(l-r) Eric Neuman, Community Services Coordinator, Catriona Le May Doan, two time Olympic gold medalist and Rose Poulson, Seniors Services Coordinator and lead organizer of the conference.
The Badlands Community Facility was buzzing with over 350 people on Tuesday and Wednesday who were taking part in the Grey Matters Conference.
The conference offered provincial service providers the opportunity to network, gain knowledge and increase their awareness of issues, and supports and services for seniors in Alberta.
Rose Poulson, Seniors Services Coordinator for the Town of Drumheller, said the conference was overall a great success.
Poulson said she would like to thank everyone who was a part of the conference including the planning committee for all the hard work they put into making the event a success and also Alberta Seniors who co-hosted the event with the Town.
“A big thank you to the delegates that came to the Drumheller and the community which was so supportive,” Poulson said.
Several of the businesses in downtown Drumheller kept their doors open late on Tuesday night to allow the delegates to take part in a passport activity as well as a taste of Drumheller activity as part of the discovery Drumheller portion of the conference.
Delegates also had the opportunity to go to the Royal Tyrrell Museum for a tour and a wine and cheese experience.
“We had comments like ‘this was the best conference ever’,’ she said.
“It was awesome. It was great fun. It was an amazing journey for myself and the others. It was just a great conference. We couldn’t be more pleased with the results and all the positive comments,” she said.
Catriona Le May Doan, two time Olympic Gold medalist was the key-note speaker for Tuesday’s portion of the conference.
“Catriona Le May Doan was fantastic and her message was wonderful,” she said.
Wednesday’s key-note speaker was Tim Hague Sr. who was the inaugural winner of The Amazing Race Canada.
“Tim Hague just brought us all to tears. His message was to stay in the race. He was absolutely amazing on day two,” she said.
Poulson said delegates were telling her that all the speakers were fantastic throughout the entire conference.
“It was an amazing conference due to the efforts of everyone involved,” she said.
Members of the GeriActors and Friends intergenerational theatre company did a short performance for those in attendance at the Grey Matters conference on Wednesday afternoon. The group of actors are made up of seniors from the Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton and current students and graduates from the University of Alberta who perform original plays based on stories and issues from their lives. (l-r) Back row: Liz Allchin, Margaret Rutherford, Angela Smythe, John Grootelaar and Liz Reid. Front row: Bill Yong, Hansi Klemm, Helen Klemm and Charles Bidwell.
