President's Message

Hello fellow members,

It's been a while since my last message and there are things happening at the provincial Board level that I would like to share with all of you.

Your Provincial Board is hard at work and I might add, happy to be doing some planning for the upcoming games. There seems to be lots of excitement and anticipation of things to come. There will be a flurry of activities and no doubt, our resources will be tested. With your patience and understanding, we will most certainly rise to the challenge.

The Covid pandemic has been with us for more than a year now and we can only hope that it will be gone one day soon. I hope you're all managing to keep well and remain vigilant. No doubt there is a collective sigh of relief that seniors can finally start to book and receive their vaccination shots (if so inclined) starting immediately. There is an appreciation that it will take time for the vaccination program to reach our entire membership but, it will happen.

In anticipation of that news, we have revised and amended our Covid 19 medical waiver to include a "vaccination awareness" piece that addresses concerns about large gatherings. This waiver will be mandatory at all our Zone and provincial events.

We are all watching and digesting AHS news releases that come out weekly from the government, and are anxiously awaiting for the good news that we can once again meet, compete and enjoy fellowship with others from across the province. What a wonderful thought...

I am happy and very pleased to announce that Zone 6 (EDMONTON) has been awarded the opportunity to host the Provincial Winter Games and are currently working on fine tuning all the details. The specific dates are April 7-10, 2022. Stay tuned for more details as they become available. Finally we can start looking forward to catching up with old friends, engaging in competition, and venturing outside our own homes.

A reminder to everyone that the Provincial Summer Games are still currently slated for Peace River in June, 2022. They are busy, excited and ready to welcome us up to the Peace Region area.

Both of these major events will require the province to lift the medical guidelines that as of right now, prohibit large gatherings such as these. Lets hope that this news happens soon, as we are moving forward with the planning and organizing of these games.

Don't forget that the Canada 55 games are still planned for August, 2022 in Kamloops, BC. Of course, they are needing government and city approvals to do so.

I must say that will be a very busy time for our Activity Directors and we will be looking for many volunteers to assist with our preparation for those Kamloops games. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

There are a couple of new Board members that were recently elected to a few vacant positions and I would like to welcome them into their new roles. Caroline Anker is the new Technical Director North and Gary Paukert is the new Vice President South. Welcome and congratulations to both of you.

A gentle reminder that we have our spring AGM coming up on May 3, 2021 in Red Deer (if in person) otherwise it will be a virtual meeting held by Zoom format. Please mark the date on your calendars.

In closing, please continue to beat the drum. Continue to support Alberta55 plus, continue to tell family and friends about us, continue to stay active, stay involved and stay vigilant.

Dave Finn
President

Established in 1980, Alberta 55 plus is a not for profit, volunteer driven group of people. We help mature Albertans enjoy a healthy, vital future through active lifestyle choices. We promote sports and recreation development for all Albertans 55 years of age and older. Our membership includes Albertans from eight different zones of the province.

Collectively, we support the Alberta 55 plus Summer/Winter Games and the Canada 55 plus Games.