ACE Bloggers

Facilitate with Fun, Fervor and Focus!

Facilitate … around the bends in the road!

Change! Flexibility!  Uncertainty!  These are often common experiences infacilitation processes.  I and...

Facilitate … with inspiration from a Christmas Poem!

Twas the Night before the Workshop(with thanks and apologiesto Clement Clarke Moore)“Twas the night before the workshop...

Facilitate ... within someone else’s design

It’s good to get “shook up” every now and then! I normally facilitate and design discussions, meetings, and...

Facilitate … by watching, listening, participating.

I watched ... I listened ... I supported ... I participated! Is this facilitation? Yes! Last week, I was part of a...

My Facilitation … Don’ts!

I do windows … but I don’t do icebreakers, parking lots, and “touchy-feely”!It’s summertime and the livin’ is...

Pioneerleadership's Blog

Finding Space to Engage

Most people want to have a say in how decisions are made, especially if that decision impacts their lives. How do we get...

Engaging in Life or Ignoring It

“Kids,” he said, “were dying all over. And every morning you’d wake up and ask, “Where did Charlie go? And the...

Brave New World, The American Dream and Ayn Rand

Investigative journalist Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now!” headed down to the park on November 16th, where  the Occupy...

Occupy Democracy

“…the threat persists; we are not entirely rid of it. And against injustice, our anger remains intact. Indeed the...

Voices We Listen to… (or not)

Understanding the significance of the many voices we hear each day is a tremendous challenge. How do we decide what to pay...

Grassroots Enterprises

Mentor Mutualism?

There’s a new man in my life. While I’m not sure quite how to describe our relationship, I do know it’s an...

Both Sides of Our Brain?

Last week during the closing circle of our team’s all day strategic planning session, I was struck by a comment from one...

A Perfect Storm?

Even though it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever be able to change the world, I know that at the very least I can work toward...

Risk Adverse or Risk Smart?

I am an excessively optimistic person born to look on the bright side of life. As a result, I am struggling to understand...

Leadership Learnings for a New Year

As the holidays draw to a close and we get back to the reality of more typical regimes, I’ve been reflecting about the...

Arts & Culture with ACE

Resolved for 2012

This past December I threw down the gauntlet and challenged our province’s grassroots community leaders to make a...

What's Your 2012 Community Building Resolution?

For the New Year, many of us are inclined to make personal resolutions… to exercise more, to eat better, to spend more...

Aboriginal Arts, Culture, and Heritage Grants

Just recently, my colleague Brenda Herchmer, Director of ACE Communities, and myself facilitated a session on the “The...

I'm only one...

I’m not going to lie… it all looked a little dubious. A designated meeting point on the side of the highway, calls back...

Volunteer... the opportunity is out there!

I seem to be doing a lot of volunteering lately. And it’s not for the same organization or even for the same cause for...

ARPA Children in Nature

Children in Nature January Update

Greetings to Children in Nature Enthusiasts!This service is provided by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association...

Children in Nature November Update

Greetings to Children in Nature Enthusiasts!This service is provided by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association...

Children In Nature September Update

Greetings to Children in Nature Enthusiasts.This service is provided by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association...

Children in Nature June Update

Hello all Children in Nature subscribers. This is a long one! This service is provided by the Alberta Recreation and...

Jan/Feb Children in Nature Update

Hello AllThis service is provided by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA). This is our Jan/Feb update. I...

POPULUS community planning inc.

The power in consultation

What on earth is “true public consultation”?  This question begs to be asked after reading an article in the January...

An entrepreneurial city hall

An entrepreneurial city hall is one that makes room for the city's creativity - the ultimate entrepreneurship.

Massive gathering

People are compelled to gather.  We are compelled to have time alone and in small groups, and we are also compelled to...

Survival systems

This is the headline that wrapped up my hiking trip on the West Coast Trail a week ago today:  Rescuers from Comox had to...

The Pulse of Kingdom

The pulse of our kingdom is strong today as we cast our ballots to choose our federal government in the wake of the Royal...

How does your community grow?

Tis the Season - Giving Creativity

This time of year, could be quite dull if it were not for the onset of Christmas. I almost have a practical interest in the...

I am attracted to limit pushers

What is a limit pusher? Based on the context it was used the first time I heard it, the definition implies a limit...

Connecting 4excellence

Evidence

that working out at work works!Check out this CBC interview working out at work and see how tread mill desks in the...

How to WOW

Recently I was up in Grande Prairie and did a keynote for their WOWposium. It was on how to give exceptional customer...

How to Start Taking Action: People and Politics

There are many ways to start taking action. Here's one example:I was at a gathering this week and we were put into pods,...

My Kind of Research

"Talking explores history. Doing rewrites it." - National Geographic MagazineThat is a revolutionary...

Thank you!

Please and Thank you are things we learn to say when we're growing up. Parents remind their kids to thank others and we're...

........... Service Excellence

Service Excellence November 2011 Update

How do we assess our organizational capacity? Do our stakeholders have confidence in the effectiveness of the recreation...

June Service Excellence Program UPDATE

UPDATEWhat constitutes "Service Excellence" for those who deliver parks and recreation services? ARPA is well on the way to...

Striving for Excellence - Guest Blog

It might not sound like a big deal to some, but I recently did my first interview via Skype. I had to push myself to get...

The Experts are Speaking

Five expert panels have been working diligently to critique and enhance the Service Excellence Framework: one panel for...

