BEC: Please give me a brief overview of Stur-
geon County today. What makes it unique?
Please contextualize the county in terms of
its neighbouring communities?
AH:
We are unique because of our diversity.
We have expansive farmland, world-class
industrial development, and residential acre-
age developments all within proximity to large
urban centres, Edmonton and St. Albert. There
is something for everyone. We have a signifi-
cant Canadian forces base within our jurisdic-
tional borders and they have been an ex-
ceptional community partner who have
providedwellness and fitness programs
and amenities open to Sturgeon Coun-
ty residents and others in the region.
SturgeonCounty has significant bird areas
for bird watchers, massive scale aggregate
extraction, some of the most productive farm
land and those adding value to their products
with canola crushing, no-nut pea butter, alfalfa
processing and export, on-farm protein sales,
market gardens, adventure farms, greenhous-
es and plant nurseries, grain terminals, fertiliz-
er production and distribution, and many oth-
ers. And, Sturgeon County truly is the “Heart
of Agriculture” for the region, with the largest
average farm size in the region and proximity
to large urban market.
BEC: Please talk about #SturgeonProud. It’s
unique to see a community get together to
celebrate on this level: please talk about the
community involvement in celebrating the
100th anniversary.
AH:
We have been celebrating all year long—
we had calendars produced depicting photos
of significant locations and people in the re-
gion and have shared them with residents. We
are sharing historical tidbits regularly through
print and social media platforms. We’ve host-
ed colouring contests for students, a “How Do
You 100” campaign challenging people to do
100 things (e.g. donate $100, walk 100 kms
this year) and Mural Workshops hosted by re-
nowned artist Lewis Lavoie where residents
have participated in painting tiles that will be
used to create the Mural Mosaic (17 ft x 8 ft)
as part of the Canada 150 train.
We have a ‘Sturgeon 100’ bus travelling around
the region transporting our youth and seniors
to programs. Sturgeon County is joining the
towns (5) in their celebrations this year, in-
cluding parades and sponsoring breakfasts.
y
e’ for
verage
oximity
”
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SEPTEMBER 2018 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA 5
