Last week was definitely my busiest week in Edgerton. Saturday was the Amazing Race, Monday was the Seniors BBQ, and Thursday was Edgerton's Kids day!
The Amazing Race was on Saturday August 13. Out of all the events I planned this summer, I was most excited for this one. I spend many hours promoting this event, and organizing locations and volunteers. I am very happy to say that the Edgerton community supported me in many ways with this event. Everything came together well and all of my locations had fantastic challenges. I used facebook as my primary way to stay in contact with the youth, and I had 14 youth register prior to the event and 13 maybe. After seeing these response I was very excited to see the turn out for the Amazing Race.However, to my shock only 3 youth actually come. This was very disheartening; however, we made the best of it and ran with it. One of the participants called her little brother and we ran the event with two teams. Despite the small turn out, this was still an amazing event. The challenges were very entertaining, and all the youth had a great time. Also, each participant went home with tons of awesome prizes! When I reflected on this event, I was initially was very sad because of the turn out, but then I thought of what the Mayor of Edgerton said. "It not about how many people come to the event, we do for one what we would do for 100, but what matters is that it impacts those who attend, and that they have a good time." Therefore, I can now proudly say that this event was a success, despite the small numbers, because the youth that attended did have a great time.
My next event was Monday August 15, a Seniors day. This event was designed to simply show the villages appreciation for our seniors. Originally we had planned to do lawn games and a BBQ. However, due to weather we were unable to play games, instead we enjoy a nice BBQ and visiting. 25 seniors attended this event, and overall I believe it was well received.
Finally, my last event was Edgerton Kids Day on August 18. This event was very well received by the community and families in the community. I had 20 kids registered and 19 attended. This event was designed to be an afternoon of games for kids ages 7 to 12. Overall, I would say this event was a success, all the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves. I believe the community of Edgerton benefited from these events, and I had lots of fun putting them.
Monday 22 August 2011
Friday 5 August 2011
The Beauty of Edgerton
Flower on Hwy 610
Clear Lake
Field on the gravel road just outside of Edgerton
Edgerton's train track
Edgerton sunset
Edgerton's Sports Grounds
My awesome walk to work
Edgerton's water tower
Only one month to go....
Wow, I can't believe that the summer is almost over all ready. This summer has been so awesome, and I have really loved working with the village of Edgerton. This month will be crazy for me, I have three major events, the First Responders conference, as well as finishing up everything I have started.
This last Wednesday was lots of fun for me. I experienced my first ever radio interview. I was interviewed on both Wainwright stations; Key AM, and Wayne FM. During both interviews I was able to talk about the Rural Capacity Internship, as well as Edgerton, and my events that are happening there. So far I have talked to a few people who heard me, and I am hoping that these interviews will boost the amount of people at my events. Furthermore, I was also interviewed by the news guys for course radio in this area, and he was going to play my interview during the news for the next couple days. All in all, I think it was a great time, and a great way to get some free publicity for Augustana LaB, Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities, Edgerton and for myself. Also this week there was a write up about me in the Edgerton Sand paper, as well as in the Wainwright Edge. I'm beginning to feel like I'm famous!!
This week has been finalizing many of my events. The Amazing race is just a week away.... bah! But I think it will be great! Right now I have 9 youth signed up and there are 14 maybes on facebook. Here's hoping they all say yes!! My next event will be on August 15. This is my Seniors BBQ night, which will be held at the Edgerton museum. This event is pretty much a seniors social. We will have a BBQ (which is sponsored by the village) then everyone can just visit and play lawn games for the rest of the evening. It will be a really relaxed evening, but also something nice to show our appreciation for our seniors. My last event will be Edgerton's Kids day.This will be an afternoon of fun games for kids ages 7 to 11.Similar to the seniors event, it is nothing formal, we will just play circle games, soccer and tag like games. This will be followed by a BBQ at 5 from participants and their families. Currently we have 9 kids signed up and I am hoping to get a few more. I am very excited for these events, and I hope that they show the youth and seniors that they are valued by their community.
