Less than 100 to go

Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter

 

April 7 officially marked 100 days until the Strathmore 2015 Alberta 55 Plus Summer Games are here, and organizers are excited to see their work come together.
“It’s exciting and it’s a work in progress, we’re certainly not completely ready, but we’re certainly moving in the right direction,” said Games Committee Chair Donalda Ledene. “I think it has been a great journey for our community and the members of our committee and hopefully we’re going to showcase our community to the province.”
Help and support are still needed to see the event go off without a hitch. One way to get involved is if you’re 55 or older, come out and participate in one of the zone playoffs happening in Strathmore over the next few months. By competing in zones you can have a chance to compete in the provincials this July. Anyone looking for more information on competing can contact the Activities Director Joss Binns at 403-934-2458.
“We really would like to see more people actually as participants in the games,” said Ledene. “We also, in hosting the games, have a great need for some people to come forward who would be willing to billet some participants from out of town and we’re always looking for volunteers. We need probably 700 to 800 volunteers during that four-day event so if people have a few hours that they can contribute and would register as a volunteer that would be great.”
Billet hosts are also needed for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights of the games. They are not required to provide meals, just a place to sleep. For more info on being a billet call 403-934-2976.
There are also some fun events to get involved in between now and July. One of them, which isn’t an event per se, is getting a ticket for the Dream Vacation Raffle. Tickets are $100 and enter you in for 12 chances to win a $5,000 travel voucher. There will be an open house at the Strathmore Golf Course on April 21 where people will be able to find out more about the games, and the draw for the raffle will be happening.
Other events happening include the Easy Going Open golf tournament on May 30, and the Beatles Tribute concert coming on June 20.
“We welcome people to participate as participants certainly but there’s all kind of opportunities for them to volunteer and share what time they have and what skills they have, we would love to hear from them,” said Ledene.
All the committee is asking of people is that they just help where they can. A volunteer form can be found online at 2015strathmoregames.ca. There are different areas to volunteer in and the shifts can work around what each volunteer is available for. If you’re interested in volunteering you can contact Bruce Bishop at 403-888-9914. The committee has a goal of raising $1.3 million. Currently, thanks to gifts in kind, grants, donations and fundraising efforts they are just shy of $1 million. Ledene expressed thanks to the many businesses that have supported all of the events organized.