Cultural exchanges at Pincher Creek Rotary meeting

Steve Allan and Reg Crowshoe

Justine Jorgensen photos except*

Justine Jorgensen/ Toni Lucas

On Thursday, August 21 the Rotary Club of Pincher Creek convened for a meeting that featured announcements and guest speakers, as well as the inductment of a new member. There were many guests present, resulting in the largest number of meeting participants the Club has seen in a while.

One focus of the meeting was to welcome Lorena Stastny, who is from Croatia. She is part of the Youth Exchange Program.  Her counterpart, Pincher Creek's Arianna Korbett, will be leaving on Sunday August 24 for a minimum of ten months in Croatia.

Arianna Korbett and Lorena Stastny

A new member was inducted into Rotary.  James Van Leeuwen expressed that he was happy and honoured to be a part of the Club, and indicated the aspect he would like to focus on is uniting other Rotary clubs with the one in Pincher Creek. He brought several guests with him for the afternoon, many of which are members of other Rotary clubs. 

The main body of the meeting featured guest speakers Steve Allan and Reg Crowshoe. Steve Allan is the Chairman of the Board Canadian Tourism Commission, as well as the former president of Calgary Rotary. Dr. Reg Crowshoe is the former chief of Pikanii Nation and a spiritual/cultural advisor. With Allan as the interviewer, Crowshoe answered several questions, with the main topic being the differences in culture and education between First Nations and other Canadian citizens. 

Crowshoe grew up in Brocket. He desribed his early life, how he was in the residential school and thus was confined from early on; anything past the school fence was like "foreign country". Although Brocket is half an hour from Pincher Creek, Crowshoe knew little of the town, and only had vague assumptions on what the people and town were like. When he finally came to Pincher Creek, he stated that it was an entirely different culture. There was one thing, however, that he found similar: a viewpoint on education. "Education is a life-source," he said, and explained that he believes this thought is shared by both First Nations and Canadians.

Dr. Reg Crowshoe

Allan went on to describe the Rotary Tom Jackson Stay In School Program in Calgary. This intitiative focuses on engaging Aboriginal youth and working with them to keep them in school. Allan explained that the youth are given a yearly allowance of $1500 in order to pay for supplies that will get them involved in activities, like music lessons or sports equipment. This program was started by the Calgary Rotary Club - Allen mentioned that they have donated money to Africa and other countries, but the club recognized there are neighbours here that also need help.

When the guest speakers were at the end of their allotted time, Allen concluded by saying that he hopes his speaking with Crowshoe will provide a start. "I hope this is the beginning of a conversation." Both Allan and Crowshoe were then given certificates signifying a Rotary Club of Pincher Creek donation of money towards polio research in their names. 

Steve Allan

Reg Crowshoe and Dan Crawford

The same Thursday evening a Rotary get together barbecue was held so that members could get to know Lorena Stastny from Croatia better, and say farewell to Arianna Korbett who is on her way to Croatia. Lane Crawford was on hand with sage advice, as he returned to Pincher Creek approximately a month ago from his Rotary exchange experience in Germany.

"If you want to do something, even a little bit, do it," Crawford told both of the ladies.  He emphasized that this was a time of exploration.  Crawford  graduated high school before he left on his trip to Germany and is hoping to explore Australia after working for a year.  

Lane Crawford, Arianna Korbett and Lorena Stastny
*T. Lucas photo

"I think I am looking for a new beginning, find out who I am, and go have some fun," said Arianna Korbett who graduated from St. Michael's School in June.   She will be taking an additional year of school while she learns about life in Croatia.

Sixteen year old Lorena Stastny talked about why she chose Canada as her destination.  "Mostly, I wanted to improve my English, and the people are so nice.  Canada is such a beautiful country.  I want to visit the entire country of Canada."  Stastny will be in Pincher Creek for her exchange program but is looking forward to travelling in Canada after her program is over.  She is planning on keeping in touch with her family over the internet using Skype.  She has a 13 year old sister at home named Nika.