Kalyna Country Ecomuseum Trust Society & DMO General Meeting Saturday Dec. 1st, 2007 Barn Loft Inn, AB

Call to order 4:15 pm – Kay Barron, chair

The executive introduced themselves to the members & guests present.

The chair read letters of greetings & regrets from MP Leon Benoit and Premier Ed Stelmach.

Councillor Albin Lukawiecki brought greetings from Beaver County. He outlined some of the recent accomplishments of the County, as well as upcoming developments. These include: establishment of the Beaver Regional Industrial Services Corporation (BRISC), expansion of broadband internet capability with 16 towers now set up and 5 more sites under development, development areas in Tofield (residential/commercial), Ryley (480 acres industrial, and Viking (industrial area). As well, there is the Sherritt coal mining and gasification project to be developed between Ryley and Tofield. Councillor Lukawiecki reminded those present that Beaver County “has two of everything – 2 towns, 2 villages, 2 hamlets, 2 great campgrounds, etc. Come and see us!”

The chair announced that in 2008, Kalyna meetings will return to the usual schedule. The AGM will be held in April, details will be forthcoming. The executive has been working on the new Mission and Vision statements, which you will find in your meetings summary. We attended and staffed the Casino in Fort McMurray for 2 days at the end of October, and the executive has been meeting regularly, as the meetings summary will show.

At this time, attendees were requested to stand and introduce themselves and the bodies they represent.

No amendments were proposed for the agenda, and the business meeting moved forward accordingly.

1) The summary of activities and minutes – executive meetings 13 June – 4 October 2007 was reviewed by those present. There were no questions from the floor. This was moved for acceptance by Secretary/Treasurer Jim Hill, seconded by Wayne Taylor. Carried.

2) a) Treasurer’s Report – Jim Hill explained how the different accounts used by Kalyna Country are designated, and the allowed uses for each: i. DMO – this is used for daily operations ii. Casino – this covers staffing costs iii. Trust – this will be used to account for memberships Casino – we have to wait 16 months for our next one, instead of a year. This means that we will have to be more careful to spread this money over that period and pursue other resources as well. Moved for acceptance – Jim Hill, seconded by Peggy Nahirniak. Carried.

b) Staffing – Kevin Kisilevich introduced the Kalyna staff to the floor.

3) Kalyna Country Ecomuseum Heritage Report – Kevin reported that Kalyna is actively promoting heritage and ethno-cultural activities. We have awarded over $7000 in grants since 2006, and the grants program has been approved for 2008. Kalyna Country is a member of Museums Alberta and will work to assist our local museums.

We assisted a new museum cluster group – CREAM – to promote and enhance their marketing. We have also been involved with the & District Historical Society to work on a promotion initiative. We are proud to say that in September, the Vegreville Regional Museum became recognized under Museums Alberta, along with many others in the area.

We attended the Museums Alberta conference this year. Next year’s conference will be held in Edmonton, and Kalyna Country will be considered for tours and speakers. We are looking at partnering with Museums Alberta and planning new initiatives for our Kalyna Country area museums.

We are continuing Aboriginal heritage initiatives, and overseas recognition & development. We are looking at new ideas and seeking monies from grants and the TDR, and assisting in promotion of Doors Open events. Our focus is how to better work with stewardship initiatives to protect our heritage sites and natural areas.

4) Destination Marketing Organization Report – Kevin stated that for logistic and economic reasons, the Kalyna Country offices are currently located in partnership with the Marketer.

Our website has received over 700,000 hits in 2007. Many other statistics are available for the asking. We will be continuing to support our members through the website services, and are always looking to improve the results.

The Visitor Guide magazine had a print run of 75,000 in 2007, and has a reputation as “the best of the best” in Alberta. Over 30,000 copies were distributed in the Edmonton region alone. It is available at all Visitor Centres in Alberta, and over 1000 copies have been sent out in response to direct mail requests.

We were very active in Trade Shows during 2007, and have developed many partnerships to distribute the Guide and promote Kalyna Country.

The Summer Flyer was an insert in major newspapers in our target areas. Over 230,000 copies were distributed, and 95% of respondents indicated that this influenced their decision to visit Kalyna Country.

We are also involved with other marketing avenues, including radio, TV, news articles and Travel Alberta pieces. These enjoy a high level of participation. We have worked as well in cross-promotion with adjoining areas, including GROWTH (north west of Kalyna Country), Trail of The Buffalo (south east), and Boomtown Trail (south west). We have attended conferences presented by Travel Alberta that have promoted the web sites, and keynote speaker Roger Brooks advised us on community-based marketing and “finding your unique point”.

In the office, there has been a constant flow of communications coming in by phone, mail, email and fax. We have been working on signage and promotion, as well as product & cluster development. We participated in the Kalyna Fest at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and the Kalyna Idol competition was well received despite the scorching weather. Our photo contest has many participants and has provided us with a large photo gallery to draw from.

The AMA has rated Kalyna Country as among the “Top 100 Journeys in Alberta”, so we are making an impact.

For 2008, we will be having our feature editorial on the David Thompson Bicentennial. We will be updating the magazine to keep it fresh and exciting. We have also been exploring an new website concept that will be World Class, and should be online in mid to late 2008.

