Mark Your Calendar!2010 ARPA Annual Conference & Energize Workshop
October 21-23
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge
Visit the Conference website for more information
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| ARPA Board endorses 2010-2013 Strategic Plan
At its June meeting, the ARPA Board of Directors endorsed in priniciple a strategic organizational plan for the 2010-2013 time period. The plan will provide the strategic road map that will guide the Association in its activities and initiatives over the next three and a half years.
The plan itself focuses on five Goal/Outcome Statements, namely:- Sector Leadership, Positioning and Advocacy
- Community Building and Enhancing Public Awareness
- Advancing the Quality of Life Sector and Strategic Alliances
- Member Services, Professional Development and Communications
- Association Excellence and Sustainability
At its upcoming September meeting, the Board will review and ratify minor refinements being made to the plan, and the plan will be made available as a lead up to ARPA's annual conference and AGM in October.
For more information, please contact the ARPA main office at 780-415-1745 or arpa@arpaonline.ca.
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 A big thank-you to all who participated in "June is Recreation and Parks Month" this year!
ARPA would like to extend its congratulations to all who signed the Recreation and Parks Month Charter throughout the month of June. Those who signed the Charter declared themselves to be champions of the vast and varied benefits of recreation and parks, which contribute appreciably to enhancing quality of life for Albertans.
All of the champions who signed the Charter were entered into a draw for a "Fred the June Bug Bobblehead." Congratulations to this year's winners - Margaret Riodon from the Town of Banff, and Shayna Miles-Ingram from the City of Cold Lake Recreation.
ARPA would also like to congratulate all of the children and youth who completed and submitted this year's nature activity passports. Special congratulations go out to the passport prize draw winners Nabeel Amjad and Alexander Roby-Straza. They will receive a Sogo Active prize pack filled with great outdoor gear to help keep the spirit of June is Recreation and Parks Month going all year-round.
Although
June has come and gone, ARPA encourages you and your community or
organization to Live it Everyday and to continue to enjoy the
benefits of recreation and parks throughout the year. The online events calendar will remain on the ARPA website throughout the summer, and we encourage you to continue submitting and checking back for upcoming events in your community. Those who submit an event to the calendar will receive an event toolkit while supplies last.
If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback on June is Recreation and Parks Month, please contact Joline Veitch, ARPA Special Projects Assistant, at 780-638-2915 or jveitch@arpaonline.ca.
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| ARPA welcomes its newest (and smallest) member!
ARPA would like to extend its best wishes to Finance and Operations Manager Steve Allan and his wife Rachel on recently welcoming a new addition to their family - a baby boy!
Noah Julian Douglas Allan was born at 3:28 AM on Saturday, June 19th weighing in at a healthy 6 lbs 8 oz.
All best the to Steve, Rachel, and Noah!
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 Vote for ACE Communities' Pepsi Refresh Project
ACE Communities is thrilled to announce that its project proposal for a
series of music and dance tours in Albertan Aboriginal communities has
now been shortlisted for a $100,000 prize in the Pepsi Refresh Project.
But now ACE Communities needs your help! We need everyone to vote for this project, and to spread the news to your friends and
family. You can
vote for the project once a day, everyday until August 31, 2010. So
bookmark this link and vote, vote, vote!
The proposed Aboriginal Alberta Music/Dance Tour would be an opportunity for Aboriginal communities to come together to celebrate and grow local talent. The goal of this initiative is to seed an interest in the arts, and then feed this interest through training opportunities, access to resources, and sustainability strategies. Should this project to be voted as the recipient of the $100,000 grant, it would be huge win for Alberta's
arts scene, and an even bigger win for Aboriginal communities.
Vote online for ACE Communities at:
www.refresheverything.ca/albertanaboriginalartstour
For more information on the Pepsi Refresh Project, please visit www.refresheverything.ca, or contact Janet Naclia, ACE
Communities Creative Cultural Liaison, at jnaclia@aceleaders.ca.
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We need your input on community staff training and development in Aboriginal communities
The Indigenous Sport Council Alberta (ISCA), with its partners the Alberta Recreation Facility Personnel Association and ARPA, have held preliminary discussions with respect to developing further training opportunities for community staff in Aboriginal communities.
However, we need your input as to what training and development is required for community staff in these communities. Specifically, we would like to know if training is needed in the areas of:- facility operations, management and administration;
- recreation leadership development; and/or
- program development and deliver.
