Friday, August 25
4.30 am. 4.30 am!!! After another long day of visiting various Liberals in the Lower Mainland, I had to wake up at 4.30 am to quickly get ready and take our 7 AM flight to Calgary.
During check-in, one of the flight staff had an issue with Martha's ID - "Martha Findlay," not Hall Findlay. As proof that she was indeed Martha Hall Findlay, Martha took out from her briefcase an impressive two (maybe three?) page spread in the Toronto Star that had a huge picture of her with the words "Martha's the One to Watch." I read the article before on the website, but I didn't realize that the article was so big and had so many pictures!
Winnie and I both doze off during our flight. When we arrived in Calgary, we were greeted by Rob Woodward, our Alberta Youth Chair. He's a great guy who entertains himself by making fun of me. But that's another problem that can be dealt with after this convention. (Hint hint.)
First destination: Medicine Hat. Along the way, Martha did a radio interview with Dave Rutherford on the Rutherford Show. Of course, anyone in Alberta knows how conservative Dave is, but I knew Martha could take him on. And she certainly did. One listener called in and said, "I've always been a card-carrying Liberal, and I liiike! this lady!" Our host in Medicine Hat was Roger Johnson, owner of Pasta-Bilities, a delicious little pasta place along the Trans Canada Highway. Below, you can see our crew with the World's Tallest Teepee - yes, in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Next destination: Lethbridge! We all met at Dianne King's house. Dianne is a wonderful lady and the President of the local riding association. Chris Spearman, one of our supporters in Lethbridge, gave an impressive introduction to Martha. There were some other notables there - Bridget Pastoor, MLA for Lethbridge-East, and Senator Joyce Fairbairn, who came to visit for the second time (we were in Lethbridge during our first tour).
Final destination of the day: Calgary. Rob, Janice Kinch, and Beverly Anderson did an awesome job of putting together our first fundraiser for the tour. It was held at Ed's, a cute little restaurant in the heart of downtown Calgary (across from the Stampede grounds!). More than 50 people came out to hear what Martha had to say. Martha released her agriculture policy today - you will be able to see it on our website shortly!
After what seemed to be a very long day, we made our drive up to Red Deer to stay at Donna Herron's home for the night.
August 26, 2006
Martha tried to wake Winnie and I up in the morning. Neither of us heard her. We were just too tired! Our first event was at Donna's home. She has a beautiful home and I always tell her that she looks like Glenn Close. :-) The event was very well-attended, and everyone was clearly impressed. It wasn't supposed to be a fundraiser, but we raised quite a few dollars! Thank you, Red Deer.
After a lengthy six- or seven-hour drive, we arrived in Sexsmith, Alberta - Peace River country!! This was Martha's second visit. The response after her first visit was absolutely amazing - Neil Peacock, a former provincial candidate and director of the Peace Country Tender Beef Co-Op, has been very vocal of his support for Martha and organized a fundraiser for us. The response from tonight's event? Even more astounding - everyone took a delegate intention form to stand as a delegate for Martha.
Sunday, August 26
Finally, a day of sleep at home! Our first event in Edmonton was a meeting with representatives from the Seniors Commission and the local Womens' Policy Association. Martha then went out to Sherwood Park to meet with a handful of Liberals, including Ron Symic - past candidate for Edmonton-Sherwood Park - who is endorsing Martha.
The biggest event of the tour took place in the evening. Over eighty local Liberals came out to hear Martha speak at the Palace Conference Centre. Weslyn Mather, the MLA for Edmonton-Mill Woods, came out to personally support Martha's leadership bid, which appeared in Global TV and the local papers. Both Martha and Weslyn were given standing ovations, in recognition of their public service. Bridget Pastoor (MLA for Lethbridge East) also joined us as one of our guest speakers. Picture below.
Monday, August 27
Today's agenda was great. We first drove off to Edson, but I underestimated the time it would take to get there and we were about 30 minutes late! Fortunately, all of the local Liberals waited for us, drinking their good ol' Tim Hortons coffee. Most of them were impressed! And they took a delegate intention form to stand as a delegate for Martha.
Then we went off to Hinton to meet with some local Liberals. I think Martha had her first uninterrupted full meal that day, so Winnie and I were quite pleased.
After our lunch in Hinton, we went through Highway 93 from Jasper to Banff. It was a gorgeous drive. Well, actually, Martha drove, and she seemed to enjoy her time away from her Treo and the laptop. Here are some of the pictures we took along the way...
Along the highway, we saw a huge (huuuge!) deer or elk or moose or...
Martha and Winnie with some beautiful views of the Rockies.
Martha and I standing at a marker indicating where the Columbia Icefield was in 1935.
Our final event for the Alberta tour was at Betsy's home. Betsy is Martha's sister. She has a beautiful home along the Bow River in Banff. When Betsy's assistant Debbie told me that the entire town of Banff was invited, I thought she was kidding.... Guess not! Martha was engaged in some hot-topic discussions surrounding the gun registry and healthcare with hordes of Banff residents. Some purchased memberships and made the decision to run as delegates for Martha.
After spending almost two weeks with Martha (non-stop!), I have gotten to know Martha as a truly genuine individual with so much to offer Canada, and the world. Thank you, Martha.
Joining David Anderson, former Minister of the Environment, and Judy Sgro, MP for York West, chanting "Martha" as we head to the main floor of the Palais des Congres.
