Glenn's Excellent Adventure

I thought I would take a moment to share some final reflections on my most excellent road trip.

Let me start with some rather obvious observations. We serve a very large region – northwestern Alberta. In our travels we stopped in many communities. Each was defined by its topography (everything from mountains to plains), its history, and its economy. The region, and the communities within, were principally reliant on five industries, but each in differing measure: energy, forestry, agriculture, supply chain and transportation, and tourism.

All I talked to believed that it was vital to the success and future of their community that post-secondary be present and play a larger role. They want this to include a physical presence, where possible.

Communities want to be heard and provide meaningful input into how we can best support their aspirations. They want to be partners.

Every leader I talked to wants to work with us. But most know little about us. In general, there is relatively little knowledge about the nature of our programs and our aspirations for northwestern Alberta. In some communities few, if any, learners enrol in GPRC. We are simply not relevant to some of the communities we serve.

It became clear throughout my visits and meetings that we need to figure out our stewardship model. We need to do better. The exact nature of the model is unclear, but it will likely need to differ by community.

Let me close with a few personal thoughts on the trip. A full week in, we are figuring out how to be RV people – I would now give us a solid C+. All in all, we like it. We can see ourselves venturing out more and more with the RV.

As a final observation, wildlife truly abounds in our region. But it is seldom observed where you expect to see it. On this trip we saw more bears, moose, and caribou than I have seen in my entire prior life. We are blessed to be in a region filled with beauty and wonder.

We learned and had fun.

Your friend,

Glenn

Days 4 and 5 were jam packed – so much so that I didn’t have time to write separate blogs.

Thursday started in Grande Cache with meeting with the president of the Chamber of Commerce and several leaders from the Municipal District of Greenview. Both were great learning opportunities. We then hit the road passing through Grande Prairie on our way to Fairview. One of my favourite Canadian landscapes is the drive through the Peace River Valley. The Dunvegan Bridge is both picturesque and iconic. We spent the night in a parking lot at our Fairview campus – we truly are becoming RVers (although we have not yet stayed at a Walmart).

Friday morning was spent with the mayor of Fairview and the reeve of the municipal district of Fairview, and then in meeting several business owners from the broader community. We had a wonderful discussion about our Fairview campus – its past, present, and possibilities for the future. We then hopped back in the RV and drove to Valleyview, where I met with the mayor and councillors.

We thought, having left Grande Cache, that our animal sightings were largely behind us. We were wrong. There was a plethora of novel sightings from Grande Prairie to Fairview. We saw a moose with her calf – which was likely no more than a week or two old. The mother was walking with normal stride. The calf ran all-out to keep up. It was poignant. But also made me nostalgic for Rocky and Bullwinkle. About ten minutes later we discovered a rather unlikely fellowship – a female moose and female deer. They were hanging together. Of course, as academics, my wife and I turned to “the google” to see whether this was normal or unusual. Turns out that moose are technically deer – the largest member of the deer family. Truly an odd couple but each seemed to enjoy the company. And then a short while later we came across another black bear. We thought this was most unusual given how far we were from the mountains and rivers. He waved his behind at us, and slowly sauntered away.

Let me close with the last three “get to know” segments – Fairview, Valleyview, and the Municipal District of Greenview.

Fairview is one of two towns in Alberta with the same name – our Fairview is larger and better known. The town has a little more than 3,100 people. As with many of Alberta’s towns, Fairview grew over time from a hamlet to a village before gaining town status in 1949. Both the town, and Fairview College, were formed based largely because of a single industry, agriculture.

Valleyview – a little over an hour’s drive from Grande Prairie – has a little under 2,000 residents. Its economy centres on energy and agriculture. Being at the confluence of Highways 49 and 43, it is a gateway to other communities.

Finally, let me briefly describe the Municipal District of Greenview (the MD). Many of the communities we serve are in fact a part of Greenview – this includes Grande Cache, Grovedale, DeBolt, Ridgevalley, Crooked Creek, Valleyview, New Fish Creek, Sunset House, Little Smoky, and Fox Creek. The MD is massive – the largest in Alberta and bigger than some European

countries. They are both large, and sophisticated, and should be viewed as an important partner for GPRC.

So, this ends my most excellent journey. I will send out a last blog tomorrow to summarize my learnings.

We learned and had fun.

Your friend,

Glenn

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Great first day of meetings. I learned much more about Edson, and the post-secondary aspirations of its leaders.  Some of the comments I heard in Edson mirror those I hear in Grande Prairie and Fairview. They would like us to deliver post-secondary education that allows youth to remain in their community. They also believe it is important that programs align with their economy – they view post-secondary education as central to building prosperity. 

