northlands live - Volunteer at Northlands

Volunteer Newsletter
NORTHLANDS LIVE
Hello Volunteers!
The excitement is building at Northlands. As the
Northlands Farm & Ranch Show and the Canadian
College Finals Rodeo come to another successful close,
we’re looking forward to the snow melting. The weather
is warmer and the sun is shining brighter to the summer
ahead, which can only mean we are gearing up for one of
Northlands’ largest events–K-Days!
This year’s K-Days will feature an enhanced entertainment
experience while remaining true to the history and tradition
of the fair. We are excited to be sharing more exciting
information with you within the coming months. Stay tuned
for some very exciting announcements!
The past month has been bustling with actions and
events throughout the Northlands campus. March saw the
Edmonton EXPO Centre packed to the brim with guests
for the Harlem Globetrotters, Mom, Pop & Tots Fair, the
2014 Edmonton Golf Show, Edmonton Boat & Sportsman
Show and the Edmonton Home & Garden Show. Rexall
Place at Northlands was abuzz with sporting events
and world-class concerts such as Lady Antebellum. At
Northlands Park, we said goodbye to another successful
season of Harness Racing, but we are excited to welcome
APRIL 2014
Northlands most recent Make-A-Wish child, Ava, glows after receiving her gifts.
back the thoroughbreds on May 2. With the return of the
thoroughbreds, we’re busy planning for Northlands Park
Racetrack & Casino’s biggest event – the 85th running of
the Canadian Derby.
On February 26 we were thrilled to announce our latest
initiative at Northlands. “Alberta Flavour. Local. From the
Ground Up,” is our brand new program aimed at getting
more local food on the plates of Albertans. By encouraging
likeminded organizations to purchase locally made and
sourced products, we hope to help protect the vitality of
Alberta’s agriculture industry for years to come!
Thank you for all of your hard work throughout the winter
months. Although our winters are long and cold, your
dedication always makes things a little warmer.
Here’s to another great summer.
Sharilee Fossum
Acting President & CEO, Northlands
Laura Gadowsky
Chair, Northlands Board of Directors
What’s Up in the Community
On March 4, Northlands welcomed Ava, our new Make-A-Wish child, to the Edmonton EXPO Centre to meet staff and receive
presents bought specifically for her. Staff also had the extreme pleasure of breaking the news to her that she is
Disneyworld-bound, courtesy of Northlands! Ava is Northlands’ 4th Make-A-Wish child and will be traveling to Florida with
her parents and older sister in the coming months.
Northlands was happy to host Bust-A-Move which raises funds for the Alberta Cancer Foundation in support of the Cross Cancer
Institute on March 22 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre. Teams worked out for six hours in a high energy atmosphere raising $400,000!
Early in April, Northlands hosted United Way’s 5th Annual UDodge tournament! UDodge is a community based initiative
designed to connect youth and mentors together to encourage cross peer interaction and community spirit. It’s a one day dodge
ball tournament with each team consisting of four youth, four corporate adults, a member of the Edmonton Police Service and a
Northlands representative.
Did You Know?
Larry Grotkowski regularly helps various departments at
Northlands by volunteering his time to come in and shred
documents needing recycling. Larry has been volunteering
for 12 years and also volunteered as an arrival ambassador,
for booth relief, helped at volunteer fairs, and his all time
favourite, CFR Six Pack.
Jean Kapoor meets Shania Twain!
Jean Kapoor had the exciting experience of meeting
Shania Twain last year and had her photo with her son
Raj and Twain featured in the Edmonton Journal this
February! Her son, Raj, is the director of the “Shania: Still
the One” Las Vegas show.
Northlands Site Tours
As promised in our Sneak Preview for 2014, we launched Site Tours of Edmonton EXPO Centre, Rexall Place and
Northlands Park for volunteers. The first tour took place on April 15 with subsequent tours occurring the third Thursday
of each month from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Space is limited so sign up soon on VicNet for May and June!
Volunteer Winners:
Congratulations! Dave Nonay won two tickets to Monster
Jam from the February birthday draw. Edith Aubichon
won two tickets to see the Edmonton RUSH vs. Calgary
Roughriders from the March birthday draw.
Change of Address Update
Please remember to update Volunteer Services if you move
or your address has been affected by the recent Canada
Post/Sturgeon County addressing initiative aimed at aligning
mailing addresses.
