Local group recognized by Parks Canada
- Details
- Published on Monday, December 19, 2016
Submitted
Riding Mountain National Park
The members of the Riding Mountain Union-Management Consultative Committee received several nominations for the Riding Mountain national Park Superintendent’s Award of Excellence for the month of November. They would like to recognize the following individual and group team members who deserve special recognition for a job well done.
An award goes to the Dead Ox Trailblazers volunteer group. This group, like so many other volunteer groups at Parks Canada, have been working alongside employees to enhance visitors’ experience at the park. Over the past couple of years, the Dead Ox Trailblazers have signed a volunteer agreement with RMNP to continue trail work on trails on the east side of RMNP. So far, this has included Reeve’s Ravine trail maintenance, winter grooming of Burls and Bittersweet for fat tire biking and cross country ski trail grooming of trails along the ski hill road.
For the 2016 summer season, members of The Dead Ox Trailblazers organized two build days, July 17, and August 14, to continue some work needed on Reeve’s Ravine.
These days brought in large numbers of volunteers, primarily from the Neepawa bike club, PTB Neepawa, where over 20 members came each build day, as well as from surrounding communities.
At the end of the 2016 summer biking season, close to 300 feet of bridging was completed, as well as 12 grade reversals worked on. Not to mention the tireless hours of leaf blowing and clearing debris off trails throughout the entire season.
None of this work, or the hours people have contributed, would have been possible without the connections that Reade Tereck has made with the local groups using these trails. The PTB Neepawa group alone, has contributed over 100 volunteer hours in this season. Every build day builds on the previous one in terms of work completed and volunteers attending. The advocacy that is being shown through the volunteer groups is starting to attract more and more users and volunteers wanting to make the trails great.
This is a big job and a big congratulations go out to both groups, The Dead Ox Trailblazers and PTB Neepawa for their hard work and great efforts at helping to enhance and maintain Reeve’s Ravine trail.
Marketing group
An award also goes to Kevin Bachewich, Megan Dudeck and Karly McRae, President of the Clear Lake Destination Marketing Organization.
When Bachewich was in his former position, Promotions & Non-Personal Media Officer, he worked hard to bring together the business community to establish the creation of the Clear Lake Country Destination Marketing Group. After a need for a joint destination marketing organization was identified, Parks Canada partnered with the business community to establish the Destination Marketing Group. Bachewich has worked hard over the past few years to create this partnership and connect partners within the community and industry to find support and funding partners.
Recognition also goes out to Megan Dudeck who has now taken on the role of the Parks Canada representative with CLDMO. The Park would also would like to recognize the dedication and hard work done by Karly McRae, the President CLDMO, for having a major role in creation of the CLDMO and organizing the business community to have a coordinated approach to marketing.
Over 60 members have been part of this initiative in the first year and it is hoped that it will continue to grow. The group provides marketing activities and support for the business community and Riding Mountain National Park. They promote the area as a year round destination to assist in increasing visitation numbers and revenue by engaging with the area businesses and tourism partners in a common marketing approach. This initiative won the Partnership Award at the Manitoba Tourism Awards in October 2016, which is a significant accomplishment.
It is great to see the business community, Travel Manitoba and Parks Canada work together on connecting people to Riding Mountain National Park!
Public outreach
An award also goes to Karyne Jolicoeur-Funk who is the Public Outreach and Education Officer and was nominated for the following achievement:
For the last three years, Karyne has provided exceptional leadership and initiative in developing and expanding the Riding Mountain National Park Public Outreach and Education programs in urban areas. This is consistent with Parks Canada’s strategic direction to increase the awareness and appreciation of National Parks and National Historic sites within urban areas in Canada.
Jolicoeur-Funk’s position was transferred to Winnipeg to work with key stakeholders and partners, thereby forming stronger relationships with urban user groups and organizations and to learn how national parks and sites and Parks Canada can become more meaningful and relevant to urban Canadians. Her organizational skills and knowledge in outreach and education and about RMNP have established programs at the Assiniboine Zoo, Manitoba Museum and Fort Whyte Nature Centre that on average have connected with roughly 14,000 individuals and potential visitors to the park.
Jolicoeur-Funk’s ability to hire, train and inspire students to deliver consistent, high quality programs and experiences has been a hallmark of her professional abilities. She has been instrumental in negotiating with various organizations to have a Parks Canada/RMNP presence at events such as Festival du Voyager, Banff Film Festival, Regina Home Show, FIFA Women’s World Cup events, National Aboriginal Day and Winnipeg Santa Claus/Grey Cup Parades with a consistent message of why RMNP and the East Gate NHS matters to Canadians. Consistent with the Superintendents Mandate letter, she has also shown excellent initiative in reaching out to the South Saskatchewan Field Unit to explore how RMFU can increase its presence in the other large urban centres of Regina and Saskatoon.
Due to her Winnipeg location, new and innovative opportunities have been created with the Manitoba Field Unit that have resulted in excellent collaboration between the Manitoba Field Unit and the Riding Mountain Field Unit. For her skills, knowledge and exceptional leadership in expanding our Public Outreach and Education efforts in urban areas, it is a delight to recommend Jolicoeur-Funk for the Superintendents Award.