I look forward to seeing how these events turn out, and how this last month goes. Its been a great time so far, and I am sure I will enjoy my last month.
This last Wednesday was lots of fun for me. I experienced my first ever radio interview. I was interviewed on both Wainwright stations; Key AM, and Wayne FM. During both interviews I was able to talk about the Rural Capacity Internship, as well as Edgerton, and my events that are happening there. So far I have talked to a few people who heard me, and I am hoping that these interviews will boost the amount of people at my events. Furthermore, I was also interviewed by the news guys for course radio in this area, and he was going to play my interview during the news for the next couple days. All in all, I think it was a great time, and a great way to get some free publicity for Augustana LaB, Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities, Edgerton and for myself. Also this week there was a write up about me in the Edgerton Sand paper, as well as in the Wainwright Edge. I'm beginning to feel like I'm famous!!
This week has been finalizing many of my events. The Amazing race is just a week away.... bah! But I think it will be great! Right now I have 9 youth signed up and there are 14 maybes on facebook. Here's hoping they all say yes!! My next event will be on August 15. This is my Seniors BBQ night, which will be held at the Edgerton museum. This event is pretty much a seniors social. We will have a BBQ (which is sponsored by the village) then everyone can just visit and play lawn games for the rest of the evening. It will be a really relaxed evening, but also something nice to show our appreciation for our seniors. My last event will be Edgerton's Kids day.This will be an afternoon of fun games for kids ages 7 to 11.Similar to the seniors event, it is nothing formal, we will just play circle games, soccer and tag like games. This will be followed by a BBQ at 5 from participants and their families. Currently we have 9 kids signed up and I am hoping to get a few more. I am very excited for these events, and I hope that they show the youth and seniors that they are valued by their community.
Friday 22 July 2011
Beautiful Beach Day
Playing Garbage Ball at Clear Lake
Teaching some kids how to play washers, they were pretty good
Yummy hot dogs, and chips for supper.
Monday 18 July 2011
Trails and Successes
This last Sunday was my first event, Edgerton Beach Day. It was a beautiful day, lovely weather and lots of sunshine. Unfortunately we did not have the turn out that I was hoping for. There was about 25 people who came out from Edgerton for the afternoon, mostly families, which was nice. We manage to get a few games going. we played garbage ball in the water, which was lots of fun. The kids also enjoyed throwing around a football, Frisbee and playing washers. Despite the small turnout I believe those who attended had fun. However, many left before the bbq and we ended up have only 12 people stay to eat. This was more disappointing because it was a free bbq and I had bought enough food for 100 people. I know 100 might have been a little optimistic, but I was hoping with all the advertising that we'd have a good turn out.
Nevertheless, I believe this event to have been a success. It was a good time for those who attended and I believe if we were to do it again next summer we'd have a better turn out. Every time you plan an event there is risk that people wont come. This event has taught me a lot about what it takes to run a successful event. Yes, advertising is important, but in a small town I believe it is just as important for you yourself to get out and talk to people. I believe it is this one on one that will convince people to come and to bring their friends and this is definitely something I will take into account for my next event.
It is hard to get a first time event off the ground in a small rural community. However, I take this as a challenge to work even harder to convince people to give first time events a chance. My next event will be the Amazing Race, so far I have had great community support and I hope that this support will continue on until the event.
Finally, a note to myself. Always check to see how many weddings and family reunions are going on before you plan an event for any particular weekend.
Nevertheless, I believe this event to have been a success. It was a good time for those who attended and I believe if we were to do it again next summer we'd have a better turn out. Every time you plan an event there is risk that people wont come. This event has taught me a lot about what it takes to run a successful event. Yes, advertising is important, but in a small town I believe it is just as important for you yourself to get out and talk to people. I believe it is this one on one that will convince people to come and to bring their friends and this is definitely something I will take into account for my next event.