Memory Makers
We are pleased to announce the successful
launch of our Memory Makers program with
our first two recipients Mary Smith and Mary
Laliberte. Mary Smith took on a project at home
working on her computer and put in over 100
hours finishing before the stroke of midnight on
New Year’s Eve to ensure that it was finished in
2013! Mary Laliberte visited the Volunteer Services office to do a data entry job. The one day
project turned into a much bigger one lasting a
week. These are instances of volunteers going
above and beyond our expectations and reinforcing our Service Excellence values.
Thank you ladies.
Volunteer
Engagement Results
In the last edition of Northlands Live the results of
the Information and Communication category of
the August 2013 volunteer engagement survey were
shared. We promised that the final two categories—
Teamwork and Volunteer Resources Leadership—
would be shared this time.
The overall Teamwork score at 86% favourable has
surpassed the last 2 survey scores as well as scoring
15 points above the benchmark. From the survey
results in March 2012, Volunteer Services chose
to do more on the “sharing of information with
volunteers” score even though we were already
well above the benchmark. We are pleased to see
that the strategies and actions taken over the last
18 months (such as increasing both the content and
frequency of the newsletter and our overall communication) improved the level of information our
volunteers had regarding Northlands and our events.
The overall Volunteer Resources Leadership score,
at 81% favourable, exceeded the benchmark by 4
points. Although the organizations score for “acts
consistently” has improved with each of the 3
surveys, it still falls 5% points lower than the benchmark. It is the only item in this dimension that is not
above the benchmark. We are working with the
Advisory Committee to identify ways that future
scores in this area can reach or exceed the benchmark. To that end, we have had a training session
with Northlands Events staff, the Volunteer Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs to ensure a consistent
message was received by all. Those chairs and
vice-chairs who were not able to attend the January
session will have an opportunity in the near future.
All volunteers are asked to share their comments
and/or suggestions with a member of the Advisory
Committee or with Fran Lucas regarding how the
area of “acts consistently” can be enhanced.
Fran can be reached at 780-471-7192 or by email at
flucas@northlands.com.
Training Opportunities:
Knowing that our Northlands volunteers love to be kept up-to date, Volunteer Services offered training for those wanting
to know how to use the on-line scheduling system, VicNet, and sign-in system, VicTouch. We had a good turn out and the
two groups of volunteers asked great questions. With the use of a giant TV screen Kaitlyn demonstrated how to access the
website and the scheduling system as well as other features of Volgistics. Volunteers were then encouraged to sign in using
VicTouch which will be used again at K-Days and also go on-line to practice what they had just learnt.
Would you like to know more about Facebook and Twitter? A class on how to use these social media platforms is being
planned for the near future.
Volunteer Corporate Orientation:
Did you join us as a volunteer in the past year? If so, have you attended an orientation session (not to be confused with a
kick off session)? If not, please call Kaitlyn at 780-471-7339 to register for one of the following classes:
May 6, 2014, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
June 19, 2014, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Please note that attending an orientation session is required prior to signing up for future volunteer shifts.
Recent Volunteer Orientation Participants:
Front left to right: Margaret Niehaus, Mary Smith, Odette Dionne, Vonda
Dunn, Ellen Filson
Front left to right: Wendy Williamson, Sue Posteraro, Don Mcouat, Lorne
Niehaus
Back left to right: David Gonzalez, Cody Labelle, Lauren Martin, Erin Polson,
Janice Kuethe, Kat L’Heureux
Middle left to right: Di Zhang, Amy Strasser, Denise Strasser, Joan Michaud,
Betty Bezaire
Back left to right: Sylvia Duban, Bucky Mah, Terry Tuleck, Allan Brayford
Vicnet and VicTouch Training Participants:
Front left to right: Mary Smith, Patricia de Champlain, Eileen Purschke, Ellen
Filson, Marjorie Teichert, Dorothy Gregg
Middle left to right: Remi de Champlain, Pat Srala, Iryna Shustova, Betty
Boychuk, Dolores Hoffman
Back left to right: Carl Nieberding, Marlen Shustova, Marjorie Michalenko,
Jack Francis
Front left to right: Don Mcouat, Lorne Niehaus, Margaret Niehaus,
Loveth Bradley
Back left to right: Ivy Evans, Odette Dionne, Laurel Graham, Barb Makuch
Harlem Globetrotters
The world famous Harlem Globetrotters have been thrilling
families and millions of fans for 88 years, all the while innovating
the game in exciting new ways. The players were in our city
appearing at Edmonton EXPO Centre. Prior to the event, one
of the female players, Joyce “Sweet J” Ekworomadu, used the
skills of one of our volunteer Courtesy Vehicles drivers Barry
Newcombe to drive her for two days to all of her radio and television appearances across the city. Barry thoroughly enjoyed his
experience meeting this lovely 5’10” Texan. Thank you Barry.
