Special Features - Women Today 2017

women today 2017 Lynne Mulder From nurse to Red Deer City councillor

Councillor Lynne Mulder a true

community

builder

From nurse to Red Deer City Councillor, Lynne Mulder continues to make a positive impact on the community in no matter what capacity.

Mulder, 70, who has served on Red Deer City council since 2004, was born in Eston Saskatchewan.

She became a registered nurse after graduating from the University of Saskatchewan before making her way to the Neurological Institute in Montreal. She returned to the University of Saskatchewan to take her degree and then she was off to St. Joesph’s School in Toronto where she taught for seven to eight years. She also got a Masters of Education in Toronto as well.

She then moved to Edmonton and worked at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the University of Alberta.

In 1996, she moved to Red Deer to be closer to her mother.

She became vice president of education at Red Deer College at that time and then president of RDC in 1997. A stint that last about 18 months.

Mulder retired in 2004 with the goal of consulting. It was then that she began to hear comments from community members as there was a municipal election that fall.

“I was nudged to run for council.

People said they thought I was a good community-builder, I had the skill set needed and I had dealt with larger budgets before.”

Mulder was elected to council that year - a year she describes as being a difficult one because of

dispatch in Red Deer). They were open to changing their minds and that always doesn’t happen,” said Mulder.

So far in her councillor career, Mulder said some of her favourite things have been meeting with people and hearing their concerns and making a difference in the community.

“I like to fancy myself as a community-builder and I really love people.”

In addition, Mulder wanted to encourage young women

to follow their dreams. “Never limit yourself, and be open to opportunity when it knocks. I never really considered running for council but the opportunity came up and I measured my skills with what was needed in that position. I would have never expected that that is where my career would take a turn - but I am certainly happy it did,” she said. “Don’t let people put you in a box. You are capable of anything as long as you match your own skill set to it.”

the depletion in City reserves and it was a ‘re-building year’ as she described.

Mulder said there have been many highlights for her over her municipal service career so far which have included the relocation and building of the new civic yards as well as the opportunity that the vacancy of the old civic yards presents.

“This is a game-changer and it’s a forever legacy for Red Deer. To be able to develop the Riverlands area is a fantastic opportunity,” she said.

Another highlight for Mulder was when the provincial government listened to the City’s advocacy for ambulance dispatch.

In February 2014, the City along with Alberta Health Services announced a collaborative solution to retain dispatch in Red Saturday Saturday May May13th, 13th,2017 2017 Deer while maintaining integratSaturday May 13th, 2017 Saturday May 13th, 2017 Saturday May 13th, 2017 ed fire and ambulance emergen- Legion Legion Track Track atatat LTCHS LTCHS & & McKenzie Trails Trails Saturday May 13th, 2017 Saturday May 13th, 2017 Legion Track LTCHS &McKenzie McKenzie Trails cy response.

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REGISTRATION OPEN! “We spent a lot of time and REGISTRATION OPEN! REGISTRATION OPEN! REGISTRATION OPEN! www.reddeerpcn.com| val.womensfunrun@gmail.com REGISTRATION REGISTRATION OPEN! OPEN! REGISTRATION OPEN! www.reddeerpcn.com| val.womensfunrun@gmail.com certainly our mayor was a great www.reddeerpcn.com| val.womensfunrun@gmail.com www.reddeerpcn.com| val.womensfunrun@gmail.com www.reddeerpcn.com| val.womensfunrun@gmail.com www.reddeerpcn.com| www.reddeerpcn.com| val.womensfunrun@gmail.com val.womensfunrun@gmail.com advocate for that (to keep the SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM

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Head of

wardrobe at RDC enjoys

Creative Outlet CREATIVITY - Donna Jopp, head of wardrobe at Red Deer College, Mark Weber/Red Deer Express continues to relish her role.

By Mark Weber Red Deer College’s head of wardrobe Donna Jopp has always found joy and fulfillment in her specialized role within the theatre world.

These days, she delights in passing on costume knowledge to students in the performing arts program at RDC and to the surrounding community as well.

Prior to being a costume college instructor and her current position, Jopp also worked around Alberta and in Ontario as a stitcher for theatres and independent film. She has worked with the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Stratford Festival of Canada, and the ‘Mythquest’ TV series.

Interestingly, the passion for costume creation came about kind of unexpectedly.

“I grew up in the Crow’s Nest Pass, and didn’t really do too much drama at that time - it was more about sports and science and those kinds of things,” she recalled. When she got into high school, the chance to take drama came about in her Grade 11 and 12 years. “That’s where my interest started,” she said, adding that classes included things like theatre games and putting on a small production. Students not only acted in the show, but took on a range of technical aspects to the production as well.

Jopp opted to try her hand with costuming creation.

“It was the sense of seeing the character and visualizing what they should be wearing to signify their character and really make it work,” she said, reflecting on that initial appeal of the craft.

Something was sparked. She went onto the University of Lethbridge to study education and opted to major in drama.

