A Night of Sparkle at the Enjoy Centre officially launched the 2011 Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games.
"It's absolutely amazing. We are very, very excited to be able to put on this event and we're extremely excited that we are the first event at the new Enjoy Centre," board chair Sandra Fenton told the Gazette during a brief timeout from her duties at Saturday's banquet and auction in support of the Feb. 24 to 27 games in St. Albert. "Not only is it a fundraiser for us but it's a great opportunity for us to showcase the games. It's really a big kick-off for us. We are about 96 days away before the games so we're very excited about this evening."
With tickets priced at $100, some 298 seats out of a possible 300 were filled with games supporters and enthusiastic bidders for the live and silent auctions.
"Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for joining us here this evening," Fenton said in her address to the crowd. "We're very honoured to be selected to host these games and we are very excited about what the next few months will hold for us."
Fenton heaped praise on the committee members that orchestrated the fundraiser under the guidance of Pat MacInnes. She also gave a big shout out to the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks & Wildlife Foundation and the Alberta 55 Plus Association for giving the stamp of approval to St. Albert's bid for the games. It was spearheaded two years ago by Doug Kennedy, chair of the bid committee.
"We thank you for making it such a fun and exciting time for us. We're really looking forward to it," Fenton said.
Mayor Nolan Crouse can't wait for the celebration of sportsmanship, culture and competition to start.
"Bring it on!" Crouse declared to deafening applause.
The games are expected to attract 1,100 competitors 55 years of age and older. They will have qualified through zone playdowns in alpine skiing, badminton, bowling (five-pin), bridge (duplicate), carpet bowling, cross-country skiing, curling, darts, euchre, hockey, pool (snooker), Scrabble and shuffleboard. Admission is free for all events.
More than 300 spouses and guests of participants and 200 VIPs from numerous levels of government and sports organizations will also attend the games.
Fenton said the anticipation of putting on the best ever 55-plus games grows every day.
"It's getting much busier now. The first 18 months things seemed a little bit slower and we had a little bit more time, but once summer was over it sort of hit everybody. This is do or die now. The finish line is right there, we just need to cross it."
Dedicated volunteers
The board of directors under Fenton's watch include MacInnes (accommodations), Terry MacPherson and Shawn Symington (activities and facilities), LuAnne Sirdiak (administration), Leslie MacEachern (culture), Marlene Cornish (food), Tracy Annicchiarico (promotions), Alison Liston (protocol), Mike Barbeau (registrations and results), Graham Holmes (safety and communications), Bob McDonald (transportation), Glynis Thomas (volunteers), Len Bracko (city council liaison), John Barkemeyer (seniors liaison), Chris Jardine (City of St. Albert rep), Lynn Fontaine (board secretary), Pat Covington (Alberta 55 Plus Association president), Kerry Andrews and Dave Turnball (Alberta Games consultants) and Dennis Allen (director of Alberta Games).
"We've got an amazing board of directors. They are very, very committed and very excited individuals," said Fenton, who is also in charge of the friends of the games portfolio on the board. "St. Albert is known for the commitment of the volunteers and we are so fortunate to have a great volunteer group of board of directors who have put in so much time and effort. They are very passionate about it and we're very excited about the work they've done."
A number of directors involved with the bid process have been in place since the games were awarded to St. Albert, while the rest have gradually worked their way into the committee's flow chart.
"There has been a lot of planning in place and it's sometimes hard to visualize what the end is going to look like with the planning. We do know that it's right around the corner and after Christmas we're down to eight weeks so it's a very exciting time right now for us," Fenton said.
Grand opening
The unveiling of the Hole's Enjoy Centre in Riel Business Park also made it a night to remember.
"We're very, very pleased to have everybody here tonight. As you can see it's not quite finished but if you had looked at this facility on Monday night you would not have believed it would look like this tonight," said an appreciative Jim Hole during his pre-banquet speech. "I would like to thank all the workers who worked like dogs to get this place ready … There were no urinals or toilets on Monday so they got those in place in time. Our staff have also been working tirelessly cleaning this facility up and putting the finishing touches on it."
Hole wrapped up his address by paying tribute to his parents, Lois and Ted.
"I want to give you one quote from Mom that I think is really important and sums up what this place is about. She said if you take risks and trusts, you will always be rewarded with a beautiful harvest, and tonight I think is that beautiful harvest that Mom and Dad would be proud of."
GAMES NOTEBOOK: The winners of the ATCO Torch Relay contest were announced at the fundraiser. The relay team consists of 16 intergenerational members. Two team members from the age categories will complete one of eight defined legs of the relay. They increase in age with every leg, starting at 11 years and ending with the 70-plus bracket.
The torch bearers are as follows, leg one: Payton McNeil, Iain Leitch; leg two: Dana Koroluk, Josh Hinkle; leg three: two ATCO Gas employees; leg four: Kevin Fauchon, Cathy Heron; leg five: Mike Lovsin, Mary Stoker; leg six: Shirley Bowles, Dan Stoker; leg seven: Gail Doan, Dale Lea-Wilson; leg eight: Dieter Schumann, Gareth Jones.
