The Community
Press
I’ll be home for Christmas Volume 113, Issue 25
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
$1 Including GST
Sparkle in the Park brings joy to the season
Sedgewick Lake Park hosted its first, and hopefully annual, Sparkle in the Park on Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec. 12, where 22 campsites were decorated with Christmas lights for a drive-through experience that drew more than 200 visitors over the two days. See more photos Page 21.
Youth Innovation Master Class debuts youth entrepreneurs Leslie Cholowsky Editor
A Youth Innovation Masterclass Pitch Event on Monday, Dec. 14, brought forward four original and unique ideas from the minds of five young entrepreneurs. These are: Reegan Dempsey of Hardisty, Trish Granger of Hardisty, Karli Grove of Killam, Logyn Cummins of Wainwright, and Micheline Cummins of Camrose. The group have been participating in a nine-week online course called the Youth Innovation Masterclass, which is a youth initiative to spark innovation and create possible new business opportunities. The program came together through a partnership between Flagstaff County, the Town of Wainwright, ExO Execute, and the East Central Regional Innovation Network. Jordyn Prior, Flagstaff County Economic Development Coordinator says, “This course was originally designed to educate and disrupt larger organizations and corporations, but we thought we would run a pilot program with youth and so far it has turned out extremely well!” Jenalee Waring, Flagstaff County Eco-
nomic Development Coordinator, says, “This was a pivot for our organization during COVID-19 to ensure we still maintained youth development throughout the pandemic.” She told participants at Monday’s Zoom event, “You are getting to witness a first of its kind pilot program for both our sponsorship organizations and ExO Execute that combines merging consulting and coaching, the first innovation masterclass to include local businesses and the first time using the exponential model with participants that have very limited experience with this method – and collectively we are very pleased with the results.” The group of five entrepreneurs presented their ideas before a crowd of 40 people, with Trish Granger starting things off by saying, “In a world of technology, a group of five women came together sharing one passion: innovation.” The group presented two Core ideas, those unique to a specific business, with them choosing McRae’s Flooring of Wainwright as their subject business, and two Edge ideas, intended to think ‘out of the box,’ all with the potential of transforming or creating new business opportunities.
Afterwards, participants received valuable feedback on their presentations, from Marianne Wyne, COO of Planetary Care, who offered advice and information on what to think about to ‘monetize’ each idea going forward. She said, “It was very inspiring to hear your ideas,” she was particularly interested in one of the Edge ideas and how that presentation focused on community engagement. Jabeen Quadir also provided some specific and encouraging feedback for presenters; she is the founder of Sustainability Edge Solutions and joined the meeting from Toronto. She said, “I really enjoyed all four presentations,” adding that she found the ideas “new, innovative, and interesting.” Quadir gave the young entrepreneurs specific feedback on each of the four ideas, and said she saw opportunity in each, especially the two ‘Edge’ ideas. Darcy Patten, Managing Partner of Exo Execute also sat in on the presentations, saying afterwards, “I’ve seen the progression of this group; it’s absolutely stunning.” He added that each of the participants brought forward amazing stories that captured his heart. Kara Johnston, Technology Develop-
ment Advisor with Alberta Innovates, said, “Your dedication to social enterprise is so inspiring,” to the group, adding that their next challenge would be monetizing the ideas. Camrose MLA Jackie Lovely and Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek also attended the pitch, and each had very positive feedback after the presentations. Lovely was impressed with this example of youth entrepreneurs “paving the way for our future, especially in rural Alberta.” Kurek echoed that praise, saying, “It is exciting to see such creative thinking,” adding that it was especially exciting to see ideas that address local impact, saying, “I look forward to seeing how that translates into success, both in east central Alberta, and how you can take small ideas like you’ve presented here and transform the world.” Waring said after the presentation, “I am blown away by the quality of your ideas, and what this youth entrepreneur group has brought to the table.” Ken Merkel, ExO Execute CEO, who has been working with the group weekly through the program added, “Almost every idea you had; and they See ENTREPRENEURS P4