“In my third year, they were doing some program adjustments and I remember that they came to all of the third year students and asked if there was a specific area that we

2

were interested in. I said, you know what I’d like to spend some time in the costume shop! I’ve had to do acting, directing, lighting and sound - but I knew that I really wanted to spend some time in costume - so they said ok, and I was in there.”

It clicked. Even though her first project was rather daunting - dying leather strips to make Roman ‘armour’. Not exactly an easy task, but Jopp tackled it and from the get-go, costume creation became an absolutely fascinating process to her.

“Actually, this was my first foray into sewing as well. My grandmother and my mother both sewed. I remember getting a sewing machine one year - I think I was about 10 - and I was thinking, what am I going to do with this?

I didn’t really seem to have the patience or the interest at the time.

“But here I am at university and the next show we were going to do was Anne of Green Gables. They wanted me to make this dress for one of the school girls. And it seemed like from there, everything just sort of lined up,” she noted of how her career path began to take shape.

“As I was working on the dress and getting that finished, one of the ladies said, ‘You really like being in the costume shop don’t you?

You really seem to take to it!” She went on to tell Jopp about a new program at Red Deer College at the time called Costume Cutting and Construction. “She said, ‘I really think you should go and take that course and really get into costuming’.”

So she wrapped up her Bachelor of Arts in Drama at University of Lethbridge, and relocated to Red Deer in the mid-1990s.

“I came here, took the program, and I just immersed myself in it. As much as I could learn, I learned.

“It was eye-opening for me - I just couldn’t believe it,” she said of how wonderful that particular time was in her life.

Her introduction to the field as a professional came quickly.

“My very first job in the industry was working at the Banff Centre.” Through a contact, she learned that their ‘boots and shoes’ person wasn’t returning. So Jopp was offered the post and entered another phase of her creative journey.

“It was great - I loved it. And you’re in Banff so how can you not like that?” she laughed, adding that she was able to enjoy that stint, which included being a stitcher, in Banff for five summers.

And doors just continued to open thanks to her tremendous skills and what is clearly a fun, warm and engaging personality.

“For the last year in Banff, I was assistant head to the wardrobe,” she said. From there, all kinds of contract work came her way in Calgary and Edmonton and Ontario among other places. Eventually, Jopp was hired at RDC by Rhonda Coates in the Costume Cutting and Construction program. It was kind of like coming full circle; coming home.

Coates taught the second-years, while Jopp taught the first-year students. There have been loads of highlights.

“That is probably the thing I love most about my position at the College - besides working with so many creative and talented professionals, and those students who (hopefully) will be up-and-comers in our industry, it is the opportunity to be challenged to grow in my own abilities, seconded only by the opportunity to help people with their own costume vision.”

Unfortunately, the costume program closed at RDC in 2007.

But thankfully, that didn’t spell the end of her time at the College. “They needed costume support in some way, so the head of wardrobe position came up and I said, I might as well apply!”

So the adventure continues. “I think that’s one of the things that I really love about it - the collaboration with so many creative people.”

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Red Deer’s

curling

‘golden girl’ Big Win - Red Deer College Queens’ skip Marla Sherrer posed with the CCAA Championship trophy after guiding her team to the gold medal at CCAA Curling Nationals last month in Edmonton.

By Zachary Cormier Marla Sherrer is leaving the Red Deer College women’s curling team as a CCAA champion.

After spending three years as the skip of the team, the Lacombe native got to go out on top after her team fought their way to a gold medal performance at the 2017 CCAA Curling Championships at U of AAugustana in late March.

“I didn’t actually have to throw my last rock. Veronica, the skip of the Concordia team, just missed her last shot so until her rock had stopped moving and ours had stopped moving, I finally realized that that was it,” Sherrer recalled of the moment that she realized her team had

won the championship.

The title has been a long time coming for the third year RDC skip.

“I personally would have liked to do better my past two years but looking back at it, I myself have grown as a curler so I guess that’s all you can ask for at least one national championship,” she said.

It couldn’t have happened in a more dramatic way, either.

Coming into the tournament as the ACAC silver medalists, Sherrer and the Queens knew they had a tough road ahead of them if they wanted to hoist the Canadian championship trophy at the end of the tournament.

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hands of ACAC bronze medal winners NAIT in the opening game of the tournament and dropped a 3-2 decision to ACAC gold medalists Concordia later that same day to start the tournament 0-2.

The Queens weren’t phased though, as they bounced back on the second day of the tournament to defeat the Humber Hawks 5-4 in their first game before dropping a 6-2 decision to the Fanshawe Falcons.

However, the third game of the day turned out to be a turning point for the Queens squad as they romped to an impressive 7-2 win over the Niagara Knights to bump their record to 2-3 heading into the final day of round robin play.

Sherrer and her teammates needed a strong performance to keep their championship hopes alive, and they sure came through posting a crucial 9-5 win over the host U of AAugustana Vikings and a massive 10-4 victory over the Lakeland Rustlers to squeak into the playoffs.

At that point Sherrer’s team were practically unstoppable as they rolled over top seeded Fanshawe in the semi-final before besting Concordia in the gold medal game.

