Barrhead and Westlock will host the 2013 55-Plus Summer Games.
Tourism, Parks and Recreation Minister Cindy Ady made the announcement May 19 in Westlock. Ady said that the support from Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Ken Kowalski and the collaboration between the County of Barrhead, the Town of Barrhead, Westlock County and the Town of Westlock factored into both communities being chosen as hosts.
“We are granting the 2013 55-Plus Summer Games to you folks,” she said.
Despite an optimistic attitude going into the meeting, the announcement came as a bit of a surprise to those in attendance, including Mayor Brian Schulz and County Reeve Bill Lee. Now that the games have been secured in a joint effort between the counties and towns of Barrhead and Westlock, the work can begin to ensure the athletes who compete will have the best possible experience, Schulz said, although nothing will likely happen for the next little while.
“It’s a go,” said Schulz. “We’re really looking forward to the next couple of years. This means people will be coming to our town to visit even before the Games begin in 2013, and this will do a lot to make Barrhead more visible across the entire province.”
There was shock throughout the entire room following the announcement, Schulz said, but the excitement on everyone’s face was nice to see. He estimated more than 100 people showed up for the meeting, and the minister was really pleased with the turnout.
“(Minister Ady) told us how rare it was to see four municipalities work together to create a successful bid,” Schulz said. “This will bring a definite economic boost to our community.”
The other municipality in the running to host the Games was Bonnyville, he added.
The minister also announced a total of $175,000 in funding to support the local effort to host a successful event, said Lee. A total of $125,000 was allotted for operations, $25,000 was allotted in legacy funding to ensure people remember the Games were held in Barrhead, and another $25,000 was allotted for cultural funding to incorporate the culture in the area.
Lee said everyone attending the meeting was elated following the announcement.
“We are very happy about the games being awarded to Barr-head and Westlock, and we’re also very happy about the minister announcing the province will be putting $175,000 toward the event,” he said.
Everyone had a pretty good idea going into this meeting that Barrhead and Westlock would get the Games, Lee added, but it wasn’t expected to be announced at the meeting itself, as it wasn’t supposed to be official until June.
The partnership between all four municipalities has been nothing but a positive experience, he added.
“This partnership has allowed us each to be more aware of what each other has in terms of facilities, and this could very well lead to many other joint ventures. We are close communities. We’re only a short distance away, and this could lead to possible spin-offs down the road.”
The bid committee will be attending this year’s Games in Fairview to see how they run the event, Schulz said. Furthermore, someone would have to be hired to manage the game locally, but that would happen at a later date.
“This announcement gives our committee two months to observe what’s going on in Fairview when they host the Games this year,” Lee said. “That will be very helpful for us.”
For more on the announcement regarding the successful 55-Plus Games’ bid, turn to Page 6B of the Town &Country.
