Meadow Lake and Area MADD Chapter

Always on the go!

2009-06-02T13:08:00.002-06:00

The Meadow Lake and Area MADD Chapter has been active within the community for the past few months. We took part in the Northwest Trade Fair in April, and sold several memberships to local people. We always love having more members, so please feel free to email maddmeadowlake@gmail.com if you are interested.

In late March, Flying Dust First Nation asked for a presentation about MADD and its role within the community. Chapter President Kathy Gallant headed out to talk to a group of about 15 people. It was a very intimate and candid presentation, with lots of questions and discussion about impaired driving and its affect on aboriginal communities. She also brought along a copy of Honouring Our Spirit and it had a great response.

We are working away on an initiative with our Campaign 911. We'd really like to post signage within our community and surround areas to advise motorists to call 911 if they see impaired drivers on the road. We'll keep you posted!

We hope to hold several checkstops with area RCMP over the coming months.

Our Annual General Meeting will be held later this month, on June 18th at 7PM at the Boardrooms on the 2nd Level of the Northwest Health Facility in Meadow Lake. There will be cake and other refreshments available!!

So keep an eye out for what we'll be up to over the next little while. We will update this website more regularly! :)

We've been a busy chapter! :)

2008-12-12T15:14:00.014-06:00

Why ello! :) We've been a busy chapter lately, so be prepared for lots of pics!

It's the holiday season. A time when people gather together to celebrate one another. A time when people want to relax, let loose and have a few drinks with family and friends. It is important to not drive impaired ANY TIME of year.

In November, our chapter held a Red Ribbon campaign kick-off with several members of the local RCMP, and Emergency Medical Services. They are amazingly supportive when we want to hold sobriety checkstops and are dedicated to our cause. The photo and caption is available below.

Members of the Meadow Lake and Area MADD Chapter along with the Meadow Lake RCMP and EMS kicked off MADD'S 2008 Red Ribbon Campaign on Wednesday, November 12. This year's theme is a memorial to Bruce Miller, the son of MADD's National President Margaret Miller who was killed by an impaired driver in 2004. Back Row, Left to Right: Cst. Mike Schmidt, Cpl. Curtis Pelzer, Cst. Travis Adema, Cst. Jason Olney, Cst. Jean Strueby, Sgt. Rod Ens, Staff Sgt. Roger Jones, EMS Frank Monroe, EMS and MADD Board Member, Steve Pollock. Front Row, Left to Right: MP Rob Clarke, Meadow Lake Mayor Darwin Obrigewitch, MADD Secretary Kim Nachbaur, MADD Treasurer Sharon Pethick, and MADD President Kathy Gallant. Photo Courtesy of the Meadow Lake Progress.

On November 22, the Meadow Lake Hospital Foundation hosted their 3rd Annual Festival of Trees fundraiser. Money raised goes towards purchasing essential equipment for the local health facility. Although the MADD Chapter did not directly benefit monetarily, we felt it was an important initiative to take part in. Cristy Ellen, our newly appointed vice-president, is a whiz at decorating, and created a gorgeous Red Ribbon-themed tree. Awareness was spread about MADD's mandate. The MADD tree was the talk of the festival, and raised $800 for the hospital foundation. It is now on display at one of Meadow Lake's busiest banks, and will continue to spread awareness throughout the holiday season. What an amazing supplement to our Red Ribbon Campaign!

We held a checkstop on November 27 in conjunction with the Meadow Lake RCMP. It was to promote our annual Red Ribbon Campaign, and our upcoming concert, MADD About Meadow Lake.

We had about 7 members come out to 'Tie One On' for the cause. It was a cold night, but they bundled up and headed out to the roads with red ribbons, pens and flyers in hand.

MADD About Meadow Lake was a concert to help raise awareness about the cause. It was well attended by several members of the community. SADD Students from Carpenter High School, as well as Jonas Samson Junior High came to do coat check, and we appreciate the support. We had many volunteers give their time to this event, and DeAnna Ouellette, an up-and-coming country singer living in Meadow Lake was the headliner. The Electric Cattle Company was her opening act, as well as her band. (The first picture is ECC, the second one DeAnna!)

And last but not least, the Meadow Lake MADD Chapter took part in a Remembrance Vigil on December 14 at the Lighthouse Church. It was in conjunction with JE Thomas Funeral Home. They typically hold Candlelight Vigils at this time of year. It was a beautiful service, and well attended by the public.

So, as we head into 2009, we're hoping for another successful year. Please join us in thanking MADD Canada for their support, as well as the community of Meadow Lake and the many surrounding communities we partner with.

More soon!

Meadow Lake's making a difference!!

2008-10-21T00:58:00.004-06:00

Well, it's been a few months since writing, but there's lots to report. Our chapter has been busy!

Two board members, myself (Kathy Gallant) and Alexis Loehndorf travelled to Scarborough, Ontario to attend the National Chapter Leadership Conference on September 27-29. It was a rewarding experience as always, and we both learned a lot about the organization and about ourselves that weekend.

Saturday, September 28 was the Awards Banquet. The Meadow Lake Chapter took home a pair of awards that evening! Devin Rowland won a Community Hero Award for calling the police on an impaired driver earlier this year! The Meadow Lake Progress also won the National Print Media award for coverage of MADD's events and promotion of its mandate to stop impaired driving. It was exciting to hear the name of our town called twice in one evening! :)

Aside from participating in 3 checkstops - 2 in Meadow Lake and 1 in Pierceland - since the beginning of the summer, we've been actively trying to promote the cause.

Steve Pollock and I travelled to Canoe Lake School on October 3 to participate in a youth conference. This was a special one, as it was facilitated, organized and implemented by a committee of students. We were invited by the students of the school after having lost one of their own in a crash involving alcohol earlier this year. Several members of the community approached us following the presentation expressing interest in the cause and their support for and end to the unneccessary heartache caused every day by impaired drivers. Our message was definitely heard.

MADD ABOUT MEADOW LAKE is a concert that will be hosted in Meadow Lake on December 6. Country recording artist and local girl Deanna Ouellette will be performing. This is an event geared towards family having fun together. MADD will be helping out at the concert and will receive a portion of the money raised from ticket sales, raffles, a 50/50 draw and concession. CJNS 102.3 Meadow Lake is helping kickstart and sponsor this event. Keep it tuned to the site for more info on this great event!

Well that's it for now. We'll be kicking off our Red Ribbon Campaign in November, so keep an eye out for us!

~kath

Inaugural post!

2008-07-04T16:50:00.007-06:00

This is the very first post from the Meadow Lake and Area MADD Chapter!

I've kind done this as a little bit of a surprise for the rest of the board... I got the idea from the MADD Cobequid chapter, and I thought "how cool is that?!" So I took it upon myself to get the ball rolling. The whole world seems to be online these days!

Our chapter is so awesome, and we play an important role within the community to education the public about the serious risks involved with impaired driving. I also want to publicly thank the board members and volunteers who worked so hard over the past year! You're all amazing!

I wanted to also make a note of a recently enacted bill, Bill C-2, which targets impaired drivers!

Happy Blogging!

~kathy