We are currently booking our trade show spaces for 2008, and are evaluating our souvenirs. Some are available today for sale or order, and we are looking to develop new ideas.

Based on suggestions from some of our AgTourism cluster operator members, we are looking into the idea of having regular tours. We are also evaluating information from a recent Funding Opportunities workshop to see if grants may be available for some projects.

Please complete the surveys you will find before you, and leave them at the desk before you go.

We will be seeking corporate sponsors/partners for some of the initiatives under consideration. We are currently developing a Media Package, and are working on our branding with trademark protection underway. We also hope to move into development of more winter seasonal products, to give a more balanced year- round appeal.

5) a) Ag Tourism – Kevin advised we have spent time and effort in the development of this, and have seen several clusters or groups form. Among these are Open Gates on 28 in the area, the Country Soul Sampler in , the Wild Rose Tour and the East of Edmonton Group. We will be taking a greater part in the 2008 Ukrainian Village Harvest Festival.

b) Flavours of Kalyna Country – Tina Hunt stated she worked closely on development of 2 clusters in 2007, and 2008’s focus will be on regional cuisine. We intend to support initiatives that promote local food operations, such as the 100 Mile Diet plan. There is a workshop planned for Tuesday Dec. 11th at the Two Hills Senior Centre from 9 am to 3 pm. Alberta Agriculture and Dine Alberta will attend, and a lunch will be provided using local cuisine. Cost is only $5.00

Currently, only ONE food establishment in Kalyna Country is listed with Dine Alberta as using locally produced foods. This workshop will be of interest to many people including producers, preparers, consumers, dinner theatre operators, etc.

A question was raised regarding the Agriculture branding by Shane Hansen. Kevin advised that the trademarking of Kalyna Country is in progress, and the brand has been tested to have a very good image.

6) Travel Alberta/Alberta Central TDR – Kevin stated that we receive significant funding toward many of our promotion ideas from this, and noted that individual operators in Kalyna Country can also apply for these funds. We appreciate being located in Alberta Central TDR, as we are perceived to be near everything and easy to get to. We are working with other DMO’s on the creation and promotion of “Circle Tours” and will be moving forward on these points in 2008.

7) Correspondence – Kevin and Jolene advised that there is a good deal of correspondence daily. For the most part this is dealt with as necessary, and there are no outstanding correspondence items at this time.

8) New & Other Business – Funding Opportunities Workshop overview – Paul Pelletier, General Manager of the Community Futures St Paul-Smoky Lake office, spoke regarding the recent workshop sponsored in part by his office.

This workshop was intended to present information to users regarding funding opportunities, and to address issues about the lack of clarity in presenting some programs (most notably Rural Alberta’s Development Fund). Participants were asked to choose one of 5 cluster groups – Arts & Culture, Ag Tourism, Education & Training, Tourism & Marketing, or Other. In these groups, they identified issues and projects of interest. The facilitator-presenters then tailored their topics to what had been identified by the cluster groups. After the presentations, participants returned to their groups to flesh out details on a project in order to complete a funding application.

Presentations were made concerning the Alberta Lottery Fund, other grants, Community Facilities Improvement, and RADF. Paul advised that Bernice Sambor of the Two Hills CF office will be running this workshop in February of 2008. A followup to this, the Grant Writing Proposal Workshop, will be held in the new year. Anyone interested in these is invited to sign up through the Community Futures offices.

9) David Thompson Bicentennial – • Riverland Adventure Challenge – details on this event will be forthcoming – it is tentatively scheduled for February 2008 • David Thompson Brigade – Gary Folke stated that this is a canoe voyage from Rocky Mountain House to Thunder Bay, following the route taken by David Thompson in 1808. Events will be held in 4 centres in Kalyna Country – Fort Saskatchewan, Victoria Settlement, Duvernay and Elk Point. Gary summarized the history of David Thompson’s work, and advised that this trip is being synchronized across with up to 16 teams participating. Between 8 and 14 people are involved in each team including support staff. The tour will start on May 10, and is expected to wrap up in Thunder Bay on July 12. Organizers want to make this a memorable event for everyone.

The chair reminded everyone that the next meeting will be the Kalyna Country AGM, to be held in April 2008. Details will follow once set.

Victor Chrapko made a motion to adjourn which was accepted by the floor. The meeting adjourned at 5:48 pm for dinner and the guest speakers followed after dinner.

The meal was served by Food With Flair (from Viking), and in accordance with our intent of supporting Kalyna Country agriculture operators, all foods were locally sourced wherever feasible.

The first speakers for the evening were Kathryn Elzinga and Christopher Smith for Travel Alberta. They spoke on the services and promotional opportunities offered by Travel Alberta, with a PowerPoint presentation outlining the many benefits of participation.

This was followed by a short presentation by Brad Maxwell of Alberta Central TDR, in which he discussed the ways that marketing and promotion efforts can be leveraged through assistance by TDR monies and promotions. Both of these presentations were very well received, and a great deal of interest was expressed in taking advantage of the opportunities shown.

Gerry Osmond of the Alberta Museums Association was unable to attend this evening due to illness, but it is our hope that he will be able to visit with us another time to share information from that organization.

The meeting concluded at 8:55 pm.