• CiB Alberta Salutes 2011 Participants & Winners
• Thank you CiB Forestburg!
• Exciting Opportunity for Alberta
• 2011 National Participants and Winners from Alberta
• Extreme Park Makeover
• Meet a CiB Judge
• Telus Gives Where They Live
• Rolling Towards 2012
• Walmart-Evergreen Grants Program
• Psst ...Pass it on

Communities in Bloom (CiB) Alberta was pleased to recognize 40 participants at our Annual Awards Ceremony on September 17th, as part of a provincial awards banquet hosted by the Town of Forestburg and their CiB Committee.

Municipalities received a Bloom Rating Certificate and Evaluation Report with special recognition to the communities of Holden, Bruderheim, Wainwright and Coaldale for being the winners within their respective population categories (* denotes Category Winner).

Population 1-500  

Calling Lake/MD of Opportunity - 4 Blooms | Consort - 3 Blooms

New Sarepta - 4 Blooms | Smokey Lake - 3 Blooms | Spirit River - 4 Blooms

Population 2,001-6,000  

Representing Encana at the 2011 awards was Mr. Don Letwinetz, Community Relations Advisor, based out of Ponoka.  Don brought greetings on behalf of Encana and also assisted by presenting the certificates and awards to communities.

Ms. Patricia Etris, Director of Community Involvement for Encana

Forestburg mayor, Robert Frizzell, graciously welcomed and congratulated all of this year's participating communities and made a point of telling them, "Remember,  you are all winners for your efforts!"

Dan Chambers, CiB Alberta Provincial Coordinator & Karen Snethun, CiB Alberta Newsletter Editor.

Encana's Don Letwinetz (left) presents the award for the Population 1-500 Category Winner to the representatives from Holden.

CiB Judge, Ed Toop (left), presents the award for the Population 501-2,000 Category Winner to the representatives from Bruderheim.

Immediate past National CiB Chair, Ted Blowes (left), presents the award for the 2,001-6,000 Category Winner to representatives from Wainwright.

John Helder, Principal of Horticulture from the City of Edmonton (left) presents the award for the Population 6000-15,000 Category Winner to representatives from Coaldale

Communities in Bloom Alberta extends a warm thank you to Janice Freadrich, Chair of the CiB Provincial Awards Organizing Committee and her team for a job well done at the Provincial Awards.  The event was a huge success with over 140 people in attendance - a fun and informative evening was had by all!

Well done Janice and Team (Alison Tibble, Simone Tschaja, Marion Oberg Riise, Sylvia Jahns, Elaine Fossen, Marlise Forster, Fay Hagel and Monica Northey).

Dan Chambers, CiB Alberta Provincial Coordinator & Karen Snethun, CiB Alberta Newsletter Editor.

The Edmonton Capital Region is excited to welcome visitors from across Canada and around the world to our doorstep in October 2012.  The national conference includes Communities in Bloom National Awards, Communities in Bloom Alberta Provincial Awardsand the National Symposium on Parks & Grounds.

The Capital Region involves municipalities from 500 to 750,000+ people.  Hosting this event as a region brings together cities, towns and villages in collaboration and community spirit. 

Over four days, visitors and delegates to the conference will have the opportunity to meet at least one local municipality the same size as their own.  The agenda includes presentations, tours, technical visits, exhibits and a variety of social opportunities.

CiB 2012 will uncover new programs and projects that can work in Alberta communities... communities of any size!

With an exciting theme of "Growing Vibrant and Sustainable Communities," CiB 2012 is about building enthusiasm and spirit for communities all across Alberta.  We are people, plants and pride... growing together.

Visit www.cib2012.com for more information and sign up for electronic updates.

Rodney Al, Communities in Bloom Coordinator, City of Edmonton, Parks.

