ACE Commun ities June Update

Posted on: Jul 05 2010 | Posted in: ACE Announcements


In this issue:
1. VOTE FOR ACE COMMUNITIES’ PEPSI REFRESH PROJECT!!
2. WE SANG & DANCED ACROSS ALBERTA!
3. EVER CONSIDERED RUNNING FOR MUNICIPAL ELECTION?
4. BENEFITS DATABANK – NEW NAME, NEW FORMAT
5. SUMMER WIND UP FOR OUR COMMUNITY BUILDING WORKSHOPS
6. LONDON’S CALLING…
7. JANET, OUR CREATIVE CULTURAL LIAISON, SPEAKING AT CCA CONFERENCE
8. REMINDER ABOUT THE ARPA 2010 CONFERENCE
9. RECREATION IN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES
10. BLOGGER HIGHLIGHTS
11. COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS
12. NEW RESOURCES
13. FEATURED RESOURCE OF THE MONTH
14. ACTIVE ALBERTA POLICY FALLS SHORT
15. HIGH FIVE® TRAINING TIDBITS
16. DEADLINE FOR NEWSLETTER SUBMISSION

A.C.E. COMMUNITIES HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE AS THE RESULT OF FUNDING FROM RURAL ALBERTA’S DEVELOPMENT FUND, ENCANA, CENOVUS ENERGY, AND CANWEST

1.  VOTE FOR ACE COMMUNITIES’ PEPSI REFRESH PROJECT!!
Pepsi is funding a variety of community projects through their ‘Pepsi Refresh Project Program’.  Those selected for the shortlist will be viewable on line after July 1st at 6:00 pm EST. The public will then vote for the winner of the $100,000 prize. The good news is ACE made the shortlist based on a proposal submitted by ACE Creative Cultural Liaison, Janet Naclia. We’ll need your help in spreading the news to your friends and family so they can vote before August 31, 2010.  We’ll send out the exact link for voting as soon as it becomes available at http://www.refresheverything.com/

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2. WE SANG & DANCED ACROSS ALBERTA!
The ACE Communities ARTS Tour has now wrapped for the summer. The Tour recently visited Hanna and Longview where it held music and dance related workshops as well as Open Mic Nights in each community.  As one participant said: ““Who can miss this type of educational opportunity!?”. Including the Tour that happened in Grande Cache in March, the overall ACE Tour now has a participant count of over 1600! Way to embrace the arts, rural Alberta, and to set a shining example to the rest of the province. For highlights of the Tour see Janet Naclia’s, the ACE Creative Cultural Liaison, recent blog:  http://artsandculturewithace.blogspot.com/2010/06/show-will-go-on.html

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3.  MUNICIPAL ELECTION PANEL A SUCCESS
ACE Communities is committed to supporting strong community leaders and what better way to do that than at the local municipal level. A special online conference call featuring a panel of ACE leaders (who also just happen to be elected municipal councillors) was a hit! Tracey Melnyk from Entwistle, Bill Cunningham from Trochu, and Carrie Demkiw from High Level all shared their learnings about what influenced their decision to run and what was involved. Read Brenda Herchmer’s summary of the panel at http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/comments/leading_locally/.  Kitscoty ACE Coach, Lois Byers, also wrote an article stressing the importance of running for Council. See http://acecoaches.blogspot.com/2010/05/upcoming-kitscoty-election.html

4.  BENEFITS DATABANK – New Name, New Format!
The Benefits Catalogue has been renamed to Benefits DataBank to better reflect it’s online, continuous updating. It will also better describe the Trends and Promising Practices data which will be published soon. Here are some examples of the latest research added to the catalogue:  – Legacies of North American Olympic Winter Games: Executive Summary – The Economic Impact of Canada’s Largest Festivals and Events – The mental and physical health outcomes of green exercise
To see these and other recent additions, go to: http://benefitsdb.acecommunities.ca/search.php?=&sortby=Created_on

5. SUMMER WIND UP FOR OUR COMMUNITY BUILDING WORKSHOPS
It’s hard to believe that we have now completed the first round of our ACE Community Building workshops!  Over the past year, ACE Communities has completed 15 workshops in communities from Fort McMurray to Crowsnest Past, from Jasper to Youngstown, and many stops in between. We have met phenomenal people and have had incredible learnings as to how we can contribute to enhancing the quality of life in rural Alberta. We will now be assessing the last round of workshops with the goal of continuing them in the fall. If you are interested in hosting a community building workshop in your community, contact Carolyn Mead: cmead@aceleaders.ca

6.  LONDON’S CALLING…
One of our key learnings about change is not to wait to for everyone to get on board but to instead work with the early adopters. As a result, we are grateful to the City of London, Ontario who recently sponsored Brenda Herchmer and Carolyn Mead to deliver training related to community building and community development. We shared what we’ve learned while they taught us more about how to roll out ACE in larger communities. They have had great sucess in getting buy-in for an integrated service delivery model that involves 125 agencies serving children, youth, and families.They’ve also contributed to our sustainability strategy by purchasing another 200 Community Leaders Toolkits. 

