focus to your face.) A pretty coral lip stain and cheek colour brings a glow to Jodi’s newly whitened smile.

shoot at Kristy Reimer’s studio to capture Jodi’s fi nal transformation!

Know someone who is deserving of his or her own makeover transformation? Want to nominate yourself? Contact us at [email protected] And don’t forget to send a full-length photo.

Sasha at Sass Couture Salon. Sasha is keen to make sure Jodi is completely at ease and on-board with her new hairstyle and after an in-depth consultation, she learns that


It has taken a lot of faith and even more work to bring a community tradition back to life.

Airdrie’s Santa Claus parade, which ran in 2012 for the first time in six years, is set to roll down Main Street again this year, thanks to the efforts of a group of community members who were willing to

step up to the plate.The newly revived yuletide event has its roots in an annual summer

celebration. In May 2012, the longtime organizers of the Canada Day parade had to pull out because of a lack of volunteers, so the City of Airdrie stepped in and put out a call for volunteers. As a result, a com-mittee came together and, with support and direction from the former organizer, managed to get the parade up and running.

“The committee was made up of a group of dedicated Airdrie people and a core group of City [of Airdrie] people,” says committee member Stewart McLeish.

Because of the Canada Day success, Mayor Peter Brown suggested bringing the Santa Claus parade back to life, and the plans began for a pa-rade for that year. Thanks to the dedication of the committee and plenty of time and effort from the volunteers, the Santa Claus parade 2012 was also a hit, with 25 floats and many thousands of people in attendance.

“It was quite amazing,” McLeish says. “We thought it was very success-ful. We got lots of positive comments.”

While the event did not go off without a hitch, it was a learning experi-ence for the committee, and plans began for 2013. “We’re learning parade by parade,” McLeish says.

During the following six months, the City presence on the committee lessened, with decision-making for both parades becoming a responsibil-ity of the volunteers.

Canada Day 2013 was another stellar success, and now McLeish and his fellow committee members are eagerly looking forward to December.

“We’re excited to be putting it all together,” he says. This year’s Santa Claus parade will be held Dec. 7, 5-6:30 p.m.

The parade will start at Fletcher Park and proceed south down Main Street to Ridgegate Way. Both City Hall and Airdrie Pub-lic Library will be open, so parade-goers can warm up and use the public restrooms.

The Lions Club will be organizing the staging and 20 floats had pre-registered by the end of October – but McLeish says that more floats, sponsors and volunteers are always welcome.

Community response to the tradition’s return has also been positive.

life in the moment | community spirit

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“They obviously missed the parade and were glad to get it back,” McLeish says.

For now, the Airdrie parades and fi reworks committee – which is also re-sponsible for both Canada Day and New Year’s Eve fi reworks displays – is looking forward to the years to come.

“We do think it’s going to be better and better,” McLeish says.

And he invites everyone to keep up with the latest news on Twitter and Facebook.

“We’ve got quite a following on Face-book,” he says. life

For more INFormatIoN, To voLunTEER, To SponSoR oR To REgISTER a FLoaT (REgISTERIng FoR BoTH paRadES EaRnS a dISCounT), vISIT aIRdRIEpaRadES.CoM

by anne beaty

How the community saved a traditional event


Good oral health is a lot more than just a dazzlinG smile.

A good oral hygiene routine includes not only brushing twice a day to fight tartar, reduce plaque (the biofilm on teeth where bacteria grow) and prevent gingivitis (inflammation of the gums), but also flossing ev-ery day. This practice breaks up plaque and keeps teeth healthy below the gum line, as these areas and between the teeth aren’t reached by brushing alone.

Topical fluoride, in the form of an oral rinse, is also an important part of an oral health routine, especially where water is not fluoridated. Fluo-ride mouthwash helps in strengthening and protecting teeth. “We recom-mend it to patients,” says Dr. Monty Gaur, of Nose Creek Dental Centre. “It’s a good way to remineralize the [surface] of the tooth.”

Regular visits to your dentist are a must. While it may be tempting to skip that yearly appointment, the long-term results can be unpleas-ant. Without regular cleaning that goes above and beyond brushing and flossing, bacteria can continue to grow and, untreated, eventually cause tooth decay, both on the surface and in the root. And while it’s not abso-

lutely horrible, having a bacteria-ridden tooth extracted is not a top-of-the-bucket-list experience.

Good oral health is an essential part of your overall health, and your dentist is an important caregiver in that regard. “Dentistry is not just about teeth any more,” says Gaur. “We’re treating people for sleep apnea … the result is quite amazing!”

In this day and age, dentistry is not practiced in isolation. Dentists are able to diagnose other health issues during a routine examination. Early signs of oral cancer can be detected; indicators of airway issues, which can cause sleep apnea, are evident; problems with tonsils and adenoids, blood sugar and cholesterol can pop up during a routine dentist’s visit. As such, dentists are working together with doctors to ensure their patients’ optimum health.

“Medicine and dentistry are starting to talk to each other now,” Gaur says.As for when to start seeing the dentist, the earlier the better. Pediatric

dentists want to see their young patients by the time the first tooth comes in. For Gaur, children at three or four years old are the perfect age, as they can begin to understand why they are at the dentist’s office, which helps make it a much more enjoyable experience.

life in the moment | healthylife

story by anne beaty | Photos by Carl Patzel

dr. Monty gaur, of nose Creek dental Centre, explains an upcoming dental procedure to patient (and airdrielife editor) anne beaty.

All Smiles Dental health is essential to overall health


“It makes it a lot easier for us,” Gaur says. Getting in the habit of seeing the dentist on

a regular basis is the start to good lifelong oral health, and Gaur even recommends having checkups every six months. Because most oral diseases do not immediately show symptoms it’s important to see an expert who can detect these diseases and begin treatment right away.

“A lot of problems that we see are prevent-able and treatable at a very early stage,” he says, adding that these problems are also much easier and less expensive to fix if caught at the early stages.

And how about that dazzling smile? Well, your dentist can also offer a variety of whiten-ing treatments, either in-office or for at home, that will have you sparkling in no time.

With oral health, a few simple steps are all it takes, and the Alberta Dental Association and College offers the following preventative tips for maintaining good oral health.• Brush,flossandusemouthwashona regular basis.• Visityourdentistregularly.• Ensureyourdentistisfullyinformedofyour medical history.• Reducethefrequencyofsugarintake.• Donotsmoke.• Protectyourteeth:Usemouthguardsfor sports; always wear a seatbelt; do not use your teeth as tools.

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Is your cat spending a lot of time in the litter box, urinating more frequently, or urinating in all the wrong places (i.e. all around your litter box or on your clean pile of laundry)? Your cat (and therefore you) may have a uri-nary crystal problem.

Crystals can occur when your cat’s urine pH is anywhere other than between 6.1 and close to 7.0. Struvite crystals form when pH is near 7.0 or higher. Oxalate crystals form when pH is around 6.0 or less. Neverthe-less, no matter the type of crystals you are dealing with, you have a problem!

Some factors that may result in crystal formation include low water intake; eating low-quality foods, which creates a pH envi-ronment that is too high or too low; having infl ammation in the lower urinary tract; and obesity and/or limited exercise.

One of the most important steps you can take to protect your pet is to increase your cat’s water consumption. This can be done in several ways. Make sure the cat always has access to fresh water; having more than one water bowl around the house can help. Water fountains are also a great way to keep the water cool and fi ltered, and possibly of more interest to your cat. If your cat still isn’t drinking, try some chicken broth in the wa-ter. Discuss with your vet as to whether or not it should be sodium-free.

Another way to keep a better-hydrated cat is to make some adjustments to the food. Dry cat foods are convenient for us, but only have about 10 per cent moisture. This places a heavier burden on cats to seek out water, which is not as natural for them as it is for dogs. Frozen raw foods contain about 70 per cent moisture, and cats on this diet do not have to drink as much to maintain

petlife WITH JAMES FROESE

Prevent painful urinary crystals

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the urine in a consistently more diluted state. Consider feeding a prepared raw food diet, which either comes frozen or dehydrated/freeze-dried (just add water).

If feeding a raw food diet is not for you, canned food with a dry kibble is another solution. Canned foods also have moisture levels around 70 per cent. Choose brands that don’t have mystery meats (i.e. byproducts from unknown sources) or use flavour enhancers to compensate for poor-quality ingredients. If oxalate crystals are the problem, limit the amount of fish, as it is usually higher in magnesium, which can result in more acidic urine.

Whatever you decide, a good-quality food is key. Low-quality foods, rich with grains, can push the pH towards 7.0 and above, placing the cat in danger of stru-vite crystals. Foods with too much soy can result in an acidic pH, increasing the risk of oxalate crystals. The best bet is to find a food with a specific meat/meat meal listed as the first ingredient, with-out a large variety of grains listed after it.

Reducing your cat’s stress is also im-portant. When a cat has elevated stress, pH levels rise, bringing on an increased risk of struvite crystals forming. Stress reducing products as well as cat treats with stress reduction supplements are also available.

So save that pile of clean laundry from a second washing with a few changes to your cat’s routines and quality of life. Your healthy cat (and ultimately your wallet) will thank you. life

– James Froese is owner of Global pet Foods in Airdrie

42 airdrielife.com | winter 2013/1442 airdrielife.com | winter 2013/14

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This is a 12-week challenge running from Jan.13 to April 14, 2014. There are three teams of two participants each. The winning team will be declared based on total percentage weight loss.

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Winter can be an interesting time of year for moms or dads at home with active youngsters. As I write this, my three-year-old son is taking today’s 14th

death-defying lap around the kitchen island on his plasma car, missing the dishwasher door by a hair for the umpteenth time.

When she was his age, his older sister would happily join me to colour, paint, do puzzles, read stories, bake ... the list goes on.

Whether it’s due to a difference in personality, gender, birth order or a combination of all three, days at home with my son have been a more challenging – and humbling – ex-perience. Life has become a roller-coaster ride of creation and destruction (with great emphasis on the latter). I’m se-riously beginning to wonder if ‘boy’ might not in fact be the root word for ‘boisterous.’

It had seemed like a good decision to hold off on pre-school till next year. Our son had spent so much time shut-tling our daughter to and from school and various activities that we’d reached the point where we could barely get him in the car. “I just want to stay home,” he began repeating with determination as soon as he could form the words. Appar-ently, he longed to have a bit more control over his weekdays, with his toys and his mom to himself.

But try as I might to be the Mary Poppins of mothers, I just can’t seem to keep up these days.

Clearly time to engage Plan B: Get out of the house! Thankfully, there are many options for Airdrie parents

looking to keep those cold-weather stir-crazies at bay. After all, burning off a little steam and/or engaging your young-ster’s mind is bound to be fun in the supportive company of others!

Genesis Place offers parented programs for children as young as 18 months which include dancing, playing games or sports, swimming (starting at four months) and sharing stories. Independent preschoolers can enjoy a variety of cre-ative classes (swimming included) sure to keep them enter-tained for about an hour each week.

Airdrie Public Library offers popular registered programs for preschoolers from birth to age five. Drop-in classes, a monthly

evening program and once-a-month weekend options are also offered, ensuring something to suit every schedule.

Discourage your little one from bouncing off your walls or furniture and let them develop their inner gymnast at The Little Gym instead. Parented programs are offered for children aged four months to about three years; older youngsters can participate in classes without mom or dad. Be sure to ask about Parents’ Survival Night, too. Offered every second Friday, this three-hour camp will ensure your little one comes home all tuckered out.

Check out Airdrie Skating Club for parent-and-tot class-es for three-year-olds and skating programs for four years and up.

Community Links offers a variety of interactive play opportunities and can help you develop your parenting skills along the way. There is a parented program, for ages 18 months to three years, focused on key school readiness areas such as numbers and counting; language and literacy; science and nature; music and movement; and creative art.

A good dose of fresh air is always in order, too. With so many different parks, pathways and outdoor rinks from which to choose, there’s no stopping a dressed-for-the-weather Airdrie tot and his or her parent from beating the winter blahs on all but the coldest of days.

After today’s well-timed outing, my son and I arrive home refreshed, my passion for stay-at-home parenthood rekindled and the furniture saved from demolition for yet another day.