The winning streak was the perfect way for Sherrer to cap off a season that saw her earn

photo by Sean Mascaluk/Pro Sports Photography

the ACAC Female Curler of the Year Award.

“I was actually really surprised to get that one. I wasn’t really expecting it just because the women’s field is so tough this year so to win Female Curler of the Year was almost as exciting as winning nationals,” Sherrer said.

Curling has always been part of Sherrer’s life.

“I probably started curling when I was five or six. My family was really big into curling, so I got brought into the rink and put in Learn to Curl in Lacombe, they had a really good program there. I guess I just kind of stuck with it,” Sherrer recalled.

“It’s fun and I really appreciate the friends that I’ve made throughout the years.”

Like her older sister before her, Sherrer decided to play for the Red Deer College curling team after high school.

Now, three years later, her stint in the program has come to an end.

“I couldn’t have ended my career any better, I guess. We won six in a row to win the national championship and then I think we won even three more in a row to finish winning Tuesday night ladies’ league in Red Deer, so that’s all you can ask for, I guess. To go out with a win and we for sure did.”

Belly dancing

a unique and fun fundraiser

By Erin Fawcett A fun and unique fundraiser that will benefit a local cause is set to take place in Central Alberta next month.

Shimmy Mob is a ‘flash mob’ type event, and is the largest event of its kind by the number of geographical territories covered in one day creating awareness and raising funds for women’s and children’s shelters in participating communities.

The event will take place all over the world on May 13th in more than 170 locations.

Locally, the event will take place in Delburne where participants will be dancing from noon to 1 p.m. on Main Street, in front of Delburne Foods, where Delburne SAFE Families will be hosting a barbecue and bake sale.

Now in its seventh year, Shimmy Mob continues to break records for attendance and participation. It is an international event with thousands of dancers in 172 cities (and villages) participating this year.

“Our primary objective is to raise donations and awareness for women and children’s shelters throughout the world. Our secondary purpose is to share the beauty of belly dance in a fun, flash mob-type event on World Belly Dance Day,” said Kathleen Ennis, team leader for Delburne who also teaches at Shadow Dancer Studio in the Town. “We all wear the same t-shirt, and perform the same choreography.

“My team is supporting Delburne SAFE Families, a local committee that was formed in 2010. The acronym stands for Stop Abuse for Family Empowerment. Their mission is to assist women in crisis and educate people of all ages about domestic violence and the many services that are available,” she added.

“Aside from raising money, we are also collecting old cell phones, personal hygiene items and food bank items. We will be collecting these on May 13th at our event, and there is a drop-off spot at the Village Office. All donations are greatly appreciated.”

Ennis added this is her fifth year as a team leader for the Delburne event and she continues to enjoy her role.

She added she encourages new participants to take part in the future events as well.

“Participating in Shimmy Mob is a great chance for people who haven’t taken belly dancing to give it a try, and as they say, ‘the more the merrier’ and ‘there’s safety in numbers’. Registrations are closed for this year and will be open again for Shimmy Mob 2018 at the end of this year.”

In addition, Ennis said the event supports an important cause while allowing participants to have fun while doing so.

“I think that supporting Delburne SAFE Families, a group that is working to educate people and help women and children in abusive situations, is an important thing to do. So aside from dancing, there are many ways people can participate – through their donations, by coming out to the event and having a barbecue lunch,

buying some bake sale or craft items, and generally providing moral support,” she said.

“Whether or not we wish to face it, we probably all know somebody who has been in an abusive relationship. The more we talk about this subject and the more light we can shine on it, the more we can do to stop it and the better the chance that women who are victims of any type of abuse will realize that there is help out there for them, to not be afraid, and to ask for that help. It’s also important for men and young people to join the conversation so we can collectively take a stand, and put an end to abuse. Abuse thrives in silence – if we end the silence we may be able to stop the violence.”

For more information on the event, visit www.shimmymob.com.

To donate to the cause, visit www.gofundme.com/delburneshimmymob.

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5

Red Deer artist lets her

paint

guide her ARTISTIC - Red Deer artist Sue Barker continues to expand her horizons in her artistry.

By Mark Weber Red Deer artist Sue Barker has simply always loved to be creative - and over the years, that attribute has surfaced in a range of ways. But mostly through her striking abilities as a painter.

Some of her works can be seen through to the end of April in the Kiwanis Gallery (in the basement of the downtown public library) in an exhibit called ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’, and it’s being hosted by the Red Deer Arts Council and the Library.

For Barker, there has just always been something really compelling about being creative.

And painting, as mentioned, has held a special place in her heart for much of her life.

“It’s also kind of fun because I volunteer with the Red Deer Arts Council - I’m on the ‘hanging’ team - so I get to come and help set up the shows,” she explains glancing around the exhibit.

Barker was born in Alberta but the family relocated when she was young out to the east coast. Later on, they returned to

Central Alberta and the family settled near Raven. Barker went to school in Spruce View.

Eventually, she married and settled in Red Deer in 1985.

She describes her folks as not being overly artsy - but she was virtually from the start.

“I took all of the art programs that I could in school,” she recalls. When it came time to go to college, she ended up taking a secretarial sciences, as she wasn’t quite confident in her own artistic abilities at the time.

