There is no doubt in Gerry St. Pierre’s mind how well last week’s 2013 Alberta 55 Plus Summer Games went.
“In my humble opinion, this was a tremendous success,” said the chair of the Games committee. “We couldn’t have done it without the 600-plus dedicated volunteers.”
The Games, co-hosted by Westlock and Barrhead, saw events take place in four different municipalities from July 25-28. Competitions were held in the town of Westlock, village of Clyde, the town of Barrhead and Barrhead County.
Granted St. Pierre admitted his own opinion is biased, he said the four-day festivities went off with very few hiccups. Fortunately, he said he heard from a lot of people involved with the Games in one way or another who backed up his thoughts.
“Wow” is the general sentiment he heard from almost everyone he spoke to during the Games — participants, volunteers, ambassadors, directors and members of hosting committees for upcoming Games.
He also recounted a story from the first day of the Games last Thursday, when everyone was checking in and registering at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre.
“We get them off the bus and we run them through a gamut of ambassadors and volunteers welcoming everybody,” St. Pierre said. “A couple of ladies walked in right behind me and one of them said ‘I feel like a princess.’”
Things may have been a tad dicey heading into the Games, but St. Pierre said a lot of the organizing committee’s concerns proved to be for naught.
While it looked like volunteers may have been hard to find, in the end there were more than enough yellow-shirted helpers to be found all over the place.
And although the volunteers were the driving force to make sure the Games were a success, the entire event would not have been possible if it weren’t for the co-operation of all the municipalities involved.
St. Pierre said the co-operation was so seamless, he doesn’t view the towns and counties of Westlock and Barrhead to be separate entities — to him, the only communities involved were Westlock, Barrhead and Clyde. And he saves a special commendation for the village.
“They really stepped up to the plate,” he said, referring to how the village hosted part of the slo-pitch tournament. “They’re so proud of their little community, the whole town has helped them create a really nice venue over there.”
During conversations he had during the Games, St. Pierre said he was questioned about how easy it is to host such an event in a small town, rural setting as opposed to a large urban centre with more access to the necessary amenities.
He was encouraged to be of the opinion it’s easier in a big city. However, he refused to accept that assertion.
“I told them there’s a huge advantage to hosting in a small town, primarily because of the people,” St. Pierre said. “You’ve got so many people who are community minded.”