Expert Panel Reviews About to Begin

The proposed Service Excellence Framework proposes core organizational competencies in five module areas: programs,...

Promoting Physical Activity

Video fun

Step counts and cadence

Active Canada 20/20: Speak up now!

Exploring walkability solutions in not-so walkable places

Physical Activity Counselling Toolkit

Dance Debut Insights

Creating!

Hot off the press last week was the new book by world reknowned author and healer, Louise Hays, and life coach...

Self Creation of Limitations

Sitting on my desk is a quote that I heard on a talk show a few weeks back:  "Many people are bound and held in the...

Walk the Talk

What is the most repeated phrase you say to yourself each day.  Do you look in the mirror and berate yourself for your...

Are you taking care of YOU?

For the last few weeks I have been training in new methods of delivering information about how to repair the body easily...

Be Careful What You Ask For!

When the movie “The Secret” came out, I was hooked.  I got to work thinking about my dreams and I created my own...

aceval

Imagination…priceless!

As I was reading with interest the most recent ACE Newsletter, I was reminded that I had not submitted a blog for some...

we're all in it together....

At this time of harvest and with Canadian Thanksgiving fast becoming a memory, I would like to reflect on the bounty that...

Catch summer ....

Catch summer while it is here….Dare I say that things are calming down for summer? That said, we have had several...

Wasn’t that a party, Trochu ?

Yes, it was…. Their Honors, Lieutenant Governor Donald and Mrs. Ethell added a regal element to the birthday celebrations...

Trochu Has Taste!

Trochu has Taste !!…at least that’s what some 400 people were raving about after the Taste of Trochu event held at the...

Letisha McFall

Who Makes the Rules Anyway?

Last Sunday was the perfect fall day - warm sun, stunning tree colour, blue sky.  A perfect Alberta Day.  As I...

Rural Towns are my Cup of Tea

I love to visit Alberta communities especially on market day or when there is a special event being sponsored by the town...

A Community Waltz

I took dancing lessons for a number of years. When I close my eyes I  can still feel the "to and fro" of the music as...

Insights

Community Planning - Alberta Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Resource Manual

“When you see a new trail, or a footprint you do not know. Follow it to the point of knowing”- Uncheedah-Core Beliefs...

13 Ways To Kill Your Community

“13 Ways to Kill Your Community” – Doug Griffiths MLA Battle River – Wainwright Constituency and Kelly Clemmer,...

Proven Leadership

Proven leadership??!! How often have we heard this term over the past several weeks? Obviously it must be that time...

Volunteer Burnout or is Volunteer Bashout?

In the volunteer world we often contribute volunteers leaving a program to something we call volunteer burnout. But is it...

Building Community Capacity

From April 30 - May 1, 2010 the Indigenous Sport Council (Alberta) hosted their Sport and Recreation Conference. The...

THE CATALYST

Cutting Through the Bull****

As fermenting grapes become wine over time, oft-repeated myths become “truth”. These myths are especially pervasive and...

Social Growth- What's It All About?

A funny thing happens when you ask the average Alberta municipal politician about the social growth of his or her...

Economic Growth- Alberta Style?

How has the average Alberta community coped with economic growth in the past three decades? It’s about the same way a...

What Is Community Growth?

We’re in the warm-up to the most important day in Alberta community life, and no, I’m not referring to the day of the...

The Invisible People

Robert Pickton’s evil deeds challenge every value we humans hold dear. They transcend the essence of humanity, and raise...

Emerging Leaders Blog of the Week

Partnerships, Parties and Players

More from Mount Royal, here are our last three bloggers from the Recreation and Community Development class. What an...

Diverse Communities of University Students

There's diversity in all communities, the students of Mount Royal University are no exception. From snowboarding and the...

Something to talk about

Read Tim Thurston's blogs on a very unique community, one that doesn't seem to have an identity:...

Keep your eyes peeled

on these bloggers. Join these Mount Royal University leaders making a difference in their communities as each share their...

What are emerging leaders saying about community development?

This week five Mount Royal University students are featured bloggers. They talk about communities they're a part of, how...

View From the Hill

Becoming a Community Builder: Part 6

A great woman once said: “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” Summer is upon us and so too is the...

Becoming a Community Builder: Part 5

Well it’s that time of year…Holiday weekend wrapping up, summer in view, Recreation and Parks month just a little while...

Becoming a Community Builder: Part 4

Spring is upon us and we are all getting ready for all that it means in the Recreation and Parks/Quality of Life...

Becoming a Community Builder: Part 3

Becoming a Community Builder, “Big Picture Thinking” is the third of six webcasts based on community leadership...

March Webcast-Big Picture Thinking

Becoming a Community Builder, “Big Picture Thinking”. Capra said that for leaders to be effective today, they needed...

Foresight

Professional Competencies and TrendScanning

ACE Communities has developed a leadership competency framework that places emphasis on vision, big picture thinking,...

Arts in the US - 1998 to 2007

'Americans for the Arts' has just produced the National Arts Index - an annual measure of the health and vitality of the...

Potential for Permanent Shift in Tourist Behaviour

The UN World Tourism Organization expects global tourism to rebound strongly after "one of the most difficult years", the...

The Great Outdoor Recreation Debate

Over the past couple of decades, we have concluded that demand for outdoor recreation will remain high and more stable that...

Fitness Predictions for 2010 - What's Hot

It's that time of year again - when leadership organizations in the fitness world make their predictions for the upcoming...