However, it was around this time that she would meet her husband. They married and moved to Caroline, and started raising there family. So happily, things just have a way of working out.

They lived in Brooks for a time, then ultimately settled in Red Deer where she would later take some art classes at RDC. And over the years - along with being a busy mom - she didn’t paint so much but she has always been an avid photographer and she loves pottery as well.

When the kids got a bit older,

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she took an evening art class with local painter Susan Woolier.

“And that’s I just started painting again.”

“I know that if I would have gone to Red Deer College and taken the art program back at that time, I would be a totally different artist then I am now. And I’m happy with the artist that I am now,” she added with a smile.

And so she should be - Barker simply has a keen, intricate and striking way with a brush, there is no doubt about that. She loves to explore the various manifestations of light and how they impact a given work.

Barker said her love of photography provides her with lots of wonderful subject matter from which to paint as well.

That can come through people watching, for one. “I like to take pictures like that - I like closeup images of things. I’m not a landscape painter,” she added.

Rather, ‘still-life’ paintings are appealing to her.

“I like to paint what is beautiful in the world, and I like to paint light - highlights and back-

lighting - just to play with light,” she said, adding that watercolour is her choice of medium as well.

And although she has several creative outlets which also include gardening and cooking and sewing, she explained that she still paints all of the time.

“I have my easel and a painting area right in the corner of the kitchen,” she said.

“I paint every day - I was painting this morning as I was talking to my husband on the phone on his way to work. I have it there all of the time, so I do it all of the time, too.”

For Barker, there is always that sense of satisfaction at seeing a given work come to completion as well. And she’s not one to nit-pick on a particular painting - going back and tweaking this or that element. It is what it is - and that sensibility likely helps to fuel that sense of fulfillment.

“It’s so satisfying to put the paints down, and work at it, and then stand back and look at it and think yes - that’s the way I wanted it to look.”

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Red Deer to host

Women in Soccer Conference

By Zachary Cormier Female soccer players, coaches and referees from all over the province are set to converge on Red Deer as the third annual Women in Soccer Conference kicks off at Red Deer College next month.

The conference, which is organized by the Alberta Soccer Association’s Development of Women in Soccer committee, offers women involved in soccer the chance to network, earn certifications as coaches and referees and attend various workshops in a supportive environment.

“The Alberta Soccer Association (ASA) developed a Women in Soccer committee in 2012 and part of that is to promote and support female participants in soccer in Alberta.

With that, we have started — this will be our third annual Women in Soccer Conference,” said Tiana Squire, the communications coordinator with the ASA. The development committee’s mandate is to promote, support and increase the numbers of female participants as players, coaches, referees and in leadership roles in the sport.

According to Squire, women make up less than 30% of coaching course registrants

at all levels of coaching in the province and in 2013-14 made up just 27% of registered referees.

To improve these numbers, the committee decided to create the Women in Soccer Conference to provide a single, supportive environment where they can offer certification courses to new coaches and referees and workshops for longtime members.

The first Women in Soccer Conference was held in 2015 in Edmonton while the City was hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup. “It basically just provides networking opportunities, different certifications for referees and coaches, we’ve got workshops from multiple women from across the country,” said Squire.

“It’s nice for women to create community among themselves in a supportive environment. Our keynote speaker and some of the other women are very successful women throughout Canada, so it’s really cool that they interact with other women that are participating in the conference at the social events. It’s a really neat networking opportunity.”

The event’s keynote speaker is Coaching Association of Canada CEO Lorraine Lafreniere. She will be joined by former Canadian

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“They’re giving some of the more very casual, sort of panel discussions and then others are full presentations,” said Squire, noting that many of the messages conveyed at the conference relate to soccer, they can be applied to other areas of life as well.

“While the whole conference is directed towards women in soccer, in previous years we have had lots of participants say the presentations that are offered and the workshops that are offered carry over and are very beneficial to their personal lives and their professional lives as well, not just specifically to their roles in the soccer community.”

Many of the leadership sessions offered at the conference come from the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) and include workshops on effective communication, conflict resolution and influencing change.

The conference runs from May 5th-7th at Red Deer College.

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Local mom pens

powerful memoir

about sons’ medical issues INSPIRING - Local artist and author Tracy Lee leafs through her new book Memoir of a Mama Ninja at her home in Red Deer. The book documents Lee’s experiences of parenting two special needs children.

Zachary Cormier/Red Deer Express

By Mark Weber Bringing up children is certainly not without its fair share of challenges amidst all of the joyful and meaningful moments that being a parent can bring.

Of course, for some parents, those challenges can be far more intense then what they may have been expecting.

City resident Tracy Lee has recorded her amazing experiences of parenting two special needs children in a newly-released book called Memoir of a Mama Ninja.

Incredibly creative, Lee is also a self-taught artist, specializing in painting, sculpture and wood carving as well.

But perhaps her most outstanding achievement has been in the remarkable strength and resilience she has shown as a mom.