Did my husband and I make the right decision to hold off on preschool? Maybe. But things can change quickly in the life of a three-year-old. He and I definitely need to venture out a lot more.

And Miss Kim? If you’re reading this: still have that spot open for the new year? life

– rocky View County resident Vanessa peterelli is a freelance writer and editor who has been working

with Frog Media inc. since 2008


parentlife WITH VANESSA PETERELLI

WINTER WOES TO WHEES!


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The nominations are pouring in for the 2014 Amazing Airdrie Women Awards. We want to hear about the amazing womenin your life. She is your wife, your sister, your mother, your daughter, your co-worker, your best friend, your neighbour, your coach, your student, your teacher, your inspiration. Go online to airdrielife.com and tell us about her.

All nominees are featured in the spring issue of airdrielife. Finalists will be announced April 7, 2014. Recipients announced May 2, 2014, at the fourth annual Amazing Airdrie Women Luncheon with guest speakerKristie McLellan Day. More details at airdrielife.com

You know someoneamazing.

and present

Nominations close Nov. 30, 2013.

AmazingPromise

AmazingCourage

Amazing Heart

Amazing Leadership

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The nominations are pouring in for the 2014 Amazing Airdrie Women Awards. We want to hear about the amazing womenin your life. She is your wife, your sister, your mother, your daughter, your co-worker, your best friend, your neighbour, your coach, your student, your teacher, your inspiration. Go online to airdrielife.com and tell us about her.

All nominees are featured in the spring issue of airdrielife. Finalists will be announced April 7, 2014. Recipients announced May 2, 2014, at the fourth annual Amazing Airdrie Women Luncheon with guest speakerKristie McLellan Day. More details at airdrielife.com


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PLUS Need a new look for 2014? Enter our $700 spring makeover contest with The Hair Lounge and The Store Upstairs/Pharmasave Airdrie. A new ’do, new makeup and a new wardrobe! Send your photos

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citylife | all systems go

A train derails and explodes, levelling much of a Quebec town. Floodwaters inundate downtown Calgary.

Disasters come in all shapes and sizes. And you have to be prepared.

Airdrie has an emergency response plan in place to deal with the unexpected. Last activated in full during a train derailment in 2010, the plan is regularly updated and practised, so that from the fire department and RCMP to City administration, if a major incident happens a response is ready.

Lorri Laface, emergency management co-ordinator with the City of Airdrie, explains how such a response might play out.

“First, a response agency, whether it is public works, fire, police … they look for ‘trigger points’ – is this something we can handle [by our-selves] with our current response plans?” Laface says. “If it is scaling up and they feel they can’t handle it … and if it will likely get wider-than-Airdrie media attention, that triggers it to the next level.

“(The response agency) department head calls me, and I call our director of emergency management, giving him a brief and my rec-ommendation as to whether to activate our Emergency Operations Centre. We send out activations electronically to primary staff … one of my first calls will be to Lynda Phelan [the City’s team leader for corporate communications], who will issue an emergency alert.

“We can be activated in minutes,” she adds.During the June 2013 floods, Calgary’s Emergency Operations

Centre was ground zero for the municipality’s response to the rising waters. In Airdrie, Laface says, there are actually three locations that can be utilized for this purpose (although the City of Airdrie doesn’t publicize where they are).

The City’s emergency response plans have to take into account any number of contingencies – even though, fortunately, it has rarely been needed in full. Aside from the 2010 derailment (“There were a lot of lessons learned from that,” Laface says), it was also activated for a

When Disaster StrikesHow ready are we? A look into Airdrie’s emergency preparedness.

story by alex frazer-harrison | Photos by kUrtis kristianson

airdrie fire department members stacey farquharson (left) and edwin situ go over the department’s emergency preparedness plans.


blizzard in the 1990s, but that doesn’t mean it’s just a binder on a shelf. During the 2013 fl oods, for example, members of Airdrie’s emergency management team provided a support role in swamped High River.

Laface says that keeping disaster plans in place is important because you never know what might happen tomorrow.

“It’s not just fl oods,” she says. “We look at hazardous goods, man-made [incidents]. We look at what could happen, then histori-cally at what has happened, and we look at how we’re set up to react to all these things.”

There are several scenarios that could play themselves out locally. “We’re on a fl ight path – a plane could crash,” Laface says. “People have no idea what’s going down our highway and down our rail. There’s a pipe-line just east of our airport and jet fuel goes down there. There’s a chemical plant here, high-pressure gas lines.”

Weather hazards, such as tornadoes, blizzards, and heavy hail, also have to be taken into account, she adds.

An important aspect of the plan is mak-ing sure that the emergency responding agencies – such as police and fi re – are speaking the same language. “We’re all talk-ing common terminology,” Laface says.

Social media has also come into its own as a major tool in disaster response – the Calgary Police Service literally overloaded Twitter during the June fl ood. “Ten years ago, we’d have laughed at that – you can’t use

that in an emergency,” says Laface. “Now we look at all the social media pieces.”

Co-operation between different agen-cies is crucial, says Staff Sgt. Gordon Sage, acting offi cer in charge of Airdrie’s RCMP detachment.

“I’ve worked as an incident commander and it’s nice to have a system that is fi ne-tuned,” Sage says. “We play an important role – safety and security. We assist where we need to be. Everyone’s there to help and make it work.”

Although emergency preparedness is seen as being reactive, there is also a huge proactive element – helping people avoid emergencies in the fi rst place. To that end, the Airdrie Fire Department recently part-nered with Chestermere Fire Services, Cochrane Fire Services and Rocky View County Fire Services to form the Regional Fire Safety Education Coalition, funded by ConocoPhillips.

“Because we’re all small fi re depart-ments without public education branches, we struggle to offer public education pro-grams,” explains Airdrie Deputy Fire Chief Linda Masson. “We’re moving more into prevention of fi res, prevention of loss and possible injury, rather than just focusing on responding.”

Three programs have been launched un-der the coalition. One is a home safety pro-gram through which fi re crews offer home safety checks and help install smoke alarms and batteries.

“They go through areas of the home, talk about storage of hazardous chemicals in the garage, access and egress, fi re escape plans,” says Masson. “It’s more than just smoke alarms.”

The other programs are After the Emer-gency, which aims to have fi re crews visiting door-to-door in an emergency-affected area within 72 hours to provide information. Fire crews will also be outfi tted with com-munity care packs to help them provide in-formation and resources to the public when they’re on non-emergency duties. citylife

BE PREPAREDIf an emergency strikes, it helps to be prepared, says Lorri Laface, City of Airdrie emergency management co-ordinator.

For example, Laface says, what if you work in Cal-gary, a blizzard hits, schools in Airdrie close and the QEII Highway shuts down?

“What are your plans? Where can the kids go?” she says. “If you have a good emergency plan for your household, it makes everything go smoother if some-thing happens.”

A good rule of thumb is that you should always be prepared to take care of yourself for up to 72 hours. Public Safety Canada (getprepared.ca) recommends assembling a basic emergency kit, including:

• two litres of water per person per day;• non-perishable food, such as canned goods and energy bars;• wind-up or battery-powered fl ashlight and radio;• fi rst aid kit;• extra keys;• cash (don’t rely on ATMs working);• special-needs items, such as medication, pet food and infant formula; and• other necessary items, including a small fuel-operated stove and fuel, garbage bags, utensils, toilet paper, candles and matches, and basic tools (hammer and pocket knife).

Many retailers sell emergency kits, but you can also order them from St. John Ambulance (sja.ca) or the Canadian Red Cross (redcross.ca).


“Our goal is to preserve the past,” says Nose Creek Valley Museum curator Laurie Harvey. “History pro-vides a foundation. If you don’t know where you’ve been, you can’t fi gure out where you’re going.”

This past September, Nose Creek Valley Museum celebrated a quar-ter century of preserving the past. A member of the Canadian Museums Association and recognized through the Alberta Museums Association, the Airdrie facility’s collections concentrate on the history of the Nose Creek Valley, an area that stretches from the Calgary neighborhood of Beddington to north of Crossfi eld, from Irricana to Madden.

The museum, built with funds raised by the Nose Creek Valley Mu-seum Society, opened in 1988 at its current location. In 1992 an addi-tion, recently named the Walter Bushfi eld Annex, was added to house farm equipment, tractors, antique cars and pumps.

Local history from approximately 1790 to the present is contained in displays, archives, collections and outdoor exhibits. Photographs record Airdrie’s beginnings in the early 1900s, while others from the 1940s and the 1960s depict a growing community.

Filling the large time gaps in the photo collections is an ongoing focus and donations from the public are welcomed and appreciated. Increased technology is another immediate focus.

“Even though we’re a museum and here to house old stuff, it doesn’t have to be boring and it has to be accessible,” says Harvey, who would like to add interactive components to the exhibits.

But it’s more than simply exhibits that make the museum come alive. “We have a great group of volunteers who help out in many ways,” says Harvey.

Tours for school groups, seniors and organizations are led by volunteers who often provide individual attention. The Travel-ling Trunk program – which is either accompanied by a volunteer or stocked for a teacher to use as a teaching aid – provides hands-on access to artifacts. “It’s a fun program because it makes history more real,” Harvey says.

The board of directors of the Nose Creek Valley Museum Society governs the museum and makes policy, while approximately 70 mem-bers host the museum on weekends and help out with special events. Membership ($10 per year) includes newsletters, invitations to events and voting privileges at the AGM. Two meeting rooms, one accommo-dating 50 to 80 people and a smaller conference room, can be rented and provide the museum’s main source of revenue.

Harvey is passionate about history and Airdrie. “I love Airdrie,” she says. “I like seeing where we’ve been and the road that has taken us to where we are now. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

NoSe CreeK valleY muSeum IS LoCaTEd aT 1701 MaIn ST. SW. HouRS aRE MondaY To FRIdaY 1-5 p.M.; SaTuRdaY and SundaY 1-4:30 p.M. FoR MoRE InFoRMaTIon, vISIT noSECREEKvaLLEYMuSEuM.CoM

life in the community | history

Museum celebrates the past, present and future

25 Years of History

story by ellen kelly | Photo by kristy reiMer

nose Creek valley Museum curator laurie harvey loves her job of historian/teacher/caretaker/explorer.

FEATURING HOMES BY:


As if being a woman of a certain age and having lived a somewhat

June Cleaverish lifestyle, at least in the 1960s, isn’t enough, my

generation fi ts into that recently despicable segment of society

known as the baby boomers.

The Government of Canada defi nes a baby boomer as someone born

between 1946 and 1965, so why, when the fi rst boomer celebrated his/

her 65th birthday in January 2011, did the media proclaim that our

economy would plunge immediately because a huge burden had sud-

denly been dropped on every self-serving 30-something, give or take 10

years either side?

Considering we’re healthier, wealthier and better educated than pre-

vious generations, and that most of us will continue working for many

more years, there’s no need to get so excited. After all, isn’t 60 the new 40?

Baby boomers were welcomed after the Second World War – cuddly

bundles of joy in a world at peace. The Depression was over, jobs were

plentiful and our parents raised their families in an increasingly affl uent

society. The boomers thrived, schools were as overcrowded then as they

are now, moms went to work, TV became the babysitter and the Cold

War scared the socks off everyone. The boomers grew up, forsook their

parents’ sensible shoes, wore sandals and beads and went to Woodstock.

Then they became responsible adults and earnestly strove to cre-

ate a better world. Honest. We did our best. After the party that was

the ’60s for many of us, we settled down. We were good providers and

we had great expectations for our children, whom we fully expected

would do better than we did. We worked hard to ensure that happened,

and … it did.

The world we created has fl aws, major fl aws. Some would say we

messed up. But we also made enormous strides in human rights, tech-

nology, communication, health care, transportation, infrastructure,

comfort of living and quality of life. Simple benefi ts, such as maternity

leave, mental health days and more than two weeks summer vacation

to name a few, were imagined, fought for and achieved during the baby

boomers’ tenure.