It is hard to get a first time event off the ground in a small rural community. However, I take this as a challenge to work even harder to convince people to give first time events a chance. My next event will be the Amazing Race, so far I have had great community support and I hope that this support will continue on until the event.
Finally, a note to myself. Always check to see how many weddings and family reunions are going on before you plan an event for any particular weekend.
Monday 11 July 2011
The Diversity of a Small Town
Another week has come and gone. I can't believe that I have been here for two months already. This last week was filled with long days in the cemetery, unmarked graves and planning community events. This may sound like an odd combination, but when you work in a small town you get yo enjoy a wide variety of tasks.
Last week the Village of Edgerton had a crew come out to map the oldest part of their cemetery.The goal in doing this was to find any unmarked graves, as well as, to see if we have any open space we didn't know about in the cemetery. My job in all this was to create a physical map of where these unmarked graves were. I received help from one of the villages summer maintenance workers, and we went to work photographing, measuring and recording unmarked graves. This was actually a very interesting job. I got to learn a lot about the history if Edgerton, and the people who lived here before us.
Last week, I also finalize my first summer event, Edgerton's Beach Day. This event is open to everyone in Edgerton, and will be centered around a relaxing afternoon at the beach. I am very excited for this event as it will be a great way to meet more Edgertonites and promote my future summer events.
Finally, I also spent time working on the First Responders Conference. I attended a meeting about the logistics of the conference and how we are settings up discussions. I am really looking forward to this event, I believe it is very important for rural communities and that lots of important information will be transferred here. I encourage every small community to attend. Rural communities need to work together, and our voices are more likely to be heard when we banded together as a larger group. There needs to be support between rural communities, and this conference is one step for rural communities to work together to maintain the capacity that they already hold.
Last week the Village of Edgerton had a crew come out to map the oldest part of their cemetery.The goal in doing this was to find any unmarked graves, as well as, to see if we have any open space we didn't know about in the cemetery. My job in all this was to create a physical map of where these unmarked graves were. I received help from one of the villages summer maintenance workers, and we went to work photographing, measuring and recording unmarked graves. This was actually a very interesting job. I got to learn a lot about the history if Edgerton, and the people who lived here before us.
Last week, I also finalize my first summer event, Edgerton's Beach Day. This event is open to everyone in Edgerton, and will be centered around a relaxing afternoon at the beach. I am very excited for this event as it will be a great way to meet more Edgertonites and promote my future summer events.
Finally, I also spent time working on the First Responders Conference. I attended a meeting about the logistics of the conference and how we are settings up discussions. I am really looking forward to this event, I believe it is very important for rural communities and that lots of important information will be transferred here. I encourage every small community to attend. Rural communities need to work together, and our voices are more likely to be heard when we banded together as a larger group. There needs to be support between rural communities, and this conference is one step for rural communities to work together to maintain the capacity that they already hold.
Thursday 30 June 2011
Edgerton's Amazing Race
These are the poster I have been working on for The Amazing Race youth event. I've already begun putting them up and posting them on Facebook. I hope to start creating hype now, so that we can have a great turn out in August.
Friday 17 June 2011
Summer Take Off
I have had another good week in Edgerton. This week was a bit slower because both the CAO and Mayor have been out to different meetings, so I have had less to do. With that said I did achieve a milestone of sending 388 emails this week. Since the Rural Communities First Responders Conference has been changed, I was asked to email all (well not all but alot) of the fire chiefs and communities through Alberta to tell them of the change. This was a very time consuming task, but hopefully my email reminder will encourage more people to attend the conference at the end of summer. I also did alot of photocopying and phone calls this week, I sort of felt like a secretary.
Now for the exciting part of my week. Yesterday, I met with Brian a friend from Augustana who is working as a youth resiliency in this area. We discussed working together to put on some amazing youth event s in Edgerton this summer. After this meeting, we headed over to the school to discuss possible event ideas with the students. This meeting was a great way to get to know the students and also a great way to hear their voices. I was able to get tons of great ideas from the students and I look forward to doing as many as possible this summer.