“I’ve been writing it for over 20 years,” she explained of the book, which offers a fascinating and very personal look into her journey of both raising kids and finding her own path in life. “I’ve just been putting it together over the years.”

Over the past five years, the material was put into book form and then was eventually published just this past December.

It has indeed been a fascinating and somewhat healing project for Lee, who is a social worker by vocation.

“It’s something that I really feel needs to be out there. My book is about so many different things,” she said, noting that primarily the book is about her

8

experiences as a mom to two sons, now ages 23 and 24.

“My older son Bradly first got sick when he was six months old,” she said, adding the diagnosis was a brain tumour.

It’s been a steady stream of dealing with medical issues ever since, she said, adding there have been developmental and neurological issues to face due to the extensive surgery the youngster had to undergo.

Her younger son, Jason, has epilepsy. “Both of them also have seizure disorders,” she said, adding that of course no one knows exactly what will be the case with their own health let alone the health of their children.

“When it comes to things like brain tumors as my son had, you never know. There are so many people who get sick at any age, and it changes everything.

“So it’s a life that is far from ordinary.”

Both sons have also had problems with depression and they both have Tourette’s Syndrome as well, she said. Bradly also battles Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Part of the purpose of the book is to stir up more discussion around mental illness as well.

“Many people either deal with mental health issues themselves, or in their families.

I don’t think there is anybody that can say they aren’t touched by it in some way. Finally, it’s coming out in the open and it’s beautiful to see.”

Through it all, Lee has chosen to hold onto a positive attitude, to the best of her ability.

In the book, this sensibility shines through when she explains her ultimate purpose in writing the book.

“This memoir is meant to teach tolerance, awareness, love, kindness, true understanding and patience for those around us. The readers will get a glimpse into the life of a family who has faced a multitude of challenges, at most times on a daily basis, and how they struggle to still have the strength to get up every single day and find some peace and joy in life.”

Indeed.

Lee exudes a calm, cheerful demeanour as she discussed her life as a parent to children with such extensive medical issues. But these aren’t the only hardships she has had to face - Lee has been twice married as well, with both marriages ending. But it was the constant pressure of holding down a job, supporting her family, the steady trips to doctors and hospitals for tests and treatments that could at times be so hard to carry.

Again, her resilience is striking. And there is no question her sons come first in her life - they are of course always on her mind. The book is a testament to a mom’s commitment to the pursuit of wholeness and happiness for her children.

And along the way, amidst the trials, she has found that artistic pursuits have also provided an immeasurable amount of support, strength and inspiration.

“To create true balance I have tried to deeply immerse myself into my creative side and release the artist within me,” she observed in her book. “I find comfort in things like sculpting, painting, carving, casting, wood work, tile work, writing poetry, reading Shakespeare, watching movies, listening to music these things make me feel like I can breathe again.

“I have a lot of ideas and a lot of creativity, and it has helped me get through a lot of things.”

Some of her art effectively reflects her experiences, with paintings entitled ‘Blood, Tears & Withdrawal’, ‘Mama’s First Heartbreak’ and ‘A Storm is Brewing’.

“In order for me to be healthy, I have to look at myself as well,” she said, referring to her time spent creating. But no matter what, there is no question who is top of mind. As the book makes clear, that’s also where the title of the project - Mama Ninja - came from, too.

“It’s very important to me that my boys feel that they have my love and attention,” she said. “I will do anything for my kids. Always.”

For more information about purchasing a copy of the book, email Tracy Lee at tracy.spstudio@gmail.com. It’s also on Kindle and is currently on the U.S. version of Amazon.

Check out her web site at http://www.ogmamaninja.com.

Former Red Deer soccer star continues to

make a name

for herself MAKING HER WAY - Former Red Deer Renegade soccer player Anne-Marie Ulliac continues to see success in the sport of soccer.

photo submitted

“I think having the wide variety of experience playing with all different players from all across the country, lots of players who are international is really giving me a lot of different perspectives.

There’s lots of people to learn from.”

By Zachary Cormier Former Red Deer Renegade goalkeeper Anne-Marie Ulliac has been making waves south of the 49th parallel.

Since spending a season between the pipes for the Renegades’ Alberta Major Soccer League squad two summers ago, the 19-year-old has quickly been rising through the ranks of Collegiate and women’s soccer in the U.S. “I think that one of the biggest differences would have to be in Canada, I think most of the clubs are still — at least most of the clubs that I played for in Edmonton — were based on different European styles. In the United States they’ve really started to develop a unique identity for soccer, so they sort of have their own playing style; they have their own strategies,” said Ulliac, who spent the past two seasons as a goalkeeper for Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.

During her time with the NCAA Division II squad, the Edmonton native started 41 of 44 games, posting a 33-5-3 record and an impressive 0.74 goals against average. She surrendered just 31 goals and made 114 saves.

In her freshman year she was named the Northeast 10 (NE-10) Goalkeeper of the Year and was selected to the NE-10 All-Conference First Team.

Her performance with the Panthers was enough to catch the eye of a number of NCAA and semi-pro teams across the U.S., including the New England Mutiny of United Women’s Soccer (UWS), who she joined last summer.

