Team Lethbridge hits the road on eighth mission

By Lethbridge Herald on November 5, 2024.

Tourism Lethbridge’s Erin Crane boards the bus taking Team Lethbridge to Edmonton Tuesday for three days of advocacy. Herald photo by Al Beeber

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Team Lethbridge hit the highway early Tuesday morning for three days of advocacy in the provincial capital.

Nineteen organizations are represented on the eighth mission of community and business leaders who will be holding series of meetings with government officials at the Alberta legislature starting today.

A reception for government MLAs was held by Team Lethbridge last night and one is beings staged tonight for members of the Opposition.

Trevor Lewington, the CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge, said at the downtown bus terminal before the group departed that 19 meetings are scheduled over the course of three days in Edmonton.

A wide range of organizations are on the trip including the Downtown BRZ, Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, Lethbridge Sport Council, Tourism Lethbridge, BILD, The University of Lethbridge, and of course, Lethbridge city council.

Susan Eymann, executive director of the sport council, said “this is really about representing Lethbridge in Edmonton and reminding everyone that we’re a wonderful, collaborative, innovative community.

“The trip up and speaking with government is wonderful and it’s also the networking” with the other organizations part of the team, Eymann said.

Sarah Amies of the BRZ and her board chair have meetings with MLA for Lethbridge East and Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf, as well as Rick Wilson who is the Minister of Indigenous Relations – a meeting Eymann will also be at, Public Safety and Emergency Services minister Mike Ellis and Scott Sinclair, the parliamentary secretary for Indigenous policing. The BRZ will also be meeting with Searle Turton, Minister of Children and Family Services.

“If the ministers are available to meet, they’re there and if they’re doing something else and are too busy, they have a representative,” said Eymann.

Both Eymann and Amies have been on previous trips and Eymann says they are productive.

“Absolutely. Once you meet with them as a group, you’re talking about Lethbridge in general but if there’s something specific to your sector, your portfolio, there are follow-up meetings. They request information or request a follow-up meeting to discuss more specifics,” said Eymann.

“We’re 19 leaders from a variety of sectors across Lethbridge. This is to elevate the position of Lethbridge” in Edmonton and highlight the city’s strengths and contributions, said Amies.

And Amies added, it’s an opportunity to thank the provincial government for whatever investments it’s made in Lethbridge.

Provincial funding of $2.5 million for Festival Square, Amies said, “basically transformed the downtown.

“We put our personal agendas aside and speak to the greater good of Lethbridge. We take more of a 10,000 foot view,” Amies added.

Lewington said “it’s pretty intense” of the mission.

“We basically take over the legislature for three days and try to meet with as many ministers and departments as we possibly can,” he said.

Meetings can be added on the fly, he added.

“It’s about making sure everybody is aware what Lethbridge is all about and we can promote what the community issues are. It’s about impact, you’ve got a busload of 50 people show up” who want to talk about what’s going on and how Team Lethbridge can help the province.

“It’s also about what are the various provincial priorities and how do we support them,” he said.

And it’s also an opportunity for team members to inter-act with each other, he said.

Bridget Mearns, executive officer of BILD Lethbridge Region, is one of two representatives who have been on all eight missions, the other being Richard Westlund of the U of L.

“Every mission there’s two really valuable things that come out of this: one our ability to showcase and highlight Lethbridge and how we collaborate and truly do it. Many people have copied this formula but very few people have been successful in achieving what we achieve with Team Lethbridge and I attribute that to the people and how we truly do things differently in Lethbridge,” said Mearns.

“The first thing is having the ability to showcase and reinforce the power of Lethbridge. Secondly, it’s the power of us and the members of Team Lethbridge. Because when we leave here we continue to collaborate and we’ve built networks and we rely on each other,” said Mearns of the team which she says consists of talented community leaders.

“It goes beyond the mission,” says Mearns of the group who will be spending a lot of time together over the next three days.

“We’re committed to this.”

Mearns believe the reason the missions are successful is because “we collaborate and we make each other stronger.”

The City of Lethbridge contingent includes mayor Blaine Hyggen, councillor Jenn Schmidt-Rempel and City Manager Lloyd Brierley.