7.  JANET, OUR CREATIVE CULTURAL LIAISON, SPEAKING AT CCA CONFERENCE
ACE Communities to pleased to announce that Janet Naclia, our Creative Cultural Liaison, has been selected as the result of a pan-Canadian competition to speak as part of the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) ‘Emerging Thinkers Speed Speaker Series’. We are excited that Janet will be able to provide ACE insights as part of their national policy conference, “Artists: Powering the Creative Economy?.” Janet’s talk will be part of the event taking place in Ottawa on November 2, 2010.  For more info on the conference and on the CCA conference as well as their ‘Emerging Thinkers Speed Speaker Series’ Event, see: http://ccarts.ca/en/documents/EmergingSpeedSpeakersRFP_001.pdf

8. REMINDER ABOUT THE ARPA 2010 CONFERENCE
The next ARPA Conference and Energize Workshop: Renaissance 2010 – Endless Possibilities will take place October 21-23 at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.  Planning for the educational and social portions of the 2010 ARPA Conference and Energize Workshop is well underway, and the Organizing Committee would like to offer you a sneak peek into some of the highlights…  Jim Carroll and Bruce Kirkby have been confirmed as keynote presenters. There will also be sessions on: Community Building, Sponsorships and Partnerships, Risk Prevention and Management, Tips for Healthy Communications, Regional Land-Use Planning- Tools for Communities, and Experiential Learning Sessions including outdoor activities.  Visit http://www.2010.arpaonline.ca for additional program and accommodation reservation details.

9. RECREATION IN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES
We are very pleased to announce that this year’s ARPA Conference in Jasper will include a one-day pre-conference session focusing on recreation, arts, culture, and heritage in Aboriginal communities.  This session will be a full day one on Thursday, October 21.  For more info contact Janet: jnaclia@aceleaders.ca
Thank you to those who were able to join us this month for the Aboriginal Recreation Meeting hosted by ARPA and the ISCA. As you will see from the conference call meeting summary at the link below, information and resources relevant to those delivering aboriginal recreation and sports were shared. Please note the next conference call meeting will be held on THURSDAY, AUGUST 5 at 10:00 AM. Call in at 1.888.289.4573 using passcode 9374575#. 
http://docs.google.com/a/aceleaders.ca/View?docID=0AVC9QlqMOl13ZGQ4N3A3a3RfMjY2Z2o3d2pmY3E&revision=_latest
The Indigenous Sport Council Alberta with its partners Alberta Recreation Facility Personnel Association and ARPA have held preliminary discussions with respect to developing further training opportunities for community staff in aboriginal communities. However, we need your input as to what training and development is required. 1) Is it training in the area of facility operations, management and administration? 2) Is it in the area of recreation leadership development? 3) Is it in the area of program development and delivery.  Please forward your thoughts/ ideas/ opinions to waynepage@shaw.ca.

10.  BLOGGER HIGHLIGHTS
We had a diverse group of blogs this month all focused on how to improve the quality of life in our communities.  This is just a small sampling from our wide selection of ACE bloggers so make sure to include us as part of your summer reading lists.  All blogs can be found at ace.communities.ca.
Check out BRENDA HERCHMER’s blog, “From Analysis Paralysis to Traction & Action”, on how to plan with action.  CAROLYN MEAD’s “Babes in the kitchen” is a playful blog on how to incorporate childcare into community building.  Also check out LES BROST’s insightful blog, “What’s his role?”, on the role of Alberta’s Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett.  BARB PEDERSEN sums up key points for good facilitating in “Facilitate with…. the 3Fs”.