The UWS is the highest level of amateur soccer in the States and runs during the NCAA off season.

“It was the first year in a new league for the team, so it was a big adjustment for the team, as well. I really, really enjoyed the season, though. It really brought together a bunch of girls from all levels of soccer. A bunch of different universities,” said Ulliac, adding that she had the opportunity to play with and against players from some big time schools such as the University of Connecticut, as well as a few former professional players.

Continued on page 10

Anne-Marie Ulliac

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Continued from page 9 As the youngest starting goalie in the newly-formed league, Ulliac led her team to a second place finish in the league, allowing just 14 goals in nine games.

“It was just really great overall. The way the team’s run, my coaches over there are very professional. They really try to make it a good environment, they try to model it after the professional teams,” Ulliac said, adding that she’ll be returning to the Mutiny for another season this summer.

She won’t, however, be returning to the team as an Adelphi University Panther after transferring to Western Kentucky University (NCAA Div. I) in January.

“They’ve had a really good history with their goalkeepers; two of them have gone professional under the current coach, so I just thought it was a really good opportunity for me to step it up to the next level and play against some better competition,” Ulliac said, noting that

she’s excited to test herself in Division I competition.

“I’m not sure if I’ll be starting right away, that’s something that we’ll have to wait and see.

They have a very, very good senior goalkeeper who will be in her last year, next year, who’s played every minute for them for the past three years. But just training in that environment against players this good is really helping me, I think.”

That’s all good news for a player with aspirations of playing the game professionally after completing her university studies.

“I think every step that I take towards that it gets more real and it feels like there’s more of a chance for that. It just keeps getting closer,” she said.

That was especially true this past winter when Ulliac had the chance to train with twotime Olympic bronze medalist Stephanie Labbé who is the starting goalkeeper for the Canada women’s national soccer team and for the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s

Soccer League.

“She’s one of the players that I really look up to. She was the only other Canadian on the Mutiny — she was their starting goalkeeper for four years while she was in college,” Ulliac said.

With the diverse range of experience that she has had over the past two years, Ulliac said she’s just been trying to learn as much as she can about the game.

“I think having the wide variety of experience playing

with all different players from all across the country, lots of players who are international is really giving me a lot of different perspectives. There’s lots of people to learn from.”

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Leslie Greentree continues to broaden her

artistic

horizons SKY’S THE LIMIT - Local author Leslie Greentree is keeping busy with her remarkable literary work - a new collection of short stories is complete and she’s also working on a novel. Along with her tremendous creative output, Greentree also works for the local RCMP detachment.

By Mark Weber Red Deer author Leslie Greentree continues to flourish via her work within the local RCMP, her profound creativity as a gifted writer and her rock solid support for the City’s arts community.

Greentree, who works as a communications specialist for the Red Deer RCMP, is also an acclaimed and very successful author, having penned a book of short fiction: A Minor Planet for You and two books of poetry: go-go dancing for Elvis and guys named Bill.

She was also shortlisted for the Griffin Prize for Poetry 2004 for go-go dancing for Elvis, and won the Howard O’Hagan Prize for Short Fiction in 2007 for A Minor Planet for You. But her talents extend further.

She co-wrote the play Oral Fixations with her life partner Blaine Newton, and the production had its world premiere in Red Deer in October of 2014 with Ignition Theatre.

Greentree, who hails from Grande Prairie, is currently doing final revisions on her fourth book, another collection of short fiction. A novel is in the works as well.

As to her education, Greentree earned a B.A. (English) and a B.Ed. (with Great Distinction) at the University of Lethbridge.

Here in Red Deer, aside from her work as an author, Greentree has held positions at the City’s public library, City Hall and now, as mentioned, with the RCMP. “When you are talking about communications, the principles are all the same,”

she points out during a recent chat. “For communication professionals, you walk in with all of your communications tools and you have to learn the language of whatever job you are in, and the particular needs and ‘streams’ of each role.

“Apparently from my track record, after seven or eight years I start to feel like I need a new challenge,” she added with a smile.

“One of the things that I’ve always looked for in all of the jobs that I have done, and in all of the career shifts, has been a wish to do something that feels meaningful. Something that feels like it’s meaningful to the community, too. And this job does feel that way,” she said of her role with the RCMP. “In the detachment, it’s about playing a piece of a much larger puzzle that is all about enforcement and crime prevention, community safety and public education.”

Greentree also knew from an early age that writing - and communicating in general - were things came quite naturally to her.

“As a middle child, you play a bit more of a mediator role a lot of the time,” she says, reflectively, as she considers the roots of her interest in communications. “I think the communication piece of it, and the relationship piece of it, have both always been there.”

Essays came easily through her school years, and she read loads of books during those formative years as well; there was an immense desire to learn and to expand her world even then.

But she points out that even as she grew older, her level of confidence in her creativity didn’t grow very much at all. “That took

Zachary Cormier/Red Deer Express

a long time to develop.

“As an adult, I would say in my 20s, I wrote a lot - and it was awful,” she said. “It was completely self-absorbed - pretending to write poetry when you were really just bleeding your soul out onto the page. It was just immature and uninformed - which is the way I think a lot of writers do start out.

