Submitted
The Rimbey Women’s Conference, held every year close to Valentine’s Day, is approaching its 25th anniversary.
This popular day for women of Rimbey, Ponoka and area provides a relaxing day of information, networking, stimulation, enrichment and learning as well as shopping, door prizes and a catered lunch.
Currently, attendance reaches approximately 125 participants. Neighbours come together for a “good visit,” new residents come to meet people, seniors and young mothers come together for a fun day.
The committee consists of nine local women: Brenda Verheire, Nancy Adams, Teri Ormberg, Peggy Makofka, Iva Graham, Tami Albach, Pat Weeks, Janet Burkhardt and Shannon Kiss who strive to bring new speakers or presenters to Rimbey.
For example, this year’s conference theme is Live in the Glow and features “The Glow Project” (www.glowproject.org) followed by keynote speaker Kim Bérubé, owner and publisher of the “Real Woman on the Run” magazine that is popular with women in Alberta.
Also presented this year will be a gardening session with Gayle Rondeel who is known in the area for her horticultural knowledge and skills. Women will be treated in the late afternoon to an Invisible Chalk Drawing by Donna Orr of Clive. This is a “lost art” she learned from a friend while in Panama. Donna is the pastor at the Lacombe General Hospital and is passionate about and teaches art.
A comedy surprise has been known to crop up sometime during the conference as well. Vendor tables, door prizes and catered lunch round out the day.
Rimbey is fortunate to have excellent facilities to accommodate functions such as this conference. We are also so fortunate to have the driving force and initiative of the Family Community and Support Services that has worked with the women’s committee in any way they can and are much appreciated for their work to make people’s lives and in this instance, women’s lives, the best they can be.
Registration is through FCSS in the Rimbey Provincial Building. Registrants can use the yellow form that comes in the mail or phone 403-843-2030.
We are looking forward to celebrating our 25th anniversary next year with hopefully a bigger and better conference.