So, now we’re getting older – off to the ice fl ow we go. We may have

gray hair and some wrinkles and, let’s face it, our eyesight and our hear-

ing are challenged, but we didn’t suddenly become dumb. We offer love,

support, experience, wisdom and the occasional handout. And most of

us are still excellent drivers. life

lifetimes WitH ellen KellY


THE BooMER TIMES


Among the five people seated at the table at Good Earth Coffeehouse in Airdrie on this night are two men and a woman who were high school teachers in the Philippines. The third man at the table was an electrical engi-

neer there, as was his wife who is seated next to him.They all came to Canada in recent years to take jobs that had

nothing to do with their professions. They will tell you they don’t regret doing so.

“From teaching to stacking lumber,” says Edwin Inocando.A high school music teacher, Bal Pascual was part of a

group of 57 men who came from the Philippines to work at Palliser Lumber Sales in Crossfield in 2006 when the sawmill was experiencing a labour shortage and needed hardworking, reliable employees.

Each year, 200 or so people from Alberta’s Filipino commu-nity all return to Crossfield – for many of them, the town in

which they first worked – for a big party to celebrate Christmas and the new year and to reminisce.

“It’s where we all meet,” says Edwin’s wife, Jovelyn.Those original 57 jobs were arranged by a man from Pas-

cual’s hometown of Laur, Ferdinand O. Gamboa, who was already working at Palliser. He was the lone Filipino there at the time.

Pascual, who set foot in Canada for the first time on Nov. 26, 2006, recalls being taken aback by the weather. There was no chinook in town, but rather a blast of winter chill.

“It was very cold,” he says, illustrating the point with a shiver. “It was minus 40.”

Pascual originally lived in Linden and commuted to Cross-field, moving to Airdrie in 2010. A lot of families have arrived in Airdrie since then, although Pascual’s wife and youngest child – age seven – remain in the Philippines, with plans to eventually move here.

life in the community | multiculturalism

Filipino Family TiesAirdrie is a second home for many from the Philippines



Inocando estimates there are as many as 800 Filipinos in Airdrie now. That includes himself, Jovelyn and their three children. They came to Calgary in 2007 and moved to Airdrie in October 2009.

Canada is such a draw that they were all willing to give up everything they knew to come here and battle through the drastic change in lifestyle.

“There was culture shock,” says Alex Martin, who moved to Airdrie in May 2010. “When you go to a fast food chain here there’s no rice. In the Philippines they serve rice,” he adds, to the laughter of the group at the coffeehouse.

Martin and his wife, Daisy, were electrical engineers in the Philippines. Now, though, he has moved on to work as a quality control inspector for SNC-Lavalin in Medicine Hat. Martin works 10 days on and four off and remains a resident of Airdrie.

Despite the challenges, the five at Good Earth are all in agreement that Canada is a good place to live.

“We don’t like Canada, we love Canada,” Martin says. “This is the country that al-lowed us to change our financial condition and our lifestyle.”

Since arriving in Airdrie, the Filipino community has formed an organization called Filipino Overseas Grateful Workers Association (FOGWA), with Pascual as presi-dent. According to the website (fogwacorporation.ca), more than 40 members of the association have permanent resident cards.

The association opened up a business side in 2011 that originally was created to fa-cilitate the wiring of money back home. It is now a corporation – with Edwin Inocando as chairman and wife Jovelyn as secretary/treasurer – that lends money to Filipinos at a low interest rate to help them in emergencies.

The group agrees that they miss their home country a great deal. But, Martin says, stacking lumber at a sawmill in Canada pays the same as what an executive would make in the Philippines, and opportunities exist here that simply don’t exist there.

“We’re also blessed in Canada because our kids can go to college and get a loan from the government and then they can repay it,” he explains. “In the Philippines we don’t have a program like that.

“It’s not that we don’t love our country,” he adds, “but for our kids, it’s better to be in Canada.” life

Filipino Family TiesAirdrie is a second home for many from the Philippines

story by Jeff MaCkinnon Photos by kristy reiMer

airdrie’s filipino community shares friendship and a meal.


“We started in 1977 in church basements and it’s progressively grown over the years,” says Crystal Adamo, program manager and president of the Airdrie Lioness Club Hamper Foundation. “Last year we helped almost 900 people.”

Santa’s elves – a.k.a. the approximately 25 Airdrie Lioness Club mem-bers – are all volunteers. Families are referred to the program through such social agencies as Community Links, Alberta Mental Health and Airdrie Seniors Outreach or are screened by the Lioness Club. “We have guidelines from the provincial government and the Airdrie Food Bank has given us guidance. We are very protective of our program,” says Ada-mo, who stresses that fairness is a key objective.

A hamper, personalized for each family, includes food for a week, a gift card for a turkey or ham, a gift for each family member and wrapping pa-per. Hampers are filled either by sponsors who ‘adopt’ a family or through donations of food, toys and gift items to the Lionesses, who assemble ham-pers for unsponsored families on the list. Donations are gratefully accepted – watch for the Lioness red toy boxes throughout the community. Ham-pers go out Dec. 22 this year and anything left over goes to the food bank.

Anyone who sponsors a family is given guidelines to ensure consistency. “When a hamper comes in, we ask if they were able to provide everything.

If not, we add from our supplies,” says Adamo. “And we ask everyone to stay within the dollar limit – we try to keep everything as equal as possible.”

life in the community | giving

The Real Christmas Elves


Having long since outgrown church basements, the biggest challenge faced by the program is space. Adamo says that there is great corporate support for providing hampers, but finding available space large enough to accommodate 400 of them for a month is becoming more dif-ficult each year. At press time the Lioness Club confirmed the 2013 location as the former Frog Hollow building at 73 East Lake Ramp.

She stresses the importance of preserving the privacy and dignity of recipients and hopes that families can continue to pick up hampers or have them delivered by volunteers to ensure anonymity. Between 250 and 300 volunteers from the community make the program a success, and new volunteers are always welcome.

“It’s a lot of hard work and at the end you’re glad it’s done, but you can’t wait for the next year, as well,” says Adamo. “We have sponsors who have been e-mailing us since summer to adopt a family. The community support is amazing.”

The foundation, which is a registered charity, also operates the Birthday Closet (which pro-vides birthday gifts for families in need) and Supplies for Success (which, in co-operation with Staples, provides backpacks and school supplies). life

For more INFormatIoN on THE CHRISTMaS HaMpER oR anY oTHER LIonESS pRogRaMS, vISIT aIRdRIELIonESSCLuB.CoM

10 most-needed hamper items:

Juice Peanut butterPancake mix

SyrupCanned vegetables

SoupsCrackersToiletriesCerealCoffee

*Gifts for teens are always in short supply.

The Real Christmas Elvesstory by ellen kelly | Photos by kristy reiMer

The Airdrie Lioness Adopt-a-Family Christmas hamper program is approaching its 36th year of making Christmas merry for many local families.


life in the community | inspiring

motivated musclesDrug-free bodybuilder makes a point

story and Photos by Carl Patzel


As a motivational speaker, Mitch robinson puts his muscle where his mouth is.

blending a passion for a drug-free lifestyle and inspirational speaking, the international Natural bodybuilding Federation (iNbF) Team Canada member promotes a message of positive thinking in life and athletics.

regardless of the audience, be it a management group or cluster of fresh-faced high school students facing teenage social pressures, the drug-free bodybuilder relates his early struggles of everyday life.

As with many pursuing excellence, robinson has had to overcome obstacles on the road to personal success.

“Growing up i was surrounded by a fair amount of drugs and violence. i certainly didn’t have a white-picket-fence upbringing myself,” says the 30-year-old robinson. “i can completely relate to where a lot of [young people] are at and where they think they have to stay.”

becoming one of the top drug-free bodybuilders in Canada didn’t come easily for the now ripped robinson. born and raised in an athletic, military environment, the muscle sculptor became

serious about lifting after selling his motocross bike for college tuition.“Genetically a lot of it comes easy for me,” he says. “i’ve had to work hard over the

last few years, but even when i started out i grew very quickly and it seemed like i had potential to make an impact in the sport.

“The huge part of it for me is the mental challenge of it all – the discipline that it takes to stay on your diet or do all the things that get a bit harder as you get closer to a competition,” he adds.

regardless of his inherited physiology traits and some early positive results in the gym, robinson was soon introduced to the somewhat shady bodybuilding drug culture.

The poster child for performance-enhancing drugs, the sport of bodybuilding had a backroom acceptance of the practice, unlike other professional sports such as base-ball, hockey and cycling, which do regular drug testing.

“The sport does have a stereotype to it, and for a good reason,” robinson says. “As a younger person getting into the sport, i was pretty naive regarding how preva-lent (drugs) are in the sport. it’s pretty overwhelming.”

robinson estimates that 90 per cent of gym-goers are on some type of enhance-ment drug or steroid, whether they look the part or not.

The natural athlete was informed on several occasions that without pharmaceutical assistance, he wouldn’t gain the muscle mass and defi nition needed to compete. but that

didn’t deter robinson from following his own path.“i can distinctly remember telling one of my brothers, ‘i’m going to prove to everybody that you don’t

have to take anything to get somewhere in this sport,’” he says. “My philosophy about it has always been ‘you say i can’t; i’m going to show you that i can.’”

robinson turned professional in 2012 at the iNbF Canada Calgary Cup and earned the right to repre-sent the nation at the world championships this past fall in boston, Mass.

When he’s not pumping iron, the athlete is using his clean lifestyle to motivate high school students with free talks; address management and physical fi tness groups; and inspire young athletes.

robinson combines his personal athletic training and life experience to promote positivism for people dealing with limitations put on by themselves, their environment or social pressures.

“They don’t generally believe they are going to be able to achieve success or do anything great,” says robinson. “i have gone through and faced the same obstacles … but [they] don’t have to stay there.

“A huge part of it for me as well is chasing your dreams,” he adds. life


Everyone makes mistakes when they’re young. Sometimes these mistakes run afoul of the law.

The Airdrie, Crossfield & District Youth Justice Committee (YJC) was formed in 1995 to help get young people who break the law get back on the straight and narrow.

“We’re volunteers and we want to get youth on their first offence so we can steer them in the right direction,” says Marie Stang, director of training for the 10-member committee. “We didn’t want them getting into prisons or young offender centres where they might learn more of ‘the trade.’ We wanted a community-based program where we can try and get kids to go the right way.”

The YJC deals with minor offences, not those considered summary offences, says secretary-treasurer and president Donna Norndon.

“They have to be remorseful, it has to be their first offence and they have to be between the ages of 12 and 17,” Norndon says.

After a court refers a young person to the YJC, the committee meets with the youth and his or her parents. “We try to find out where their strengths are,” says Stang. “Some kids have low self-esteem, so we try to build it up a bit. We’re about turning a negative into a positive.”

The YJC might require the youth to do some community work, such as helping clean up Iron Horse Park, working at the fire hall or getting involved with the Boys & Girls Club of Airdrie. For some, it might be a case of writing an essay or even coming up with a five-year plan.

Stang says that after a youth goes through the YJC process to the sat-isfaction of the court, his or her file is closed, although it’s held for two years in case the youth reoffends.

Between April 2012 and March 2013, the YJC worked with nine youths ages 14 to 17 in trouble for theft, assault and possession of a con-trolled substance. In past years, Norndon says, the YJC has had a 95 per cent success rate in keeping the young people from getting in trouble again.

“Some kids are so traumatized by this brush with the law, it’ll hap-pen once and once only,” says chairperson Bailey Jacobsen, who says the YJC – which receives about $5,500 a year in provincial funding and also donates to local programs such as Army Cadets, the Boys & Girls Club and the Airdrie Lionesses – is in need of volunteers and more local ven-ues where youths can put in community service. life

For more INFormatIoN oR To voLunTEER, LEavE a MESSagE aT 403-948-7110

life in the community | volunteers

Youth GuidanceHelping troubled teens turn things around story by alex frazer-harrison | Photo by sergei belski

yJC board members (left to right) Patti norton, Marie stang and donna norndon are happy to volunteer

their time to help youths get on the right track.


Ice Dreamslife in the community|sport hero

Sometimes it takes an accident to make you appreciate the things you love.

Brianne Tutt is a living example of this. Last December, during a warmup at the Olympic Oval, the Airdrie-born speed skater was hit from behind by another athlete.

“I don’t remember getting hit,” she says. “Apparently, I went over the top of the kid – I flew in the air and he slid underneath me. I landed on my left shoulder and I hit my head.