None of it survives to this day,” she added, laughing.

“But at some point I said that I wanted to really try this; I wanted to be a little bit more focused and pay more attention to how things are structured. And what my goals in writing really were, and how effective poems really get put together.”

At the time, she was also working at the library and she recalls reading reams of Canadian poetry and just soaking every bit of that exemplary artistry in.

“I had always read lots of novels and short fiction, but I just started devouring Canadian poetry. And my attempts got better. I also started meeting writers, and just putting my foot into that world.”

It was during this time that she also met her partner Newton, who she credits with giving her so much encouragement and confidence, too. “As soon as I stepped into that writing world, things started to click into place quite quickly and I was off and running.”

As to becoming a full-fledged writer, Greentree describes it then as a, “Wish that I wasn’t really sure how I would get to. It was also after graduating from university that I started getting a little braver.”

Continued on page 12

11

Continued from page 11 Eventually, she had penned enough poetry to launch her very first title - guys named Bill was released in 2002.

“Publishing is a book was a dream - I was so ecstatic. And then I thought, I’m exposing myself to friends, family and complete strangers in a whole different way. So there is a real vulnerability as well to having strangers, people who know you somewhat and people who know you well read your writing. There may be surprises in there to them,” she added with a smile.

Greentree’s work is utterly compelling.

The poetry is stunning, and the short stories take readers into even more imaginative, challenging and at times mysterious places.

She isn’t stuck on tying up every single loose end by a story’s end - there can be uncertainty and ambiguity - much as there is in real life. It’s part of what makes her writing as engaging and as magical as it really is.

“That’s what I love about the short stories - they are more about a moment.”

As to Oral Fixations, that experience offered yet another means of exploring a new skill - that of playwright.

“Blaine had written lots of plays, but for me that was really new. But I learned a lot,

and it was a lot of fun,” she said. “The collaboration with him was just wonderful.

We were also thrilled with the production.”

Newton, who is a terrific actor as well, has been an integral part of Greentree’s artistic journey.

They met in writing circles and a connection was sparked.

“I feel like the luckiest artist in the world having an artist as a partner,” she explained. “We encourage each other like crazy, we egg each other on and we challenge each other. We ask each other the hard questions. And we are both so committed to encouraging the artistic growth in the other.

“It’s an amazing thing to have. We are both each other’s biggest cheerleader, too.

It’s a wildly creative relationship, and so we can also be pretty definitive critics because it’s done safely with encouragement and always with support and the goal of the other person’s success and learning. It’s really a fun, adventurous relationship as well as him being the love of my life.

“He’s my favourite person in the world to hang out with.”

Both are also dedicated to supporting the local arts scene.

“Blaine and I are pretty active in the arts community. We love going to theatre in Red Deer, a lot of art openings, we know

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a lot of musicians, we know some of the film people. We know the visual artists and the actors and directors. We really do.

Red Deer has a really mighty arts scene.

We think it’s really important to be part of that larger arts scene, and to cheer everybody on.”

Meanwhile, it’s busy days for Greentree.

Aside from holding down a full-time job, she’s wrapping up a collection of short stories and also working on a novel.

“I’m really excited about it,” she says of the new short stories. “I think writers always say this, but I’ve taken a really long time between books because I was changing my interest in what I wanted to write about, and I was changing my style. I took a long time because I didn’t want to put something out that I wouldn’t be completely happy about.”

She’s also exploring other avenues, including a line of greeting cards available at Sunworks downtown which feature her own unique style of photos.

But her heart belongs to the endless adventure of writing and the clear vistas of creativity that it provides.

Ideas come constantly and she’ll often quickly jot them down in her phone.

“I probably have about 300 notes in my phone with different ideas,” she says.

“Sometimes it’s just something that I see.”

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Cancer

survivor

Amber Mack calls herself a thriver

COMMUNITY-CHANGER - Amber Mack is all smiles at her desk. She is the senior executive assistant to the City manager.

Carlie Connolly/Red Deer Express

By Carlie Connolly

Recognizing all the hard working women in Red Deer & Central Alberta.

Kim Schreiner MLA, Red Deer North 403•342•2263 14

By Carlie Connolly Amber Mack, senior executive assistant with the City of Red Deer is no ordinary woman. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 B Hodgkins Lymphoma, and has since recovered.

“I’m not just a survivor, I like to say I’m a thriver,” she said.

She currently works for the City, working in the mayor and City manager’s office, primarily supporting City Manager Craig Curtis.

Aside from administration tasks, she is also on the City’s budget team, and does some strategy work with Curtis.

Mack, who grew up in Lacombe, began her current position in 2013.

“There’s a lot of community builders, there’s a lot of people who just really love where we are and want to make it better and greater,” she said, adding that it’s a very welcoming City.

“It just felt like coming home and I never thought I would ever want to be in Red Deer, but I think we’re here for a long time,” she said, referring to her and her husband.

Mack was just 23-years-old when she felt a lump on her neck, but she ignored it as she was busy working in Calgary.