Joyce “Sweet J” Ekworomadu and Barry Newcombe
K-Days Teaser
Ladies and gentlemen have you cleared your calendars yet for
the 10 days of fun that are K-Days?
Returning again this year will be The Farm but on a bigger
scale and a fresh format including live animals. Kids Town will
be enhanced this year featuring small interactive shops such
as the Post Office and Library. Maybe this is the year that you
would like to get involved with the Downtown Parade or the
K-Days on-site mini parade, helping to carry banners, setup or handing out collateral. There will also be many more
exciting opportunities that are yet to be unveiled. Please keep
watching this space and your email for further information.
Survival Training
Volunteer Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs, and Northlands staff met to better understand their working relationships and
roles for the coming year in the various programming areas.
Front left to right: Geraldine Bidulock, Karen Herzog, Bill Dean, Diane Pysh, Rick Chornoluck, Joanne Borle, Mark McBain, Colleen Prefontaine
Back left to right: Kaitlyn Majeski, Sophia Birchall, Nikki Fullerton, Dana Seymour, Arthur Lewandowski, Kristen Moser, Chandra Rayner, Desa Radic, Amanda
Frigon, Fran Lucas
Mike Derenowsky and Kenneth Kerr volunteering as Arrival Ambassadors
at the Northlands Farm & Ranch Show
Remi and Pat de Champlain volunteering at Canadian College Finals Rodeo
Alberta Flavour.
Local. From the ground up
Northlands launched Alberta Flavour. Local. From the ground
up – an initiative that helps bring more local food to the plates of
Albertans, at the end of February.
Northlands starts by helping local agri-food companies field test
their products and ingredients, then will work with other organizations to get these products on their menu.
“With a 135-year history as an agriculture society, we’re continuously looking for opportunities to support the agri-business in
Alberta and beyond,” said Sharilee Fossum, acting President and
CEO of Northlands. “Recognizing that people want sustainable,
local and environmentally responsible food without compromising
flavour, freshness and nourishment – we know this can be challenging. That’s why we’re proud to support agri-food companies in
Alberta and we look forward to their successes.”
The Alberta Flavour program has four key components:
ucts are currently produced in Leduc at the Alberta Agriculture
and Rural Development (AARD) Food Processing Development
Centre. Siwin Potstickers are served at Colours Restaurant, Uplinks
Lounge and are available for all Northlands’ catered events.
Latin Foods Cheese: Calgary-based Latin Foods cheeses are all
based on traditional Venezuela recipes. Latin Foods cheeses are
served at Colours Restaurant. Uplinks Lounge and are available for
all Northlands’ catered events.
Calahoo Meats: Founded in Calahoo, Alberta in 1973, Calahoo
Meats is a family owned meat processing company whose ham
and ring sausage are processed in Leduc’s AARD centre. Northlands currently uses Calahoo ham as a part of its food service
operations.
Blue Kettle Specialty Foods: For 13 years, Blue Kettle Specialty
Foods has been producing some of the province’s finest salad
dressings (along with other products) out of St. Albert. Northlands
uses almost 7000 liters of salad dressing each year and is transitioning to Blue Kettle Products.
Progressive Foods: Progressive quick cook barley is the result of
an applied research project by Marvin Nakonechny for Alberta
2. Northlands provides feedback to the manufacturer on how the Agriculture and Rural Development. Northlands’ culinary team is
product can be improved for a commercial kitchen.
currently developing new dishes that include this grain.
1. Newly developed food products are tested at Northlands.
3. When the product is ready, Northlands integrates it into
its operations.
Cheemo Perogies: Walter Makowecki started Heritage Frozen
Foods in 1972 and the business is still family owned and operated
today—where it produces over 3 million perogies per day in a
4. Northlands then helps build relationships with foodservice
organizations to get Alberta Flavour food products on menus state of the art food processing plant in Edmonton. Northlands
uses over 1,500 kg of Cheemo perogies each year.
across the province.
Agri-food Companies Currently Involved:
Siwin Foods Potstickers: Based in Edmonton, Siwin Foods’ prod-
Bles-Wold Dairy Products: Hennie and Tinie immigrated to
Canada in 1994 and started Bles-Wold Dairy in Lacombe, Alberta.
Northlands currently uses Bles-Wold yogurt and sour cream within
it’s food service operations.