After this meeting Brian and I discussed to major youth events we'd like to do. The first one is an art event that would combine the local artists with the youth artists. The rough idea for this event is to have a day were local artist can teach different painting, ect to the youth. Then at the end of the day we would have a community art show for the students as well as the local artists. I believe this will be a great way to bridge the generations as well as a great way to build community spirit.
The second idea we want to pursue is the Amazing Race! This is going to be a totally awesome event, that I believe the students are really pumped for. We are hoping to host this event at the beginning of August. This event will not only be lots of fun for the youth but it will also help to build community in Edgerton. We will take advantage of the local business and attractions and use these places as stops during the game. This will not only teach the youth about there community but it is also a great way for the community to meet the youth.
I believe these two events will be a great way to show the youth of Edgerton that their community cares about them. Besides these two major events, I am also hoping to put on a few more smaller events like village wide capture the flag, bigger or better, or drive in movie. These are just a few idea, but my goal is to make this summer as awesome as possible for the youth of Edgerton. I am also still hoping to hold at least one event that is geared towards the seniors. However, I will keep you posted as these events unfold. But it looks as if my summer may have just taken off, I'm looking forward to the adventure!
Now for the exciting part of my week. Yesterday, I met with Brian a friend from Augustana who is working as a youth resiliency in this area. We discussed working together to put on some amazing youth event s in Edgerton this summer. After this meeting, we headed over to the school to discuss possible event ideas with the students. This meeting was a great way to get to know the students and also a great way to hear their voices. I was able to get tons of great ideas from the students and I look forward to doing as many as possible this summer.
After this meeting Brian and I discussed to major youth events we'd like to do. The first one is an art event that would combine the local artists with the youth artists. The rough idea for this event is to have a day were local artist can teach different painting, ect to the youth. Then at the end of the day we would have a community art show for the students as well as the local artists. I believe this will be a great way to bridge the generations as well as a great way to build community spirit.
The second idea we want to pursue is the Amazing Race! This is going to be a totally awesome event, that I believe the students are really pumped for. We are hoping to host this event at the beginning of August. This event will not only be lots of fun for the youth but it will also help to build community in Edgerton. We will take advantage of the local business and attractions and use these places as stops during the game. This will not only teach the youth about there community but it is also a great way for the community to meet the youth.
I believe these two events will be a great way to show the youth of Edgerton that their community cares about them. Besides these two major events, I am also hoping to put on a few more smaller events like village wide capture the flag, bigger or better, or drive in movie. These are just a few idea, but my goal is to make this summer as awesome as possible for the youth of Edgerton. I am also still hoping to hold at least one event that is geared towards the seniors. However, I will keep you posted as these events unfold. But it looks as if my summer may have just taken off, I'm looking forward to the adventure!
Monday 13 June 2011
Smell like Lilacs
Last week was a good week here in Edgerton. On Tuesday I met with a group of Edgerton Seniors for lunch. It was fun to chat with them and to begin to get some ideas for what type of events they are interested in. I also researched different phone systems for our office, we have three quotes and I am hoping we can get one in here by the end of the month. Last week I also finished my preliminary review of Edgerton policy, and look forward to going over it with the administration so we can finalize the changes.
Last weekend was a busy one as the school enjoyed their 100th anniversary, a lovely couple from town enjoyed their 50th anniversary, and the Fire n' Wheels fundraiser came to town. The final number from this fundraiser isn't known yet, but I am sure it will go a long way in our Fire Hall building fund.
Also, the mayor has been keeping me busy with preparation for the First Responders conference. This event was scheduled for this month but as now been changed to August 26 and 27. This topic is something that the mayor of Edgerton is very passionate about and something that more rural communities need to be aware of. The purpose of this conference is to info people of the provinces plan to centralize ambulance dispatch to Edmonton and Calgary. This model however was not designed with rural communities in mind and neglects the very real fact that cell phone coverage is very limited in these areas. For this reason and many others, Edgerton is helping to host the First Responders Conference. This will be an important event for rural communities to come together and learn about this issue and also for them to develop solutions. Furthermore, this conference will also give the platform for a unite voice from small communities to the provincial government and Alberta health services. This event is very important for rural first responders as well as for the health and safety of rural communities and I look forward to being involved in this event.