“Apparently, I screamed a lot,” she adds. “The only part I remember is I woke up and some random guy was holding my head and I was freaking out … he turned out to be a firefighter.”

The other skater suffered a concussion, but Tutt’s injuries included a fractured skull, two fractured vertebrae in her neck, broken collarbone and rib, and hearing loss in her left ear. Still, she was able to go home after a few days in hospital – just in time for an unpleasant surprise.

“It came on really slow. In the morning, I was OK … then later that night I went to drink some water and I said, ‘Oh, it’s not staying in my mouth,’” Tutt says. “I went to the mirror and when I saw it, I said, ‘How come no one told me about it?’”

“It” was Bell’s palsy, a condition that paralyzes one side of the face; for some, it goes away naturally, while for others it never goes away. Tutt faced a regimen of medica-

tions to correct the palsy, but she doesn’t like taking medications. Fortunately, she met a woman who practises traditional Chinese medicine, and the palsy was

corrected via acupuncture. “The doctors said for three months I’d have this, but with her in four weeks it was gone,” Tutt says.

Tutt’s accident caused her to miss the rest of the 2012-13 speed skat-ing season, putting her dream of going to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in jeopardy, but she spent much of 2013 rehabilitating herself – she was back on skates by spring, although she wasn’t ready to

compete yet. Tutt, whose family all comes from Airdrie, moved to Calgary when she was 18 so

she could be closer to the University of Calgary campus where she trains. She began skating 12 years ago after trying her hand at figure skating, and attended the National Sport School in

Calgary, so it was hard for her to be out of racing for so long as she recuperated.In late September, Tutt took part in her first competition since the accident. Ironically, she says, she

found the accident actually renewed her interest in the sport.“My crash, as bad as it was, I’m happy it happened because I wasn’t liking skating, I wasn’t skating well

… I was in a rut and mentally wasn’t into it,” she says. “The nicest thing about the race [in September] … I had fun with the sport.”And this newfound enjoyment paid off.

“On the Friday [for the 500-metre race], I was really nervous, really shaking, ‘OK, don’t screw this up,’” Tutt says. “On the Saturday, when it was time for my 3K, it felt kind of natural again to be racing.” In fact, Tutt scored her second-fastest time in the event. Now, she’s back to training 50 to 60 hours a week getting

ready for more competitions in hopes of making the national Olympic team (she won’t know until the new year). Looking ahead, she hopes to become a firefighter and has already taken some paramedic training at SAIT, but for now her focus is on her sport.

Her advice for everyone? “Enjoy what you’re doing,” she says. “And keep positive people and energetic people in your life.” lifeFolloW tutt’S road to SoChI aT REBuILdIngaSHaTTEREddREaM.CoM

Ice DreamsAirdrie’s Brianne Tutt turns icy nightmare into renewed passion

story by alex frazer-harrison | Photos by kUrtis kristianson



WELL- HEELEDstory and Photos by Carl Patzel

life in the community | pet heroes

‘NO DOGS

ALLOWED’ doesn’t apply

to Airdrie’s

Samantha Edgar



‘NO DOGS

ALLOWED’ doesn’t apply

to Airdrie’s

Samantha Edgar Taking puppy love to the extreme, the young ca-nine crusader lives with her Labrador retriever, Rosemary, 24 hours a day – whether at work, school, the movie theatre, the grocery store, the doctor’s offi ce or any other public place.

But unlike most dog devotees, Edgar is licensed to heel as a puppy-raiser through the Pacifi c Assistance Dogs Society (PADS).

Leading Rosemary through a shopping mall where four-legged friends rarely go tends to turn a few heads. “We have to explain to them this is an assistant dog in training and they are allowed to be here and we have cer-tifi cates for them,” says Edgar.

Puppy-assist trainers receive their furry friend at around eight weeks and the dog remains in the home be-tween one-and-a half and two years.

With help from PADS and weekly training sessions, it didn’t take Edgar long to bone up on needed puppy-raising skills. As with raising a child, it’s a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs during the education process, which focuses on both socialization and obedience skills.

“You’re trying to teach the dog something,” she says, “and you’re in a mall and there are a thousand different smells, they’re trying to eat stuff off the ground, they’re trying to sniff everyone around you.

“Sometimes it’s frustrating, but you just take a breath and start this over. I have to work on my patience,” chuck-les the 21-year-old.

A total volunteer venture, puppy-raisers provide food, shelter, leashes and collars, as well as any costs arising from emergency medical fees, vaccinations, tattooing and X-rays (which can be recouped at the end of training through a tax receipt for a charitable donation).

Volunteers agree to no compensation except the un-conditional love and affection found from a loyal canine.

“They’re so good about loving everyone,” says Edgar.Edgar’s puppy-raising began two years ago, when her

family – mom Michelle and dad Mike, with whom she lives – decided to become involved with PADS. Along with training, the Edgars also puppy-sit for other rais-ers, taking in a blond Labrador named Roma this past summer.

PADS encourages puppy-raisers to introduce their dogs to loud noises, crowded areas and other distracting environments on a daily basis.

The prominently yellow PADS coat is used to identify the pooches as working dogs, as well as raising awareness.

“As much as people want to pet them, we’re trying to train them to only focus on the trainer,” Samantha says. “If they’re with someone with a disability, they need to be focused on that person and can’t be distracted by other people calling them or whistling or trying to pet them.”

PADS graduates go on to assist people with all physi-cal disabilities except the blind.

Apart from teaching her canine companions such com-mon commands as “sit,” “down” and “heel,” Samantha focus-es on special skills of standing, heeling beside wheelchairs, and advance training for taking off socks, opening and clos-ing doors and even picking up keys or a credit card.

“We have to work really hard on stands,” she says, “because if they go to someone [who] needs them for stability … when they get pushed they have to stay in their stand.”

It takes a special breed of person to live, love and train a dog literally 24 hours a day, then say goodbye after two years. This is the second PADS venture for the Edgar family members, who helped graduate their fi rst dog, Tully.

Even through that anxiety, hesitation and a few tears about giving up Tully, Samantha says the consolation is seeing the dog go to a good cause.

“It was a little sad because I’ve had her since she was a puppy. I didn’t want to really give her away, but she’s go-ing to help someone [who] needs her more than you do,” she says. “This is pretty much the best way that I can help people with what I really like doing.” life

samantha edgar opens her doors and heart to Pads trainees roma (blond lab) and rosemary (black lab).


life in the community|cover story

Rocket Man70 airdrielife.com | winter 2013/14


Brian Jackson recalls his first year teaching science in 1991 as being a truly horrible ex-perience. He taught the subject mostly out of a textbook and spent the year in survival mode. He regrets it to this day.

“I was bad,” Jackson says. “After the first year I de-cided that I couldn’t do that anymore. There were so many neat things the kids had the opportunity to do. My first-year kids didn’t get any of that.

“I realized it had to be more fun. There had to be more discovery,” he adds. “Kids need to get their hands on things. Once their hands touch things their minds start working.”

Jackson’s students at Airdrie’s Ralph McCall School now get to experience true hands-on learn-ing. In 2012, they built robots using Lego Mind-storms. They also operate their own ham radio sta-tion that is connected to the Internet.

Jackson is no longer a bad science teacher. In fact, he is considered one of the best in Canada. Earlier this fall he received a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence for his work.

“He’s always excited and interested when he’s working with kids, and his love of teaching and working with people really shows through all the time,” Ralph McCall principal Jim Forrest says.

Jackson began his teaching career in Chester-mere in 1991 and moved to Ralph McCall, a K-8 school, eight years ago. He was born and raised in nearby Kathyrn and was a farm kid who spent his childhood outside doing stuff totally unrelated to science.

That farm kid became a teacher who formed the Airdrie Space Science Club and in 2010 had his students launch a high-altitude weather balloon that took a photo of the earth from 33 kilometres above its surface.

It’s funny, but the one thing Jackson’s students are exposed to that seems to resonate with them the most is the good old amateur radio. (An antenna is attached to the roof of the school.)

One day the question was raised in class about the existence of the northern lights and whether or not there was something similar in the Southern Hemisphere. Rather than pick up a phone and call

Australia or do a simple Google search, the stu-dents switched on their microphone and found a man ‘down under’ who stepped out onto his porch in the pre-dawn hours and described the Southern Cross constellation to some eager kids 16 hours be-hind him in Canada.

“It’s 80-year-old technology but it’s something they don’t have experience with and it captivates them,” Jackson says.

For Jackson, when his students “talked to the astronauts” in 2005 via their radio, it was possibly his most memorable year as a teacher. As a result of that, he became a volunteer with Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) and now helps link school groups with astronauts, as was done with Chris Hadfield last year.

The avid teacher’s newest interest is in social sci-ence and the study of democracy. Ralph McCall students make trips to the Alberta legislature each year to see government in action and Jackson greets the experience with the wide eyes of a student.

“It’s really got a fire in me right now,” he says. “The more that I look at what our government does – all three levels – [it] fascinates me. I see a place for kids to become involved and become educated about de-mocracy and become the kind of citizens we need.”

Jackson has been recognized for his work before. In 2012 he was among 20 educators across the province chosen by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta as someone who ‘makes school cool.’

Everyone has an elementary school teacher they remember fondly the rest of their lives and Jackson is the kind of teacher former students will cross the street years later to greet.

“What really charges my battery is running into kids and they say, ‘Remember the day we did this?’” he says. “That’s exactly what it’s about for me, creat-ing those memories so that kids go ‘That is some-thing I’ll always remember’ or ‘That was really fun and I enjoyed that.’” life

more lIFe oNlINeWaTCH THE aIRdRIELIFE 360 vIdEoInTERvIEW WITH BRIan JaCKSon aT aIRdRIELIFE.CoMRocket Man

Brian Jackson’s teaching methods are out of this world

story by Jeff MaCkinnonPhoto by kristy reiMer


life in the community | remembering

An unlikely hero72 airdrielife.com | winter 2013/14

the Phaneuf family – (left to right) loralie, nicky, Megan , Jayden and doug – celebrates life and love.


As part of our issue dedicated to heroes in the community, Airdrie’s Doug Phaneuf, pastor at Living Springs Christian Fellowship, graciously shares his family’s journey through heartache and hope.An unlikely hero



life in the community | remembering

When people use the word “hero” many different thoughts come to mind. Some people think of comic book and action movie characters, such as Ironman, Superman and Batman. For others, their minds go to real-life heroes, such

as firefighters and police officers. These images are all valid, but there is one definition of the word hero that causes me to think of someone quite unusual. That definition is: a person who is admired for courage or noble qualities. The person I think of when I consider those words is my late son, Jayden.

Jayden lived quite a normal life for his first few years. Shortly after turn-ing four, he began showing some unusual symptoms that were initially diagnosed as minor medical problems. On Dec. 3, 2010, when Jayden woke up and tried to get out of bed, he was unable to walk. On that day an MRI showed that he had multiple cancerous tumours throughout his body. Two of the tumours were inside his spine compressing his spi-nal cord. The damage from these tumours caused a spinal infarction, which resulted in his being paralyzed from mid-chest down.

But it wasn’t the illness or complications surrounding it that made Jayden heroic in my eyes. It was the way that he handled his illness and all the unfair results of it. Not only was he forced to spend days and weeks at a time in the hospital, but beyond that, when he was home he could not run and play like other kids his age. For most of us, having our lives turned so upside down would result in anger, bitterness and self-pity.

For Jayden, though, this illness only refined the noble qualities we would expect a hero to have. Every day was a new adventure that be-gan with a smile. Each morning, after Jayden lost his ability to walk, we would wake to the sound of him ‘army-crawling’ down the hallway to our room. The sound would continue until his little head poked through our doorway where he would look at us, smile and declare, “I’m awake.”

Even when he got too tired to get out of bed, Jayden would call us over the monitor and when we went into his room, he would begin enthusi-astically talking to us. The conversation would vary from what his plans for the day were to what app he had discovered on his iPod that needed immediate downloading to whatever other random thought had passed through his imaginative mind before we could get into his room.