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Congratulations to the following Alberta communities who participated in the 2011 National Edition of CiB:

Taber Confederation Park was built in 1967. At the opening ceremonies, Mayor Cook reminded the large crowd that, "It is your park to maintain and keep beautiful." Until they disbanded, the Horticultural Society was responsible for planting and maintaining the flower beds. It wasn't long before the beds were overgrown, some minor work was occasionally done without great improvement. A facelift was needed.

Working together to make a difference.

Taber Communities in Bloom members discussed the possibility of revamping the area and made it their 2011 project. In ten days, the area went from bare ground to beautiful. Dozens of volunteers spent hundreds of hours choosing and placing large prairie rocks, raking, spreading top soil, mixing in peat moss, hauling mulch, shoveling gravel, and planting.   

Tremendous financial support, goods and services from businesses and individuals brought the entrance back to life. This area has gone from seldom used to a place of activity. Way to go, Taber!

Confederation Park Now

Jean Holman & Karen Ingram, Taber CiB Committee.

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Berta Briggs views it as a privilege to have been judging Communities in Bloom for twelve years at the provincial, national and international levels.  Berta finds that judging is both an incredible learning experience and an amazing inspiration to see the growth in communities as they set and achieve goals.  Berta's background in the greenhouse business and years of active involvement in community organizations has given her the skills to evaluate and share

Berta Briggs, CiB Alberta Judge

suggestions and ideas with participating municipalities.

Berta grew up on a farm near Edmonton and attended the University of Alberta.   Following graduation she had the good fortune to travel extensively and live in a number of countries.  She returned to Alberta to raise three daughters and established Arber Greenhouses near Wetaskiwin in 1981.   With her daughter and son-in-law taking over the greenhouse Berta considers herself semi-retired and enjoys having more time for other interests such as Communities in Bloom.

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CiB Alberta judge, Sharon Miller, from Red Deer has an exciting story to tell.  As a newly-recruited judge to the Provincial CiB Judging team, Sharon had the opportunity to witness first hand TELUS' commitment to building healthy and vibrant communities across Canada. 

As part of Sharon's judging responsibilities, she was assigned to visit the great Alberta communities of Bon Accord, Fort Assiniboine, Smoky Lake and Bruderheim.  During these visits she saw that three of these communities had TELUS offices that could be updated to better fit into their local environment. 

In response to her findings, Sharon contacted TELUS, explained the situation, shared photos and asked for support.  TELUS responded promptly and agreed to work with the local municipalities and the CiB to rejuvenate these properties. 

Demonstrating their support of our concerns and commitment to enrich communities across Canada, TELUS immediately arranged a meeting between Sharon and Andrea Goertz, Senior Vice President of TELUS Strategic Initiatives.  Andrea is responsible for the Canadian real estate portfolio for TELUS and provided several suggestions for improving the offices in these communities.

As a result, TELUS is assigning a dedicated project manager and working directly with the various communities in the planning of these enhancements.  Sharon will assist TELUS by communicating this feedback to the residents in the various communities and act as the liaison for communities that wish to work with TELUS. 

This good news story is exciting for CiB Alberta and is a testimony to both the dedication of our volunteer judges as well as TELUS' strong commitment to working together with local residents to build sustainable communities. If your community is interested in this opportunity please send a note to Sharon at sharon@hoshi.ca.

Andrea Goertz, Senior Vice President of TELUS Strategic Initiatives & Sharon Miller, CiB Alberta Judge.

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Evergreen is now accepting applications for the Walmart-Evergreen Green Grants Program supporting community development, environmental stewardship and urban agriculture projects across Canada.  

CiB Alberta is revving up for the 2012 season by posting the registration form on the ARPA website. 

Get a copy of the registration form for your community here!  

We look forward to seeing you in 2012. 

Do you know a neighboring community that may be interested in participating in the CiB Alberta program?   If so, pass the contact information on to Dan Chambers, CiB Alberta Provincial Coordinator at dchambers@arpaonline.ca.  We would love to have them grow with us!