SFD Calendar launch

Posted on: July 15, 2011 J A McRae

Shannon LeClair

Times Reporter

The launch of the 2012 firefighters calendar took place during the annual firefighters breakfast on July 1. This year things were done a little differently, and instead of different fire departments around Alberta being showcased, this year’s calendar focuses on the Strathmore Fire Department, SFD.

“So basically what we’ve done is we’ve completely internalized the calendar, we kind of created the calendar on our own,” said Ryan Parkins with the SFD.

“So it’s fully encompassing of our department…all the pictures in it are of our department, all the elements of it are of our department.”

There were three local photographers, and three members of the department who shot photos for the calendar.

This year, to help motivate people to support the calendar program, the SFD has put together a raffle that is going to go hand in hand with it. When people purchase a calendar they will be given a free raffle ticket into a draw for over $1,500 in prizes.

There is an early bird component too, and people who buy calendars before a certain date will get it. The date for the early bird is the end of July.

In the past the SFD has been featured in the calendar produced by the Fire Within. While the department was happy to work with them, it was time to try something new.

“One (reason) was to make it more personal so the community could connect with it a little bit better, so that people weren’t struggling just to find a reason to purchase a calendar,” said Parkins,

“On top of that, every year the association attempts to reinvigorate the enthusiasm towards community actions. This was just one of our methods of hoping to reinvigorate not only our members, but the public to be involved with the fire service and with the community.”

The SFD printed 1,000 copies for the first run, and Parkins said they hope to beat a previous record by selling more than 1,200 calendars. The calendars are selling for $20 and can be purchased at the fire hall, or by contacting any independent firefighter.