Jayden loved and embraced life. Even when he was in the hospital for days at a time getting chemotherapy, each day was something to savour. He would entertain nurses and doctors with crazy stories of dinosaurs and superheroes, and they would tell us they were amazed that after five days of treatment, he would still be smiling, laughing and joking around with them. One time when we were heading home after seven days in the hospital, Jay asked me what I was going to do when we got home. I re-plied, “I’m going to have a nap, the hospital makes me tired.” His response was, “Not me. I’m going to go play with my friends.”

I know that one reason Jayden embraced life so fervently was because he always looked at the positive, even though life had thrown him more than a few curveballs. He was probably the most “glass-half-full” guy

I have ever known. For Jayden, there was always hope. He would talk openly about what he was going to do “when his legs started working again.” He would share with family and friends all the things that he was going to do when he was a teenager. The limitations of his body were no reason to stop dreaming of all that could be.

That hope was something that made him such an inspirational per-son to be around because hope doesn’t just prepare us to receive the good things that may be in our future. Hope also frees our heart to notice and enjoy the blessings that surprise us every day.

Last December, Jayden was invited to Irricana to spend the day at the fire station and meet the firefighters there. On the day of the event, he woke up really not feeling well and not wanting to go out or even get out of bed. We contacted the people at the fire hall to let them know that the plans were going to have to be cancelled.

The firefighters decided that they were not going to let the opportu-nity pass and, instead of us going to them, they came to us. Firefighters from many communities across Southern Alberta met in Airdrie and had a huge parade down our street, passing in front of Jayden’s room so he could see each engine with its lights flashing and firefighters waving to him. It was incredibly surreal to stand in Jay’s room with him and watch this amazing processional pass by our home. Everyone could have been upset about what didn’t happen on that day, but it was an incredible les-son to me that there are unexpected blessings coming our way each day. We can walk in hope with our eyes open to see them or live cynically and miss out on most of them.

On Jan. 2, 2013, Jayden passed away. For many reasons, it seems so wrong that a person who lived life so fully would live for such a short time. He never got to do many of the things that he dreamed of doing and hoped for. Yet I know he is in a far better place, where he no longer has to deal with pain or sickness.

In the dark days after his death, I asked myself if living with hope was worth it. For just over two years, we had prayed, believed and hoped for a miracle that never came. I wondered if it was right to live that way or if it would have been a much better course of action to simply embrace reality and not dare to hope. After all, cynicism is easier because there is little danger of being disappointed when one never expects anything.

As I thought about that, I couldn’t help but look at Jayden’s life and the difference hope had brought him. It inspired me to make the decision to live with hope no matter how challenging or difficult current circum-stances may be. His life has changed mine.

The time that has passed since Jayden’s death has softened the grief and helped bring greater perspective. What I have realized is that with Jayden (as with most things in life), what I gave was not nearly as much as what I received.

If I had been given my way, Jayden would never have been part of our family. My wife wanted a third child but I was adamant that this was not going to happen. We had two children already and my thoughts regard-ing an additional one were more focused on how that would impede my


life than help someone else’s. Watching a country music video at a conference one evening, I was surprised to feel as if God was challenging me with this thought: If there is a child who needs a father, will I be that man or will I be too comfortable to step out to help?

The result of that divine moment was that my wife and I made the deci-sion to open our home to a child who needed a family. Once we completed the paperwork required with the province,

we began waiting to be matched with a child.

Obviously, that child was Jayden. I can remember him sitting on my lap the day we met him, thinking about how his life was going to be differ-ent; thinking about the effect

I was going to have on his life – all the things that I would do

for him and what a difference those things would make. The

thoughts centred on the normal things parents do for their children. They never included tapping the limits of my imagination to find ways to fill boring hours in a hospital room, administer-ing countless amounts of medication and needles or holding his hand while he passed away. Those are just not the types of things that go through your head when you meet your child.

But even more than that, I know that the thought of the profound impact his life would have on mine never crossed my mind. I don’t believe I could even have imagined how his six years of life, sickness and death would change me. The way he faced the challenges life threw at him showed the noble qualities that made him such a unique person.

That is why one of my heroes is a boy whom I had the great privilege and honour of being a father to for six great years. life


Nestled among young families in Airdrie is a supportive com-munity of Airdrionians 55 and older who feel included, safe and engaged. “It’s not just youth-focused,” says Leona Esau, City of Airdrie economic development offi cer. “There are ame-nities for everyone here.”

Approximately 14 per cent of residents are over 55 and 5.5 per cent are 65 and older, according to the 2012 census. For newcomers or those wishing to downsize, Airdrie housing choices are unlimited. With starter homes, large family dwellings, smaller bungalows, duplexes, condomini-ums and apartments included in a single neighbourhood, one could con-ceivably live in the same locality for a lifetime.

Patricia and Michael Atchison, who have recently downsized from their acreage, chose Airdrie because “it’s a quiet community but still vi-brant,” says Patricia. The Atchisons love the recreational opportunities at Genesis Place and the promotion of the arts, as well as the bikeways, walking paths and dog parks. “The parks department does a great job. Everything is always so clean,” she says.

Although the couple is happy with their decision to move into the city, Patricia suggests that a higher profi le for public offi cials and more fi ne dining-out opportunities might make Airdrie even more pleasant.

Local artist and woodcarver Ken Vickets and wife Louise moved here from Ontario six years ago because the small-town, friendly atmosphere was what they were looking for. Both agree that being near grandchil-dren is a bonus and Ken appreciates the opportunity to showcase his art at various venues around the city. Echoing Patricia Atchison’s sentiment, Ken says that an upscale restaurant would be great in Airdrie.

Despite some perceived gaps in what people want, Airdrie has evolved into a good community in which to ‘age in place.’ When it comes to home

choices for the older demographic, the list is long and varied. The Woodside retirement community offers single-family homes,

duplexes, townhomes and condominiums close to assisted living accom-modation and Bethany Care Centre, Airdrie’s only extended-care facility. Fletcher Village offers privately owned condominiums; Luxstone Manor is a seniors’ residential rental property with assisted living services; Ce-darwood Station is a full-service assisted rental retirement community; and Diamond Jubilee Manor is a self-contained affordable housing op-tion managed by Airdrie Housing. A future retirement neighbourhood is proposed for Reunion, as well.

Out and aboutAirdrie’s growing business base provides employment opportunities, too. Airdrie Employment Services offers the Work Wise program (Service Canada and Alberta Human Services) designed to help mature workers sharpen their basic job search and computer skills.

“Airdrie is a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity,” says Esau. “We see folks who have retired and are taking their skills and creating home-based business to do what they love to do on their own time.”

There’s no shortage of activities and exercise programs, either. At Genesis Place, where wellness programs appeal to participants over 55, there is growing interest in programs specifi cally for older adults. Cur-rent offerings include a pickleball league, an older adult walking and exer-cise program, a dryland fi tness program and older adult aquafi t.

Airdrie Curling Club manager Hank Geddert, 70, has been involved with the club for 20 years. “Leagues aren’t specifi ed ‘senior’ but there are many seniors curling,” Geddert says. “The Sturling League attracts a lot of seniors because it’s an afternoon league.”

Age in place in AirdrieAmenities and service are here for seniors – and everyone else

story by ellen kelly | Photos by sergei belskilife in the community | live long and prosper

Patricia and Michael atchison have ‘downsized’ to airdrie because of

all the community has to offer.

airdrie is home for three generations of the oneil family: dan and vivyan oneil, daughter Meaghan kernaghan and granddaughters aidan, 6, and reece, 2 1/2.


The Over 50 Club provides members with such activities as shuffle-board, billiards, card nights, morning exercise classes, potluck dinners and a choir. Club member Honora Thubron, 71, moved to Airdrie two years ago to be near her husband who lives at Bethany. For Thubron, Airdrie has much to offer for seniors. “Bert Church Theatre is wonder-ful,” she says, adding that while she appreciates the friendly assistance she’s received from the City of Airdrie, she’d like to see more park benches and picnic tables along the pathway system.

Fellow club member Val Ouellette, 69, who has lived in Airdrie for the past seven years, adds that the city’s sidewalks and pathway system are well-kept and scooter-friendly.

Airdrie Public Library also offers numerous programs and services attractive to seniors – book clubs, author visits, genealogy club and the popular one-on-one technology tutoring sessions. Library membership for seniors is offered at a reduced rate.

Airdrionians 55 and older play a large part in filling volunteer posi-tions, from serving on boards to helping at the food bank, from par-ticipating in health care roles to fundraising. “On any given day, you go into our public schools and grandparents are volunteering in those classrooms,” says Esau. “I think people just want to give back.” Volunteer positions can be accessed through the Seniors Outreach Program, and Volunteer Airdrie maintains a list of volunteer positions.

As for getting around, Airdrie Transit has several options that ap-peal to seniors. “All of our local buses are wheelchair/walker acces-sible,” says Esau. Local-route buses run on an hourly rotation, half-hour during peak times; Dial-A-Bus is a convenient option outside regular hours; and ACCESS Airdrie offers curb-to-curb service both in Airdrie and to Calgary.

Family-friendlyAs Airdrie appeals more and more to seniors, seeing multigenerational families living here is not unusual. Three generations of the Oneil family are proud to be Airdrionians. Dan and Vivyan Oneil moved to Airdrie in 1979, but for Dan it was a return to the community where he was raised. He graduated from George McDougall High School, left to go to university and spent several years in Calgary driving back and forth to help on the farm.

“I saw moving back out here as a way to become involved in the community again,” says Dan.

The Oneils have made an ongoing commitment to the community they love ever since. Dan, who was Airdrie’s mayor between June 1992 and October 2004, chaired the bid committee for the 2014 Alberta Summer Games. He now sits on the board of the games committee and is chairman of the fundraising committee for the Airdrie Food Bank building.

“There are lots of volunteer opportunities for seniors and lots of things for seniors to join,” Vivyan says. Adds Dan: “If you can’t find something to do to keep yourself engaged and interested and interesting, it’s your own fault because there are lots of things to do.”

Both agree that Airdrie is a great place to live. Dan sees more choices in

terms of social opportunities, athletics and the arts, including opportunities for seniors, but regrets the growth of anonymity and less connection with community. “Certainly,” he says, “having family in the area is a big attraction.”

The Oneils’ daughter and son-in-law, Meaghan and Dave Kernaghan, are raising daughters Aidan and Reece only a short distance away. “As long as family is here we’re not going anywhere,” Meaghan says. “It’s absolutely important that the girls see their grandparents often.” She has great memo-ries of visiting her grandparents on the farm when she was a child. “It was way out of town when I was a kid. Now I live about a kilometre away.”

As with many Airdrie families, roots run deep. Husband Dave was also raised in Airdrie; his parents are long-time Airdrie residents, and his grandmother recently moved from Airdrie to Crossfield.

Health and welfareWhen it comes to the needs of local seniors, the Senior Outreach Program at Community Links offers a wide range of interconnected services for residents over 55. Needs are determined through an initial assessment. “We cover everything,” says Senior Outreach co-ordinator Charlett Hedman, who also administers educational presentations each month at the Over 50 Club.

Assistance regarding basic needs, safety, finances, housing, health, so-cial and emotional support, and transportation are tailored to each cli-ent’s needs. A caregivers support group meets monthly. The most widely used service is assistance in filling out government financial and resource applications, specifically pension forms. Income tax assistance is available for those who qualify.

A recently established Friendly Visiting Program supports isolated seniors. Also recently added is non-medical respite service for caregivers of adults over 65. A volunteer-run transportation service helps Airdrie-bound seniors attend doctor’s appointments in Calgary.

For other health concerns, the Airdrie Health Foundation is working to attract doctors and to ensure 24-hour health care, and is fundraising to provide specialized equipment so residents don’t have to travel out of the community for treatments. Emergencies are always a concern but, says Esau, “Our emergency services meet and exceed their desired response times.”

Home care, accessed through Alberta Health Services (AHS), offers nursing, therapy, rehabilitation and personal care, and AHS also admin-isters the adult day-support program. Several private services are avail-able which meet a variety of in-home care needs and Meals on Wheels provides nutritious, low-cost meals to seniors and those in need.

It only takes a quick overview of the community to see that Airdrie is a wonderful location in which to ‘age in place.’ Regardless of age and/or abilities, Airdrie provides older residents with a complete live, play and stay environment. life

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Jacqui Jepson began her cleaning business with a vacuum she bought on EBay in 2007. Jepson was the sole employee of The Pink Wand Cleaning Services Ltd., and had two clients at the start.

