On Friday, June 12 at the Executive Royal Hotel nearly 200 regional and local business owners and operators attended the monthly Leduc Regional Chamber of Commerce Luncheon. The event was opened with a touching prayer by Kimberley Demchuk, a chamber board member, who focused on support and sympathies for the EPS fallen officer Daniel Woodall’s family and all other police officers who serve and protect us.
This month the luncheon sponsor was Leduc County Coalition aka Save Leduc County, a group of residents, land owners and business people who are deeply concerned by the consequences of Edmonton’s wish to annex 39,000 acres of Leduc County land. Clarence Shields, a well-known Nisku business owner and staunch community supporter, delivered a passionate speech on the threat of Edmonton’s proposed annexation: “Leduc County stands to lose 20 per cent of its tax base…this will affect all of us: tell the City of Edmonton what you think,” was part of his message.
An official of the Eskimos organization was a surprise speaker who played a dynamic video showing us that each year, Eskimos players and coaches make a difference every year in Alberta communities by attending nearly 800 community events, as well as hospital and school visits. Also, he reminded us that the Eskimos are all about quality football, and they even plan for a “great experience” as soon as fans enter the stadium. The Saturday June 13 Eskimos game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders was moved to Fort McMurray’s new stadium, as the Commonwealth Stadium was booked for FIFA soccer games.
NorQuest College was happy to report that its plans to create post-secondary, specialized training in our city are going well: establishing partnerships with the City of Leduc, Leduc County and others will be key to create a strong base for future courses, such as health care and firefighting classroom training, a “hub” format that will be a first for NorQuest College, and a model for others throughout Alberta.
The proceeds of the 50/50 were to go to LINX. At the end of the luncheon, a group of guests wearing blue to honour all police officers, agreed to a photo opportunity. Operation True Blue was created by Derryn Donaghey a former military police officer, following the tragic death of EPS member Daniel Woodall. As usual, the Leduc Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon was informative and entertaining: during the summer, the chamber team will remain active, and monthly luncheons will resume in September.