11.  COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS
For more details go to acecommunities.ca and scroll down to “Community Highlights”.  Here are some highlights from June:
SYLVAN LAKE proves that gardeners do come in all ages and abilities.The local ACE group approached the Youth Advisory Council on how to build volunteerism and leadership among the youth. The Youth Advisory Council decided on the goal of building a garden in the high school court yard. After that, the garden concept has “blossomed” and spread to other schools where the focus is building flower and vegetable gardens on school grounds. Great work Sylvan Lake!
Check out this innovative project by CHESTERMERE!  “Bake It Don’t Fake It” is a fun, creative opportunity for everyone to come and learn an old fashioned skill in a new way!  Bring your family, make up a baking team and learn how to bake a Red Ribbon Apple Pie—for FREE!  This pie making workshop happens Friday August 20th, 7 to 8 pm.  Please Pre-register by Friday August 13th, by phone or e-mail 403 272 7170 × 223 or accounting@chestermerecrca.com
DIDSBURY is leaping forward with the plans for their ACE initiative. Essentially, they will be focusing on: 1) communication, which includes the two way communication between organizations and the community as well as communication and collaboration between organizations 2) youth, which includes consistent and safe places, reliable mentorship and varied activities such as sports, arts, cooking, lifeskills, leadership, etc. and 3) volunteerism.  Currently, they are developing a survey via survey monkey to determine what mechanisms the community is using to communicate and to discover if they are missing key mechanisms that the community would prefer, such as community event signage.
Early ACE Communities work in NANTON identified that while there were a lot of strengths in the community, efforts weren’t always connected and coordinated.  That changed on Saturday, June 19th when over 300 volunteers came together to build a playground after connecting with ACE Ambassador Ian Hill and being awarded assistance and support from his Let Them Be Kids initiative.  For the full story see their video at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ltbk—-nanton
Congratulations to KILLAM who was also just awarded a Helping Hands award from ACE Ambassador’s Let Them Be Kids Foundation. They are well on their way to an ambitious and meaningful redesign of their town’s major park that will truly enhance it as a community meeting place.

12.  NEW RESOURCES
Have you checked out the great new weekly resources at acecommunities.ca?  ACE Communities is diligently adding new resources and training opportunities related to community development to its website.  Make sure to check out: the ‘Resource Links’, the ‘Arts, Culture, & Heritage’ resource section, the ‘Training Opportunities’ section, ‘ACE Announcements’, the new ‘Aboriginal Communities’ blog, and our live Twitter feed. And, if you happened to miss Ian Hill’s most recently webcast about planning using a community development approach, you can check it out at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/7888748#utm_campaigne=synclickback&source=http://acecommunities.ca/community-builder/archive/&medium=7888748

13.  FEATURED RESOURCE OF THE MONTH
It has come to our attention that sometimes we take things for granted like…. the amazing resources available for our ACE Communities and partners!  So, we will be dedicating this space in the newsletter to highlight one of our ACE resources.
This month we are featuring Janet Naclia, the ACE Creative Cultural Liaison.  Janet is the member of our team who deals with all things related to arts, culture, and heritage. You would be amazed at the opportunities there are to include arts, culture, and heritage in your activities. From summer film fests, heritage signs for trails, grant applications, or new artist co-ops, Janet can advise you on how to maximize the impact that Creativity can have in your community!  That C is in ACE for a reason!!!  Contact her directly with any questions: jnaclia@aceleaders.ca.

14.  ACTIVE ALBERTA POLICY FALLS SHORT
At its recent June meeting, the ARPA Board of Directors concluded its review of the Alberta government’s recently released draft ACTIVE ALBERTA: A Recreation, Active Living and Sport Policy by determining that, from its perspective, the draft fell far short of representing a comprehensive provincial recreation policy.  For more information on ACTIVE ALBERTA, or to download a copy of the draft policy, please visit tpr.alberta.ca/recreation/activealberta/default.aspx
The ARPA Board of Directors will be seeking to meet with Ministry officials and will be preparing a formal brief in response to the ACTIVE ALBERTA draft document. ARPA members will also be apprised of more specific ARPA positioning in the coming days prior to the ACTIVE ALBERTA online survey closing date.  All ARPA members are encouraged to submit their feedback on the draft policy by completing the ACTIVE ALBERTA online survey, which is available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ActiveAlberta until July 16th.

15.  HIGH FIVE® TRAINING TIDBITS
There’s still time to book HIGH FIVE® training for your summer staff!  Why HIGH FIVE®?  Because it’s Canada’s only comprehensive quality assurance standard for organizations providing recreation and sport programs to children aged 6 to 12.  HIGH FIVE® ensures that program and day camp leaders are trained in the best practices for children’s play, focusing on the principles of healthy child development.
Partnering with Canadian Sport for Life, HIGH FIVE® Sport will be Canada’s only comprehensive quality assurance standard for children’s sport and recreation intended to help promote long-term athlete development. HIGH FIVE® Sport ensures that coaches, leaders, and instructors have the tools and knowledge to create positive experiences for children participating in sport.
To learn more about HIGH FIVE®, view existing local training opportunities, or request training, please visit http://www.highfive.arpaonline.ca or contact Denise Gariépy at dgariépy@arpaonline.ca or 780-644-1779.

16.  DEADLINE FOR NEWSLETTER SUBMISSION
Do you have ACE-related news to share for inclusion in the newsletter?  Please submit any news to Janet Naclia jnacliaaceleaders.ca by the 20th of every month.

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