Now, with 22 part-time staff, the Airdrie businesswoman has a client list of more than 150 throughout the city and is big enough that she has a

customer service representative whose job it is to make sure clients are happy and the schedule runs smoothly.

“The goal for me was to work around my kids’ schedule and to provide op-portunities for other moms to do the same,” says Jepson, who has three children now aged seven, 10 and 13.

“I wanted other moms to be able to get the days off they need and be able to volunteer and stuff and also make a decent wage,” she adds. “So I started paying a little bit more than other cleaning companies so I could maintain my staff.”

As neighbourhoods continue to expand in Airdrie, so too does the need for cleaning help. The city of nearly 50,000 is now serviced by Jepson’s company, as well as Molly Maid and MaidPro.

Molly Maid is a franchise owned locally by the husband-and-wife team of Mark Cochrane and Belinda Hebb, who have been in business here for five years, although the couple doesn’t live in Airdrie. Their 12 employees also clean homes in Crossfield, Irricana and other nearby communities in Rocky View County.

“(Airdrie) keeps growing so there’s a good amount of interest,” Cochrane says. “Everybody seems to be pretty competitive in [this] market, too.”

MaidPro opened in Airdrie in April 2009. It is a franchise based out of Boston, Mass., but owned locally by Dave Buckler. Buckler had two employees in 2009 and now has 27 – 20 part-time and seven full-time – servicing a recurring client base of about 300 for Airdrie and a second office in Calgary, with the split about 40 per cent in Airdrie and 60 per cent in Calgary.

life at home | home help

House HeroesProfessional cleaners are a treat for those with busy lives

story by Jeff MaCkinnon

Cleaned your light switches lately? Door handles? No?

“Regular cleaning of light switches and door handles is important, as this helps keep the germs away,” says Jacqui Jepson, owner of Airdrie cleaning service The Pink Wand.

the tip is one of several of top cleaning recommendations Jepson has for homeowners:

1. When mopping hardwood floors, always run the mop with the grain of the hardwood to ensure a streak-free finish. As you go, be sure not to place hot buckets of water on hardwood as this can leave a mark on your flooring.2. Don’t place mats back down on wet hardwood floors; this can damage the mats as well as the hardwood flooring. 3. Try using warm water and a capful of vinegar as a cost-effective alternative to hardwood floor cleaning products. 4. Dust the top of your fridge on a regular basis if possible, as dust loves to accumulate there and will build up in a short amount of time.5. Always keep the door of your front-load washing machine open when not in use. This will prevent all mildew and mould from accumulating.6. Stainless-steel appliances are best cleaned with a soft damp microfibre cloth, then dried with a dry microfibre cloth. No cleaning product is required – warm water will do.7. A quick wipe of the interior dishwasher liner on a regular basis is a great way to keep your appliance running well.8. Regularly hand-washing the baseboards in your bathrooms is an efficient way to keep your bathroom looking clean and crisp. Guests will notice this!

MaidPro’s Dave Buckler offers advice on ‘green’ cleaning in a blog posted to the company’s website, and he dispels the myth that using water alone is enough.

“Dirt is complicated – a mix of particles, dead bugs, skin cells, germs and oils, to name just a few,” writes Buckler. “Since water and oil don’t mix, oily solids get left behind, darkening and scratching surfaces and making them appear dull. The water itself can also leave mineral deposits, increasing complexity of the dirt and making it even tougher to clean over time.”

Mark Cochrane and Belinda Hebb, of Molly Maid, offer a suggestion on which everyone can agree. “Recruit your children to help with a basic house-cleaning routine,” they write on their website. “Regularly following a routine will develop good organizational habits in your children and will reduce the stress caused by reminding your children to tidy their rooms.”



His manager, Monica Munro, has been with the company since the beginning. “The employee base in Airdrie is great,” Buckler says. “I fi nd it way easier to get employees in Airdrie than in Calgary. I think more than anything Airdrie people are still close enough to the country that they still know how to work.”

Although her business has expanded considerably, Jepson continues to run The Pink Wand out of her home.

“Cleaning is not an easy job; it’s hard work,” she says. “That’s kind of why I always hire part-time.

“I’ve been out with the girls and I know how tired you get. It’s almost impossible to do a good job of cleaning eight hours a day,” she adds. “Having started from the be-ginning and having to clean on my own I knew that I didn’t want to put that on other people and expect them to do eight hours of cleaning.”

Jepson explains how she chose her busi-ness’s unique name: “It was just me at the time and I’m female,” she says, “so my idea was that you go to people’s houses with a magic wand and make their home and busi-ness pristine and beautiful again.” life

Meet our makeover room!

life at home | makeover contest

The master bedroom of holly and Mike sousa is in need of a rescue.

holly admits her effort to “bring a vibrant fl air to the room” has fallen fl at. Thanks to Airdrie paint and Decor and interior designer lisa lavertu, the sousas are getting the chance to give their own bedroom a new look. As an added bonus, exciting lighting has thrown in a $200 gift card for new lights!

The sousas, who moved to sagewood in July, are a busy, high-energy family experiencing what holly refers to as “controlled chaos” living with three girls, aged 2, 5 and 9, and a six-year-old bichon.

holly tells us more, below.

Although we love the new home we’ve been creating, we have ignored our personal space. We chose this room as it needs help. We have hit a roadblock in choosing the right textures and colours that work.

We have procrastinated about the design of this room for long enough. Neither of us loves this space so we are looking forward to having a master suite that is, well … sweet!

What we love:We love the look of damask walls. We love a tidy, crisp, clean, relaxing atmosphere. We enjoy that resort feel to a room, but i fear in an attempt to create this look, i will derail and relapse into my old-world ways and end up having a rebound-relationship feeling with my bedroom.

A little romance, a little glam, some shine are on my wish list. My husband craves masculine, clean lines and function. We both would love a relaxing feel.

i haven’t really had a bedroom that i really loved since i was about 15. My husband testifi es he has never loved or loathed a bedroom. his interest lies in function. bed? Check. everything else is just a bonus. except the TV. he’d like that to stay.

What we’d like to learn:We’d like to learn how to choose a colour that is bold without being abrasive. how to create a relaxing space in a family that is so outgoing. how to fi nd a bit of Zen in a space that is essentially a blank slate. These are things i want to know. how does one choose a neutral that blends without making a home look like a sad sandcastle?

We are up for learning; i hope your designer is up to the challenge. i can honestly say i’ve never gone as far as tinfoil to dress my windows, but i cannot vouch for my spouse. life

next UP:Watch this space in the spring issue of airdrielife as holly and Mike learn to transform their master bedroom into a retreat space they will both love!

84 airdrielife.com | winter 2013/1484 airdrielife.com | winter 2013/14


Raving about Ravenswood

The new showhome parade in Ravenswood has everyone talking. Featuring homes by NuVista, Pacesetter, Broadview and McKee, there are plenty of options including semi-estate, garaged and laned homes, all full of Ravenswood’s legendary style. Large lots, charming architecture and more than 20 acres of parks and pathways – there’s much to rave about.

Page 84: toP – Broadview Homes; Bottom – Pacesetter Homes • tHis Page: toP – Nuvista Homes; Bottom – mcKee Homes



We, as humans and Albertans, typically wear many layers of clothing in the ever-changing winter months. As you know, the standard advice given to anyone who doesn’t like the current weather conditions is: “Wait 15 minutes!”

This recommendation remains true for our homes. By using our sense of style, personality, practicality, functionality and colour we create a ‘layering’ of these

elements, forming the foundation of our living spaces.

Here are the top three latest home inte-rior decorating tips for this winter season:

Gadgets, gadgets and more….The list is almost endless on how to incorporate the new

technology: smart home automation, home security sys-tems, camera monitoring devices to track family members,

home theatres (literally), wireless router vases (seriously?), por-table light switches, clean air fi ltration units and more accessible

solar-powered technology.

To boldly go….The primary colours aren’t just for the kindergarten class anymore. Adding a small splash of red, yellow or blue can heighten an otherwise neutral mood in any room.

All that glitters….Metallic fi nishes found in furniture, accessories, cabinet hardware, light fi xtures, appliances and artwork are es-pecially attractive when juxtaposed with wood and other natural elements. Chrome, iron and burnished bronze feature prominently.

“Consumers are becoming increasingly colour savvy and colour aware,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive di-rector of the Pantone Color Institute. “With consumers seeking distinctive styling and considerable substance more than ever before, it is critical that retailers and designers be aware of future colour trends. To successfully entice consumers, colours and colour combinations must be appealing, evocative, transformative and most im-portantly, on target.”

That said, you as the consumer have all the power to ultimately decide what trends you will accept, reject or embrace into your home. Always remember to maintain and refl ect the integrity of the design, consider the scale of the room and what pieces will ‘fi t,’ and keep focused on how you can best express your unique personality. life

– Tina McMillan (a.k.a. the Decorating Diva) is a local interior designer, a mother of two and a wife of one

lifestyles WITH TINA McMILLAN, C.I.D.

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life at home | builder profile

Up the Creek ... in very good style

Having started out small, Crystal Creek Homes is now making a huge impression in the homebuilding market.

The award-winning builder is branching out from its starting-point backyard of Calgary to the Airdrie and surrounding market.

Owned by Justin and Michelle Bobier, the close-knit company started out several years ago constructing only a handful of homes each season.

With Crystal Creek’s showhome The Hartford in Cooper’s Crossing and plans for expanding into the new community of Canals Landing in Airdrie, the company will put up 70 houses in Calgary and area this year.

“We are super excited to be in Airdrie and we are family owned. Justin actually used to be a cabinetmaker as a tradesman,” says Krista Kerth,

vice-president of marketing with Crystal Creek Homes.“Our philosophy is high quality and excellent customer service,” Kerth

adds. “A lot of our homes are very luxurious. One of the things we pride ourselves on is the home specifically made for you.”

Fitting a niche between production homes and complete custom models, Crystal Creek Homes focuses on customizing floorplans and designs to specifically fit the homeowners’ wants and needs.

“Although we do have a lot of pre-existing models that are already de-signed, you can come in and make changes or start from scratch,” says Kerth of the company which garnered the 2013 estate home over $1.5 million CHBA Alberta Award of Excellence in Housing, and was a fi-nalist for small-volume builder of the year.

story and Photos by Carl Patzel


Homes in Cooper’s Crossing will vary in size from 2,500 to 3,200 square feet and are priced in the mid $600s to mid $800s, with the Canals Landing homes measuring between 1,800 and 2,500 sq. ft.

With a state-of-the art design centre, which includes several vignettes of suites and kitchens, Crystal Creek offers cus-tomers a hands-on approach to selecting all finishings, from cabinets to flooring to marble countertops.

“We have a really good base specification, so you are going to get all those things you are looking for,” Kerth says. “We’ve some very popular items in our design centre and that’s really helped people make those really tough decisions.”

Focal points still remain on the entertain-ment areas, such as gourmet kitchens com-plete with upgraded appliances and huge granite or quartz islands; popular developed entertainment-space basements; and large bonus rooms on the upper floors.

“This is fantastic if you have two or three kids – they can each have their own bed-room still on the upper floor, but you also have that recreation space to watch movies and hang out,” Kerth says. life

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Rob Ing and Deanna Hunter moved from Cal-gary to Airdrie 11 years ago, and their com-munity of choice was Ridgegate, a quiet enclave southwest of downtown Airdrie that was de-veloped in the 1980s.

“The area is like a little nook,” says Hunter, who com-mutes into northeast Calgary for her human resources-related career with a communications company. “It’s essen-tially fully surrounded by green space and it’s one way in and one way out. You’re in your own little space.”

With Nose Creek Park to the south, open area surround-ing the rail line to the west, and Main Street’s amenities a few blocks away, the area was perfect for the couple, who converted their 24-by-24 square foot detached garage into a recording studio for Ing, who launched a career producing corporate videos and commercials when he relocated here.

Although the home itself was the No. 1 selling feature for the couple, the neighbourhood was “a bonus,” Ing says. “We did the walking paths and saw there was a beaver dam, a blue heron – those are kind of cools things to fi nd.”