After going to the doctor’s office to a walk-in clinic, which she said was a mistake looking back, Mack was misdiagnosed, and the lump got bigger and bigger.

She later ended up back with her family doctor in Lacombe, who sent her immediately to Red Deer to have ultrasounds.

“Within two weeks I was at Tom Baker (Cancer Centre). It was a bit of a whirlwind so I didn’t have much time to think about it,” she said.

Diagnosed with Stage 2 B Hodgkins Lymphoma, Mack was later laid off her job and went through eight rounds of chemotherapy over 16 weeks, along with radiation every day for a month.

It may sound strange, but cancer, she said, is the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

Continued on page 15

Continued from page 14 “I have such a different perspective on things and I grew up quick.”

Within six months, she was up and working again.

Despite her struggles, Mack has come through as a shining beacon of hope for others to follow, and spends most of her time volunteering on top of working her full-time job.

She is the board president for what was called the Red Deer and District SPCA, which has been re-branded to the Central Alberta Humane Society.

“I’ve been a lifelong animal lover. I’m a huge policy and governance nerd. I just love that kind of stuff, so it’s a perfect fit for me.”

Through that, she’s become one of the founding members of a group called Women for a Humane Canada through the Canadian Federation of Humane Society.

She was even involved at a conference in Ottawa earlier this month with keynote speaker David Suzuki, and Parliament.

“There was a few of us that we’re picked to go and speak to MP’s about animal welfare legislation in our country, which is deplorable,” she said.

“I have always aligned myself with people who have totally inspired me and encouraged me to walk in my purpose, so I need to figure out what that is, and I feel like I’m just a world-changer.”

Amber Mack And that’s just the animal side of things.

Mack is also part of starting a new evening rotary club in Red Deer, along with volunteering for Aspire and 100 Women Who Care Red Deer.

Mack said volunteering feels like the best way to give back.

“For some reason, some people survive cancer and some don’t, so I’m one of the lucky ones.”

She’s asked herself what her purpose is and why she is still here, something she’s still trying to find out.

“I have always aligned myself with peo-

ple who have totally inspired me and encouraged me to walk in my purpose, so I need to figure out what that is, and I feel like I’m just a world-changer,” she said with a laugh.

And that positive attitude is something Mack carries around with her in the community of Red Deer. She said people often tell her to slow down, but she said, if she can’t change the whole world, she’ll change her little piece of it.

Along for the ride with Mack is her loving husband, who she said she’s very lucky to have through her full and busy life.

“He has a lot of suppers alone or he’ll get dragged off to events and help me do things, or he’s carrying heavy things. He’s such a wonderful man,” she said.

In her spare time, besides volunteering, she loves to read and spend time with her two dogs, Rusty and Jake.

“They’re my kids,” she said with a laugh.

Although cancer can be a very negative illness, Mack remains with her optimistic attitude.

“I firmly believe whole-heartedly that they’ll find a cure within my lifetime. I’m going to be here to celebrate that. It’s exciting and it’s awesome,” she said.

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Mayor reflects on the

inspirational

women in her life

Thank you to the Red Deer Express for the privilege of participating in the Women Today special edition.

When I think about inspirational women I don’t have to look far. As a born and raised Red Deerian, my life has been filled with remarkable women who have influenced me, and I aspire to give back all that they have given to me.

My road to public service began many years ago, and I know that I would not be where I am today were it not for my beginning at home and the influence of incredible women ever since then.

I am thankful to have an amazing mom.

Even though I was often a highly opinionated daughter to raise, my mom always channeled my headstrong ways to greater purposes and encouraged (and indeed continues to encourage) me to “go for it”.

She was present for the speech that began it all, and she continues to be my constant support through her presence.

Not only that, I am grateful for sisters, nieces, aunts, best friends, lifelong friends, colleagues, community acquaintances and partners, and even people whom I have yet to meet who empower me to serve in the capacity that I do. I am grateful for teachers (shout out to Aspen Heights and River Glen teachers!) and employers who believed in me. I also am grateful to former Mayor Gail Surkan, who approached me after a speech I made in high school. Little did she and I know at the time how that conversation would inspire me to pursue municipal office years later. Meeting Red Deer’s first female mayor at an impressionable age demonstrated to me a simple truth - that a woman could become mayor.

When people ask me what inspires me and what my message to young women is to inspire them, my answer has been

16

forged out of my personal experiences in life and leadership, and it is simply these three things; Surround yourself with people who: will be your steadfast constants and who encourage you to “go for it”, believe in you and empower you to be more and do more than you thought possible, and look to those who have already proven that it can be done.

Inspirational women are everywhere among us, in both private and public spheres of influence. Often they inspire us

in their accomplishments that are high profile, but we should be inspired just as often by the accomplishments of women in ways that are unknown, overlooked and taken for granted. Inspiration isn’t always or often the “big things” we assume it to be, but the “little things” we say and do which, in effect, are big things for someone else when we least expect it.

To all the inspirational women in my life, thank you doesn’t begin to cover it.

Tara Veer is the mayor of Red Deer.

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