Last weekend was a busy one as the school enjoyed their 100th anniversary, a lovely couple from town enjoyed their 50th anniversary, and the Fire n' Wheels fundraiser came to town. The final number from this fundraiser isn't known yet, but I am sure it will go a long way in our Fire Hall building fund.
Also, the mayor has been keeping me busy with preparation for the First Responders conference. This event was scheduled for this month but as now been changed to August 26 and 27. This topic is something that the mayor of Edgerton is very passionate about and something that more rural communities need to be aware of. The purpose of this conference is to info people of the provinces plan to centralize ambulance dispatch to Edmonton and Calgary. This model however was not designed with rural communities in mind and neglects the very real fact that cell phone coverage is very limited in these areas. For this reason and many others, Edgerton is helping to host the First Responders Conference. This will be an important event for rural communities to come together and learn about this issue and also for them to develop solutions. Furthermore, this conference will also give the platform for a unite voice from small communities to the provincial government and Alberta health services. This event is very important for rural first responders as well as for the health and safety of rural communities and I look forward to being involved in this event.
Monday 6 June 2011
New job, New Challenges, New rewards
Despite technically work in this internship for a month now, I am only starting my second week of work here in Edgerton. My first week was a whirl wind for meeting people, getting oriented, and being give a list of jobs to work on. However, even with all this craziness I am adjusting and fitting in quite quickly. I love Edgerton, and the office I work in and I am looking forward to this summer. Last week I began planning a seniors event, it is still very early on and the date may be being changed, nevertheless, I am excited for it. I am slowly learning that I will be doing a little bit of everything here. Last week I was planning events, and this week I am looking into a new phone system for the village.
I am, also, living in Edgerton. This will enable me to become a part of the community and really get to know the people I am working with and the community I am serving. I will be living it up high class, in my holiday trailer, but I have made a deal with Edgerton and will be campground manager, so it all worked out well. I am looking forward to my adventure this summer and can't wait to see how I will help this community.
I am, also, living in Edgerton. This will enable me to become a part of the community and really get to know the people I am working with and the community I am serving. I will be living it up high class, in my holiday trailer, but I have made a deal with Edgerton and will be campground manager, so it all worked out well. I am looking forward to my adventure this summer and can't wait to see how I will help this community.
Thursday 19 May 2011
Edgerton
So today was my first time in Edgerton. It was about a 2 hour drive from my house in Kingman going east on hwy 14. It was a nice little drive and there is some beautiful country around the town. Edgerton has three restaurants (which I thought was super cool), aswell as two churches, two banks, a school, a library, a curling rink and hockey rink, post office, hotel, two liquor stores, UFA, and a museum. They also have a lovely little 12 site campground, which will be my home for the next 3 months. I also learned that only 15 minutes away there is 3 lakes. I checked them out today, they are really nice, and hopefully I'll be able to get some swimming in. I really look forward to my summer in Edgerton and can't wait till Tuesday when the real work begins.
p.s picture's are to come.
p.s picture's are to come.
Sunday 15 May 2011
work is soon to start
Well I have formally finished my first week in the Rural Capacity Internship. Last week was an adventure as I got to better know my fellow interns; from scavenger hunts to lectures to blogging and video making. On friday I was able to meet my community partner. It was exciting to finally learn what I will be doing. It sounds like I will be wearing many hat; from youth programing, to senior events, to policy and anything and everything around town. I am excited to begin. This week will be sort of slow, since I will be working out of home, but come next week the fun will begin. Can't wait, this summer will be interesting.
Monday 9 May 2011
Creation
Today is the first day of my Rural Internship. I am yet to know what exactly I will be doing, but I have a blog so you all will know when I know.
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