Ing and Hunter can often be found taking photos of the wildlife they see around the pathways that wind through the community.

Hunter says that the Festival of Lights, hosted in Nose Creek Park, has become a Christmastime destination for their family (they have three grown children who live in Calgary and Moose Jaw).

From Ing’s perspective, the enclave has developed a real sense of community. “Everyone watches over each other’s property, even if we don’t necessarily know their names,” he says.

Terry and Valerie Hopman, parents of four, already had a connection to the home, built in the mid-1980s, that they bought in Ridgegate 11 years ago.

“Terry had room-and-boarded in this house before we were married,” says Valerie, a stay-at-home mom (Terry works as a pipefi tter in Crossfi eld). “We were renting a place and … the man who lived here was moving and selling the house. We ended up buying it.”

The Hopmans also like to think of Nose Creek Park as their backyard.

“I’m a farm girl, so when we stand out on our deck, we [joke], here’s your acreage – you just have to share it with the rest of Airdrie,” Valerie says.

Over the years, the couple has developed a special rela-tionship with the neighbours on their cul-de-sac.

“We have a special-needs daughter and now we have fi ve neighbours, all of our houses on the same street, and all have special-needs children,” she says. “All our neighbours are looking out [for each other’s children].” life

life at home | neighbourhood

Ridgegate is all about familystory by alex frazer-harrison | Photo by Carl Patzel

Calling ridgegate home are rob ing and deanna hunter (front) and the hopman family (left to right) sterling, silas, mom valerie, sarah, dad terry and seth.


For the most part, homes that have been taken care oF have better resale value so it’s fiscally re-sponsible to take care of your home. However, there is much more to it than just economic considerations.

I believe you and your home mirror the state of each other. If your home has stacks of dirty dishes, rotting decks and leaky windows, your life likely has unfinished business, things that are falling apart and places where important things are slipping through the cracks.

In order for your home to be a place of rest, family unity and connection, you have to do your part. You may have an older furnace, but if you change the filters and have the ducts cleaned regularly it can last a long time.

I remember one time when I was showing a client different homes; we noted that in one house the hot water tank was spotless, not a spec of dust on it. It wasn’t brand new by any means but it was taken care of. That experience came with a message: If you can take the time to keep your mechanical room clean, it will take better care of you.

Be respectful of your home. Don’t dent the walls and scratch paint because ‘it’s only paint.’ Instead, think of it as the envelope that protects you and your sacred place from the outside world.

I have a friend whose home is full of the colour she loves, purple. Each wall in her home has artwork, whether it be the work of a local artist or an enlarged photo that just spoke to her. She’s spent the time surrounding herself with things she loves, so it only makes sense that she would take the time to protect it from the outside world.

It doesn’t take much to do the small things that will make a big difference. There are thousands of books, blogs and pins – so just find something that you can relate to and get inspired to be your home’s hero. Sometimes being a hero is about doing the job that needs to be done despite how much you don’t want to do it or how uncertain you are. It’s the little things that add up in this world – you don’t have to do it all, just check a couple off of the list! life

– Michelle Carre is a realtor® with sotheby’s international realty Canada in Airdrie

life at home | column

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Check out more than 30 showhomes in Airdrie. Use this handy reference map to help you �nd the showhome parades featured in this issue. For a complete list of all developments and builders in Airdrie go to airdrielife.com/homes

airdrielife.com/homes

Single-Family Homes

Multi-Family Projects

Heron Pointe at Reunion featuring McKee Homes and Sabal

Bayside featuring Genesis Builders and McKee Homes

Windsong by Mattamy

Cooper’s Crossing featuring Harder Homes and McKee Homes

Estates at Cooper’s Crossing featuring Harder Homes, and Crystal Creek Homes

Hillcrest featuring Shane Homes

Ravenswood featuring Broadview Homes, McKee Homes, NuVista Homes and Pacesetter Homes

Airdrie Showhome Map and Guide

CITY HALL

BETHANY CARE

CENTRE

TOWN AND COUNTRY

CENTRE

GENESIS PLACE

Bridges at Williamstown

Creekside Village

Bayside featuring Genesis Builders

Chinook Crossing

Waterscape by Vesta

Gardenwalk featuring Creations by Shane Homes

Sovereign Court featuring Emerald New Homes

The Edge

REUNION

BAYSIDE

WINDSONG

WOODSIDEGOLF

COURSE

WOODSIDEGOLF

COURSE

Canals Landing – featuring Genesis Builders and McKee Homes

THE EDGE

YANKEE VALLEY BV SW

YANKEE VALLEY BV SE

1 AVE NW

VETERANS BV NW VETERANS BV NE

EA

ST LAKE B

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MAIN STREE T S

TWP RD 264 SW

BAYSIDE DR S W

EAST LAK E RD NE

BRIDGES AT WILLIAMSTOWN

CREEKSIDE VILLAGE

BAYSIDE

CHINOOK CROSSING

WATERSCAPE

KIN

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GARDENWALKSOVEREIGN COURT

COOPER’S CROSSING

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HILLCREST

KING’S HEIGHTS

Gardenwalkin King’s Heights

RAVENSWOOD

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On June 20, our neighbors in the Calgary region experienced devastating floods, the likes of which we haven’t seen in generations. An estimated 40,000 Albertans were forced from their homes, and in many cases residents have still not been able to return home.

In Airdrie, we were fortunate to experience only minimal damage. Our role in the aftermath was to support our neighbours in the Calgary region with staff resources, volunteers and much-needed supplies. Over the weeks and months following the flood we saw Airdrie businesses, community groups, families, friends and even strangers come together and get involved in the cleanup recovery in these communities.

As the disaster played out in the media, with photos and footage of homes being washed away, less attention was paid to the more than 1,500 businesses directly affected by the floods throughout the region. In the hardest-hit communi-ties, many of those businesses may never reopen or have been forced to relocate.

Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths said to CBC: “These small businesses are the lifeblood of their communities. In order to bring community back, you [have] to bring the business back.” The impact of the loss of business is both human and financial. Economic costs are estimated at more than $1 billion, and much of this cost is reported due to business closure. Even a week of being closed can be devastat-ing to a business, in addition to any repair and recovery costs. The impact has a ripple effect, from the owner to the staff, the suppliers and the entire community, which suffers from limited access to services and supplies.

Several provincial and regional programs are in place to assist businesses in returning to full operations after disasters. In addition, new programs have been developed to better prepare us for future disasters. One such program is the Economic Disaster Recovery Project initiated by the Economic Development Association of Alberta. This project focuses on ensuring that when disaster hits Alberta communities, those communities and businesses are prepared for it and have a plan to ensure a speedy recovery.

Every community is prone to disaster, and in the past few months we have all seen the importance of having a disaster recov-ery plan for our municipalities and our business right here in our own backyard. By partnering and collaborating, we can ensure that when a disaster happens, we can get local businesses up and running as soon as possible so they can assist the community to get back on its feet.

Through the floods of 2013 we saw massive destruction; we saw people’s lives and hopes washed away. We also saw how the human spirit can rise, how we can come together to get through it and support each other. We saw how communities in the Calgary region united to help each other.

We hope that no community ever has to go through a disaster like this again, but can take comfort in knowing that if it does happen, we will be more prepared and have the support we need. life

– Kent rupert is team leader with Airdrie economic Development

businesslife WITH KEnT RupERT

life at work | column

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GETTING TECHNICALAirdrie business gains national recognition

There’s much more to extracting oil and gas than just digging a hole. Each site requires complex electrical systems and instru-mentation, and an Airdrie-based company has been installing and maintaining these important tools for 18 years.

Techmation Electric & Controls Ltd. started in 1995 in Whitecourt and has since expanded to 24 locations across Western Canada, from Estevan, Sask. to Fort St. John and Dawson Creek in B.C. Since its inception, the company has worked on projects for nearly all of Canada’s major oil and gas companies, and in May 2001, Techmation established a new headquarters in Airdrie.

“The focus or core of our business has been providing electrical and instrumentation service, construction and maintenance,” explains com-pany president Derek Polsfut. “We do shop repairs, rental of equipment like pressure recorders and pumps … we focus on providing good work and we have good safety programs, and the quality of our employees is very important.”

According to Polsfut, Techmation relocated to Airdrie in 2001 to take advantage of a superior site than what was available in Calgary.

“We had a bay and a warehouse in the northeast [of Calgary] – and

we moved out here because we had an opportunity to get into a shop with a warehouse and a yard,” he says, adding that ease of access into Calgary and onto the QE II Highway were major selling features in choosing Airdrie.

By 2012, Techmation had outgrown its original site on East Lake Crescent. “We grew out of that location and were leasing a couple other places in town. But we wanted everything under one roof,” says Polsfut.

So a year ago, Techmation relocated into a new 40,000 square foot headquarters on 3.82 acres of land off Kingsview Road SE, overlooking the highway.

“We were able to add in our own mechanic services; we’ve got well over 400 trucks in the fl eet and we service our own vehicles here,” Polsfut says, adding that there’s also more room for such behind-the-scenes work as inventory control, business development, safety and quality control, and payroll for Techmation’s approximately 1,100 employees, of which some 250 work in Airdrie.

Polsfut joined Techmation in 1996. His brother, Roland, is vice-pres-ident of operations alongside vice-president Glenn Rideout and vice-president of business development Victor Witzke.

story by alex frazer-harrison

Phot

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techmation president derek Polsfut is justifi ably proud of his company and its employees


WATCH AIRDRIE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT’S BUSINESSLIFE IN AIRDRIE VIDEO FEATURE ON TECHMATION AT AIRDRIELIFE.COM AND AIRDRIENOW.CA

Last February, Techmation was named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, pre-sented by Deloitte, CIBC, the National Post and Queens School of Business – an honour that has left Polsfut and his staff proud.

“You get respect out there in the industry … not only with all the associated people [who] work for us and our clients,” he says, “but it’s certainly a big attraction for employ-ees to know they’re coming to work for one of the best-managed companies in Canada.”

Safety is also a major focus for Tech-mation, which was also named one of the top 40 companies in Alberta for safety perfor-mance this year, a recognition bestowed by the health minister.

As a longtime Airdrie-based business, Polsfut says that his company is also focused on supporting the community, whether through supporting other local businesses (“We buy all our vehicles here with Airdrie Chrysler,” he says. “We like to buy as much as possible locally.”) or supporting minor hockey, soccer and ringette, as well as charity events such as cancer runs.

And Airdrie has been more than wel-coming since Techmation put down roots in the community.

“[Mayor] Peter Brown and his group at City Hall have been awesome,” says Polsfut. “Peter made a mandate to visit with all the local busi-nesses and get a pulse for what’s going on. With us developing this property and growing here, [the City] sure helped us along the way.”

Being a “best-managed company” is about far more than bragging rights, says Polsfut. “It’s all about the people,” he says. “Whether it’s our clients or employees, there’s an excel-lent group of people who work here and who we work for. I look forward to continuing those relationships.” life

Main Branch Airdrie102-304 Main StreetAirdrie, AlbertaTel: 403-948-5995Tim Bolton, Branch Manager

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It’s not easy to start and maintain a small business. Indeed, statistics show that only 70 per cent of entrepreneurs can expect to keep the lights on after five years.

SMARTstart, a new program launched this fall by the Airdrie Busi-ness Resource Partnership (ABRP), aims to improve these odds by pro-viding small business owners access to training, mentorship and support.

“We’re trying to offer a comprehensive training course for new busi-nesses, and owners with fewer than three years [experience],” says Leona Esau, economic development officer at the City of Airdrie, a partner in the ABRP with the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce and Community Futures Centre West.

“We’ve developed a whole wheel [of programs] from March to Octo-ber 2014, with in-person training sessions that will give entrepreneurs a chance to meet with local experts,” Esau says. “That will complement webinars, and we have a mentor program built into SMARTstart which

will allow each entrepreneur to pair up with a local businessperson who has experience in either owning or managing a business here in Airdrie.”

The program includes mentorship, small-group training seminars and networking opportunities.

A major component of SMARTstart, which officially launched dur-ing Small Business Week in October, is an online component incorpo-rating GoForth Institute’s 100 Essential Small Business Skills program.