Rick Chornuluk volunteering for Access Control at CCFR
pictured with Cathy Kiss, Vice President Corporate Relations
P.J. Takacs timing an event at CCFR
with Desa Radic (Northlands Events Coordinator)
Virginia Pegg, Volunteer Coordinator with Helen Slugoski
who was volunteering as a 50/50 seller at CCFR
Mary Smith and Darlene Collins sharing a hug at Northlands Farm and Ranch Show
What Volunteers are Saying:
“Thank you so much for the beautiful card and get well wishes, your thoughtfulness touched my heart. I know how busy you
are so I thank you again for taking the time and caring.”
Jean Kapoor
“Thanks so much. What a nice gesture to perk up a person’s day!! I really thought it was such a special thoughtful touch--you
Northlanders really know how to take care of your volunteers!”
Rebecca Kallal
“Thanks for the birthday wishes and also for always making me so welcome when I come to volunteer. I always have three
smiling faces to greet me and to make sure my needs are fulfilled. The past 30 hours or more that I recently did was a good
example, the Volunteer Services team was there for me when I needed something.”
Mary Laliberte
“Pleased to learn of Alberta Flavour. Local. From the ground up - a most welcome Northlands initiative in advancing, showcasing and supporting Alberta’s innovative Agriculture and Food industry.”
Reg Norby, P. Ag. RT
“Thanks so much for the birthday wishes!! It meant a lot to be thought of and to know that you are working with a great
group of people who take the time to remember your special day. Love the balloons!! Nice touch!”
Janet Mackell
“Thank you from Kauai. The birthday wishes were very thoughtful and appreciated
Aloha”
Nelson Modin
“You all are so kind to remember my big “B-Day”! Luv you for that!”
Allan Wachowich
Jeff Haswell, Daniel High, and Peggy Dick
with memory makers received at the
Northlands Farm & Ranch Show
Amanda Schmidt and Valerie Wittek volunteering at CCFR
What Staff are Saying
“Nice to see how enthusiastic volunteers are even while working out in the cold at Hockey Hooky. Thanks to all of you –
Bill P, Mike D, David L , Jason F, Allan P, David S – for your amazing help.”
Sue Harris
Assistant Manager, Parking
“At Northlands, our volunteers not only help us out through our events, but also backstage. I recently had the opportunity to
work with Mary Laliberte who committed her time to complete a Database for a project our team is currently working on.
Her patience and determination to get the job done is an example to us here at Northlands. It took her longer than anticipated to enter all the data, but she never complained about it. Thanks a lot, Mary. As a volunteer you mean a lot to this
organization, and we hope we can count on you again next time!”
Elis Valera
Finance Analyst
Thoroughbred Racing
Thoroughbred Racing begins again at Northlands Park
on Friday, May 2 and runs Fridays and Saturdays in May.
Starting in June, thoroughbreds will race Wednesday
and Friday evenings, as well as the afternoons on
Saturdays and holiday Mondays. Full schedule can
be found on northlandspark.ca
Making Your Memories Social
Join the conversation, get up to date information and see
pictures from our events and community initiatives. Best of
all, you don’t have to be a member of Facebook, Twitter or
Instagram to view any of Northlands social media pages.
Visit one of the links below.
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/entertainmentnorthlands
Twitter
Important Volunteer Services Dates
May 20 : Site Tour of Northlands
June 18 : Site Tour of Northlands
July 9 : K-Days Kickoff
July 18 - 27: K-Days
November 2 – 9 : Farmfair International
November 5 – 9 : Canadian Finals Rodeo
To keep volunteers in the loop on all upcoming events at
Northlands, we supply the calendar below. For these types
of events , volunteers are seldom required. When they are
we will advise you by email, phone, or in the newsletter.
APRIL
22
Black Sabbath
Rexall Place
25
Edmonton Cottage Life &
Cabin Show
Edmonton EXPO
Centre
25
The Grape Escape
Edmonton EXPO
Centre
30
AUTOMATION
Expo & Conference
Edmonton EXPO
Centre
https://twitter.com/Northlands
Instagram
http://instagram.com/EdmontonNorthlands
Northlands Blog
http://blog.northlands.com/
MAY
9
Investors Group Stars on
Ice Presented by Lindt
Rexall Place
10
Luke Bryan That’s My
Kind of Night Tour
Rexall Place
12
Luke Bryan That’s My
Kind of Night Tour
Rexall Place
13
14th Annual You’re
Welcome Edmonton
Awards Gala
Edmonton EXPO
Centre
20
City and Colour
Rexall Place
26
Lady Gaga’s artRAVE:
The Art Ball
Rexall Place
Volunteer Services Contacts
Please visit our website:
northlands.com/volunteers
Email us: volunteer@northlands.com
Volunteer Hotline: 780-491-3400
Dates subject to change; check northlands.com for schedule.