RIVERS
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Volume 108, Issue 29
ersary v i n Celebrating our 107th An
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Ambassador Officer attends events By Sheila Runions Banner Staff
M
ost Manitobans are very familiar with the name Jill Officer, either with her success as a curler or from “the old days” when she was a reporter with the now defunct CKX-TV channel that operated in Brandon. Jill was born in Winnipeg and raised in a very athletic environment; by the time she reached double-digits she’d already tried out figure skating, hockey, soccer, gymnastics, baton and at age 10 (1985), curling. In 1994 she won her first national junior curling championship and now, her title list is extremely impressive. She’s been Manitoba’s mixed champion twice, played the provincial Scotties Tournament of Hearts five times, national Scotties 10 times, Grand Slam events 11 times, world events four times, Olympic trials three times and then the Olympics proper. Of these 37 major events, she’s claimed medals 24 times, including gold from the 2014 winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia where the Jennifer Jones rink (in which Jill’s position is second) was undefeated in play. Jennifer asked Jill to play with her when she was only 15; at first they were intermittent teammates but the duo have been part of a mighty mix for the last 20 years. Jill receives a stipend from Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to be one of that corporation’s Olympic ambassadors and it was in that capacity that she visited Rivers on Thursday, Jan. 28. She arrived in town just after 10 a.m. and left around 4 p.m. after completing three official functions. The first was at Rivers Elementary School where she spoke to students, showed off her curling shoes and Olympic medal, answered questions and taught them a little bit about the game with floor curling equipment which is pictured in the background of this photo. After more than 90 minutes there, she had dinner at The Honey House Bakery and Café where she was later joined by some Chamber members who had received an invitation from RBC to hear Jill’s motivational/business speech. After two hours at that business she and her entourage (RBC employees) stopped at Rivers Collegiate where she offered her third speech of the day, showed off her medal and then made a $10,000 presentation. It was not a personal donation but one from the bank, which approved a grant request from the school, which will use the funds for its fitness room. RBC’s press release regarding the donation states: RBC believes that helping kids and youth learn is one of the best investments a company can make. Rolling River School Division is one of the 199 organizations from across Canada to receive an RBC Learn to Play grant [to] help equip the fitness room at Rivers Collegiate. RBC and the Public Health Agency of Canada, in partnership with ParticipACTION, have committed $2 million to help community-based organizations build and deliver quality sport and recreation programs that address the widespread lack of physical activity among Canadian youth as well as declining rates in sport participation. The grant to Rivers Collegiate is part of the RBC Kids Pledge, a five-year $100 million commitment to improving the well-being of one million children and youth in Canada. “We’re thrilled to support the great sports programming happening at Rivers Collegiate,” said Nathan Campbell, manager of RBC’s main branch in Brandon. “Sport and physical activity can transform lives and have a powerful, positive impact on our communities.”
Photo by Sheila Runions
Jill Officer takes time with one of the Grade 5/6 classes at Rivers Elementary School, allowing each student to hold her gold Olympic medal.