Please forward your thoughts and feedback on these potential future training opportunities to Wayne Page, consultant with ISCA, at waynepage@shaw.ca.
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 ACE ARTS Tour wraps for the summer
After three stops around the province, the ACE Communities ARTS Tour has finally come to a conclusion for the summer. Most recently, the ARTS Tour visited Hanna and Longview, where it held music and dance related workshops and "Open Mic Nights" in each community. The Tour had also previously stopped in Grande Cache in the spring.
From the time the ACE Communities ARTS Tour kicked off in Grande Cache in March to its last stop in Longview in June, the overall participant count for the Tour was over 1600 people! The ARTS Tour provided an excellent opportunity for rural Alberta communities to come together and embrace the arts, and also to set a shining example to the rest of the province. For a summary of the Tour, please visit the ACE Arts and Culture Blog.
ACE Communities is also pleased to announce that the ARTS Tour will pick-up again in the fall, making a stop at the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation in October. Stay tuned to REConnect for more information.
For more information on the ARTS Tour, please contact Janet Naclia, ACE Communities Creative Cultural Liaison, at jnaclia@aceleaders.ca.
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| Roger Smolnicky receives Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance PRESTIGE Award
ARPA would like to extend its congratulations to ARPA member Roger Smolnicky, Director of Business Services for City of Leduc Recreation, for receiving the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) PRESTIGE Award for Industry Builder of the Year.
Roger's leadership ability and insight in the area of facility development is best exemplified by the newly opened Leduc Recreation Center. This $50 million project was opened on time and $1 million under budget. Roger's expertise in developing collaborative approaches and the use of best practices from other multi-purpose facilities, has made the Leduc Recreation Center the envy of many communities throughout Alberta and across Canada.
Roger's experience includes management position in the Alberta cities of Leduc, Jasper Olds, Hinton and Spruce Grove. He has significant current/previous executive experience including, but not limited to, the Alberta Parks and Recreation, Alberta Luge, Alberta Scuba Diving, 1995 Canada Games and the 1990 Alberta Senior Games.
CSTA'S PRESTIGE Awards celebrate the people, places and events that make the Canadian sport tourism industry so dynamic. These awards are presented annually in five categories to individuals, companies and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the success of the sport tourism industry.
For more information on the CSTA PRESTIGE Awards, please visit www.canadiansporttourism.com/csta/index_e.aspx?DetailID=147.
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 So many ways to take part in Alberta Arts Days... Alberta Arts Days is a three-day, province wide celebration of the arts and culture that began in 2008 as a one day event. It 2010, it will occur over three days, and take place from September 17-19th. Most events are free to the public and encourage community participation and access. Public events take place in a variety of facilities including art galleries, museums, libraries, schools, theatres, concert halls, community centres, and outdoor gathering places.
ARPA would like to encourage its members to take part in this important initiative that showcases the province's artists, and promotes the importance of arts and culture as it contributes to a vibrant province. It's easy to take part in or plan an event; there is an extensive event planning and promotional resources page on the Alberta Arts Days website, as well as an online events calendar.
Governed by The Spirit of Alberta, Alberta's cultural policy, the Government of Alberta plays a leadership role in stimulating this grass-roots initiative.
For more information on Alberta Arts Days, please visit its website at www.albertaartsdays.ca.
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| Team Alberta seeking Mission Staff volunteers for 2011 Western Canada Summer Games
Team Alberta is seeking energetic and enthusiastic individuals to participate as Mission Staff for the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games being held on August 5-14, 2011 in Kamloops, BC. The Western Canada Summer Games are a multi-sport event and play a prominent role in developing some of Canada's premier athletes.
The Mission Staff have a key role as members of Team Alberta acting as a liaison between individual sports and all components of the Western Canada Summer Games organizational structure. Up to 15 Mission Staff members representing a blend of volunteers and professional staff from a wide cross section of the sport and recreation community in Alberta will be selected.
Mission Staff members are volunteers who do not receive payment for their services or compensation for time off work. Meals, accommodation and transportation to and from the Games will be provided. The Mission Staff application, along with additional information on qualifications, is available at www.teamalberta.org.
Applications including a resume and a letter of support must be received by December 1st, 2010.
If you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact Scott Fraser (780-422-8310, scott.c.fraser@gov.ab.ca), or Pat Lechelt (780-422-8309, pat.lechelt@gov.ab.ca).
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