“Why is it businesses fail? Do they get tired, run out of money? Can we as educators do something to help them?” says GoForth president Dr. Leslie Roberts. “Really, it comes down to lack of education in business and lack of experience in business.”

GoForth created Canada’s first high-definition video education pro-gram for small business.

“Airdrie, though, is wrapping some value-added features around it like mentorship, access to workshops,” says Roberts. “Education is only one

life at work | training for success

Airdrie businesses have the chance to get a

SMARTstartstory by alex frazer-harrison | Photo by kristy reiMer

things get off to a sMartstart at the program launch with (left to right) dr. leslie roberts, goforth institute; bruce tannas, CfC West; tara levick, airdrie economic development; Mike de bokx, airdrie Chamber of Commerce; leona esau, airdrie economic development; lorna hunt, airdrie Chamber of Commerce; and Jodie eckert, CfC West.


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part of the success story. It takes a community to raise an entrepreneur; it takes education, access to capital and mentorship.”

Roberts says that many budding entrepre-neurs underestimate what it takes to run a business full-time. One might, for example, be a wizard at making pies. “The issue is [that] running a business of selling pies requires an entire different skill set that they don’t have,” she says.

A goal of SMARTstart is to “get to [busi-ness owners] and help them before they need it,” says Jodie Eckert, community economic development co-ordinator with Community Futures Centre West. “Businesses often get into trouble after the fi rst year … with coach-ing from mentors, you have some resources to fall back on.”

Eckert says that all eyes are on SMART-start – if it works well for Airdrie, the program could be adapted in other towns and cities.

“It’s a much-used [term], but it’s a ‘one-stop shop’ – it’s got something for everyone,” says Eckert. “There’s online training so you can work from home, the mentors are there – as

an entrepreneur, your time is precious; you don’t have time to go searching.”

Chamber of Commerce executive director Lorna Hunt says that SMARTstart fi lls a gap for the city’s business community.

“[These entrepreneurs] are not working in isolation,” Hunt says. “What’s encouraging with this program is there are meetings, on-line work, classroom work … the mentorship is a great component.”

The aim, Esau says, is to have 20 entrepre-neurs sign up the fi rst year, each matched with a mentor, with the hope of it becoming an on-going, annual offering. The fi rst year is being funded through a grant from the Community Initiatives Program and money raised by part-ner organizations.

“It’s really encouraging for entrepreneurs to be able to take advantage of a made-in-Airdrie training program,” she says. “We’re hoping the business community will step up and see the value in it and embrace it and help us carry on the training program, by support-ing it not only with their time, but also with their dollars.” life

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Safety comes in many shapes and forms, whether it pertains to an industry or an individual. In Airdrie, two companies are providing the community and beyond with their own brands of safety expertise.

In Betts Passmore’s world, slow and steady wins the race, or at least gets you home at the end of the day.

Safety comes fi rst for the owner and president of ERCO safety, whether on the job site or in life and as a mother of two.

“I go home at the end of the evening safe and so [do] the management guys, but (we want) to make sure everybody goes home safe,” says Pass-more, a member of the Canadian Registered Safety Professionals and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering.

Far beyond steel-toed boots, safety goggles and a hard hat, Passmore says that in many cases protecting the well-being of the worker begins and ends with the employee and supervisors.

“The different ways the employers or employees identify the hazards (is key),” she says. “They need to have it documented so there’s a followup process to make sure it’s dealt with.”

A safety consultant since 2000, participating in the Manufacturers’ Health and Safety Association steering committee, Passmore also per-forms external audits for the Alberta Municipal Health and Safety As-sociation and the Alberta Safety Council.

Her company also supplies hazard assessments, program audits and incident investigation, as well as program revisions and review and veri-fi cation services.

Regardless of the industry, be it construction, plant work or oil and gas, Passmore strives to instil responsible safety practices from the top

life at work| safety

Safety Works

Businesses put safety fi rst for othersstory and Photos by Carl Patzel

erCo safety owner betts Passmore practices what she preaches at work and at home.


management to supervisors, workers, contractors and new employees.“If they have a safety program it means going through that program

and … then going out and seeing if they are doing what they said they are doing,” she says.

The safety expert also speaks with employees to ensure company poli-cies are being followed and the on-site behaviour and culture allows un-safe practices to be reported.

According to Passmore, most causes of worksite incidents stem from complacency, day-dreaming or taking workplace safety for granted.

“(The workers do) this over and over again and they don’t take the time to look around to see what’s different this time. It could be just a little thing: a frayed cord or something left on the fl oor that they’re not used to being there,” she says.

Injury reduction begins with regulations and prevention and a good safety plan. Although policies differ from province to province, Passmore says, safety legislation is written as an evolving, living document that can change with the work environment.

“Unfortunately most of the reasons they evolve is because somebody seriously got hurt,” Passmore says. “It’s important to have safety programs and in line with the organization.”

‘Don’t leave home without it’ takes on a whole new meaning as business and homeowners can now monitor innovative security systems from the convenience of a cell phone, tablet or computer.

Advancements in automated protection ensure those looking for property and personal safeguards can become involved in their own frontline measures.

“A lot of people are using it just for verifi cations. If the alarm goes off cameras are going on, they’re verifying that their kids are at home,”

Devon Leinweber, owner of Airdrie Alarm and Surveillance, says of modern-day sophisticated camera and alert security systems. “Now when that door lock comes open you get a notifi cation e-mail that your door is unlocked, your system is disarmed.”

As much as it sounds like a Big Brother state, smartphone access to se-curity systems through apps can ensure peace of mind when monitoring home and property. For businesses it means up-to-the-second notifi ca-tion of possible break-ins or deterrent from theft.

“You get a picture or a video to see who is coming in your house, when they came home, how many were there, if your dog walker came home,” Leinweber says. “Everything is verifi ed.”

Leinweber, who offers interactive and automated systems as well as guards and other security applications, has seen a rise in security mea-sures on the home and business fronts in the growing community.

“Security is defi nitely taking on a different role in people’s lives. Proper-ty is also life,” says Leinweber, who has been at the helm of Airdrie Alarm for fi ve years.

Easily accessed, real-time long distance monitoring systems have a multitude of uses. Fully automated systems can turn on hall entryway lights and even control thermostats for travellers away from home con-cerned about a furnace failing in the dead of winter.

Offering the ultimate in peace of mind, cameras and alarms com-monly monitor garage and patio doors, basement windows and property perimeters.

“It’s all there right in the palm of your hand; you know what’s going on in your system and can pull up cameras any time,” says Leinweber. “It’s becoming more affordable and economical.

“The cute thing,” he adds, “is some of these cameras are actually used for people [who] go up north (for work) and want to tap in and see their kids play.” life

the best of the latest technology allows airdrie alarm owner

devon leinweber to offer his clients peace of mind.


Children may be able to teach grown-ups how to down-load an app so they can do their banking on a smart-phone, but grown-ups can still teach kids about money.

For more than 50 years Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta has been mentoring some of the re-

gion’s young people in ways of fi nance, business and career readiness with programs that link education to the working world.

It just so happens that Junior Achievement’s co-ordinator for elemen-tary and middle schools in North Calgary and Airdrie is former Airdrie student Rebecca McKay.

“We just got into Airdrie three years ago and it’s going well,” says McKay,” who attended George McDougall High School and joined Junior Achieve-ment in March 2013. “I’m looking to step it up this year and build the relation-ship out there and get Airdrie excited about Junior Achievement.”

Junior Achievement is a worldwide organization that was founded as a non-profi t entity in 1919. In Southern Alberta it reaches more than 18,000 students each school year relying on 1,000 volunteers to teach the program.

Locally, Junior Achievement is expected to visit at least 15 classes at the elementary, middle and secondary school levels this winter. Students may in fact fi nd McKay standing before them, since she has taught the program in Calgary schools and will likely do so in Airdrie.

“Most of the time for volunteers it involves a four-hour class com-mitment, which could be one hour at a time or four hours one morn-ing,” McKay explains. “We go into the classroom and Junior Achieve-ment will supply the materials volunteers will need and the training. We teach the students with PowerPoint and videos. It’s a lot of fun for the kids.”

Among the offerings is the popular Investment Strategy Program, which is a six-week stock simulation project in which students start with a mock $100,000 account and attempt to build their portfolio with savvy stock moves.

The Economics for Success program is already familiar to Grade 9 students two of Airdrie’s high schools. It involves them being bused to Mount Royal University to experience a day of campus life and learn of the importance of staying in school and the value of pursuing a post-secondary school education.

“They look at how career planning impacts the rest of their life,” ex-plains Bert Church High School career advisor Dorothy Smith. “They look at life goals they might have and post-secondary options and they look at budgeting for the rest of [their] life and how much post-second-ary costs. It’s a good program.” life

For more INFormatIoN on JunIoR aCHIEvEMEnT oF SouTHERn aLBERTa, vISIT SouTHERn-aLBERTa.JaCan.oRg

story by Jeff MaCkinnon | Photo by sergei belski

life at work | economic heroes Junior achievement co-ordinator rebecca Mckay (standing) enjoys a laugh with her young

charges (left to right) taylor Cey, tatiana topolnicky and hailey hill.

YOUNG ACHIEVERS


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The momentum continues and the community is still talking about the fi rst-ever Think Airdrie 30-Day Challenge.

The initiative – which asked people to record what they did in Airdrie each day of September, as well as answering questions

about their community – drew an impressive response, with more than 600 people taking part, along with online participants and the numerous businesses and organizations that donated prizes.

“It worked really well,” says Think Airdrie’s Janice Ware. “People loved it. The feedback was very, very positive.”

The aim of the 30-Day Challenge was “to try and rekindle the fi re, the passion that is inside of Airdrie,” says Think Airdrie chairman Wade Cormier.

With a goal of getting people to think about what is here right in their own community, and the organizations and businesses that make Aird-rie such a vibrant place, the challenge was a roaring success. Daily and grand prizes were donated by local businesses and not-for-profi t organi-zations, and Think Airdrie organizers were overwhelmed by the gener-osity of those who donated.

“We had an amazing, generous response from the business commu-nity, the City and non-profi ts,” Ware says.

“We couldn’t do this without the buy-in from the business commu-nity,” Cormier adds.

Throughout the campaign, participants also used video, the web, Facebook and Twitter to share why they love Airdrie.

“It was cool,” Ware says, adding that she thoroughly enjoyed read-ing the comments. “I loved that people recognized how much is in this community.”

Daily activities and comments included everything from discovering Airdrie’s totem poles to touring the new ice surfaces at Genesis Place to playing a round at Woodside Golf Course.

“It was really quite remarkable,” Cormier says. Now, plans are in the works for more Think Airdrie initiatives.

“(People) are already saying they can’t wait for next year,” Ware says, “and they’re asking what’s next!”

And Cormier encourages everyone to stay up to date on Think Aird-rie’s Facebook page or website (thinkairdie.ca), as there are exciting plans in the offi ng. life

edItor’S Note: Think airdrie was formed three years ago by a group including the Chamber of Commerce, airdrie Economic development and some of the local business leaders. The purpose of the organization was to fi nd a way to get newcomers and residents to feel more passionate about their community and all that airdrie has to offer. airdrielife is proud to be a supporter.

THINKING AIRDRIE PAYS OFFlife at work | taking initiative

by anne beaty


NORTHERN DELIGHTSI captured this image on nov. 23, 2012, north of airdrie, just before reaching Crossfield.

It was a cold night but in spite of the temperature, I decided to follow my intuition and head outside to see what the sky had to offer.

The show was stunning – not too long (about 20 minutes altogether) – but the reds are not very common so it was really worth it!

driven by this passion and this little black box and lenses, there are not a lot of conditions that will stop me from doing what I love. going out at night, watching the dancing sky and sharing these emotions is part of my life.

– LauREnCE SuBRa-BIEuSSES, WWW.pICTS2LIvE.CoM

Settings : Canon 1D Mark4, lens EF 15 mm 2.8 fisheye , ISO 800, 8 seconds at 2.8

Have an image you think is worthy of a last look? Send it to [email protected]

life | last look

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5 MINUTES TO CROSSIRON MILLS MALL

10 MINUTES TO CALGARY

CC AirdrieLife_1213_A.indd 1 2013-10-21 10:16 AM

airdrielife wintrer 2013

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