What did they think about GPRC? They know we had a physical presence in Edson but recently withdrew from their community – understandably, this was not perceived well. But mostly their perceptions were neither good nor bad. I am not sure most understood much about our stewardship role, our programs, and our institution. This is perhaps not surprising. I was happy to discuss our institution, where we are going, and how we can work together. This included thoughts about our emerging polytechnic status. Overall, there was significant good will and we had great discussions to build upon.

In the late afternoon we left Edson heading to Hinton. There is a different feeling driving into Hinton. The scenery shifted subtly. While the forest continued unabated, the mountains gradually emerged in the distance. The feel of the town is quite different from Edson. Hinton exists along the highway, but in chunks. It starts and stops and starts again.

Unfortunately, we did not have an opportunity to walk around Hinton. I like to believe that this is largely a reflection of the weather, which is bad. But laziness may have also crept in. And the weather is getting worse – I understand that there are snowstorms approaching Jasper. Perhaps we did not pick the best time to go RVing in the mountains.

Let me close with another brief “get to know” segment, this time about Hinton. The town has a little over 10,000 people. Like Grande Prairie, the town is young – the median age is 36.4. Much like Edson, Hinton has significant forestry and natural resource industries. Coal, once an economic driver, has diminished over time.

We are learning and having fun.

Your friend,

Glenn

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Today begins my listening tour. Yesterday (Sunday) we drove our RV from our farm near Bashaw (halfway between Stettler and Camrose) to Edson. I loved driving the RV – squishier than a minivan but less so than a grain truck. A few things flew out of cupboards, but we are learning.

To understand a place, I like to walk it – equally informative in Paris and Edson. It provides a sense of place. As an aside, I spent an afternoon in Fairview and several evenings in Grande Prairie just walking around and getting to know both communities.

My wife and I spent much of yesterday afternoon and evening meandering around Edson. To be perfectly honest, I had never really thought of Edson before, other than as a place for a quick pitstop on my way to Jasper. Like many prairie towns, the highway (in this case highway 16) is divided by a few streets – it runs westerly down one street and easterly a few streets over. My guess is that over 90% of Edson’s retail is on highway 16 or the retail island that exists in its middle. If your knowledge of Edson is limited to your drive through, you are missing much.

What an amazing place! Edson is set on the edge of a forest. We walked through a park that felt like we were in Banff or Kananaskis – that same forest smell. I quipped to Tammi that we may encounter a bear. She responded that she was not concerned as she was confident, in fact certain, that while she may be slower than a bear she is faster than me. Isn’t love grand. We saw some unique “flower art” – many yards were amazing. And there were many incredible buildings. Edson is very prosperous and well-maintained. What a wonderful community. Love it.

I am just studying up for my meetings. So, let me provide a brief “get to know” segment. Becoming a town in 1912, Edson has a little over 8,500 people. Its two primary industries are forestry (Weyerhaeuser Canada and Sundance Forest Industries), and natural resources.

Today, I will be meeting with several political and economic leaders including the Member of Parliament for Yellowhead, the Mayor of Edson, the Mayor for Yellowhead County, and representatives from the Edson Chamber of Commerce. I look forward to learning how we can work in partnership.

So, the most excellent journey begins.

Your friend,

Glenn

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I’m excited to be spending next week on the road! Why a most-excellent road trip? Really, for two reasons – the first related to my role at GPRC and the second personal.

When I started at GPRC I wanted to get to know the institution, and the communities we serve. I have had a wonderful time getting to know our campuses in Grande Prairie and Fairview. But I have not had the opportunity to visit the other communities we serve.  So, I will be spending a week meeting and listening to people across these communities. Stops include Edson, Hinton, Jasper, Grande Cache, Fairview, and Valleyview. I will share some observations along the way. 

I look forward to learning about these communities and their aspirations, and how we can work in partnership in meeting their post-secondary needs.

But this trip also gives me a chance to try out our new RV. Well, not exactly new. My wife, Tammi, and I recently purchased a 2000 Volkswagen Rialto – a small rather vintage motor home. This will be our first trip. So, it will be a learning journey; not just listening and learning about the communities we serve but also figuring out how to be RVers. Being academics, my wife and I read all the manuals (we are prepared, in theory), but likely still need to figure out a million things.  

So, the most excellent journey begins on Monday.

Your friend,

Glenn