In grade four, my elementary school had an essay contest. This was in my Quebec version of a Red Deer-sized city, Granby. The essay topic: would you rather live in the city or the country?
That was probably the hardest essay I ever wrote, unlike my grade nine essay written in under 10 minutes describing my favourite food from my Quebec version of a Calgary/Edmonton-sized city, Montreal. How could describing Lakeshore Drive’s Piazza Romana’s all-dressed pizza by verbally undressing it, heavenly topping by topping, garner a lesser grade than perfect? That was obviously before I discovered boys.
The essay conclusion I finally drew, after carefully weighing the pros and cons - the country. The school principal, who was the final judge, appreciated my submission and placed me in his grade seven English class. In retrospect, it was also not long after being in his office for being an alleged troublemaker, maybe he just wanted to keep a better eye on me, or the yarn I told to get off entertained him even more than my essay. Challenges (versus punishments) tend to keep precocious youth out of trouble, early note to future parent self.
Red Deerians are tackling the same question, would we rather be more urban or rural? According to the Premier, we may be the next Canadian city to reach a population of a million. Where else is in the running that has space to grow and as many attractive qualities? A further question would be when? Maybe we could do it right, starting with homeless issues.
I am not convinced size matters, but quality does. But, as an entity grows, be it a business, organization, or community, it needs standards to maintain that quality. The former informal style of doing things and adopting an entity’s customs and culture by osmosis no longer works in most scenarios, especially with the current speed of innovation. Australian Christie Jenkins, who achieved world class status in three consecutive sports notes: “standards matter more than goals”. Goals alone without standards to meet and measure reminds me of most strategic plans, nice pieces of paper to recycle.
A vision is important for Red Deer, it should include measurable goals for actualizing our potential as citizens sharing a community where we work, live and play. Just as there is no “I” in “team”, “teamwork” by every Red Deer team resident is necessary for success. Don’t confuse being the self-anointed critic with actual action that will get you past benchwarmer. Promote and support the team.
We will soon(ish) see our world-class Justice Centre open for business. Our hospital expansion plans are underway. Red Deer Polytechnic is moving up the ranks. Many more examples exist, big and small. If technology evolves so Alberta gets its high-speed rail or bullet train, we want it to stop here and not pass us by, literally and figuratively.
That we lost Parkland Industries’ head office to Calgary (local business that has done very well, would it say because of Red Deer or in spite?) or that Westerner Park has had some financial issues might suggest sticking to the same old ways would already be a choice that is too late to make. New leaders with new visions make sense, as we have seen take place at the Westerner, stay tuned. Remember Einstein’s definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That we see more diversity in local leaders is something I have noticed, hope the teams support them.
Living in two cities and working in even more results in a unique ability to see all the parts of the elephant that is Alberta, and appreciate Red Deer (my husband took three years last millennium to convince me to move here to join him). Red Deer and central Alberta have the assets most places can only dream about, but not to be taken for granted.
To quote Maya Angelou: “if you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be”. Red Deer and central Alberta, be amazing, whatever identity. In these evolving times, the alternative may be worse than just staying normal.
Donna Purcell, K.C., (aka Lady Justice) is a Central Alberta lawyer and Chief Innovation Officer with Donna Purcell QC Law. If you have legal questions, contact dpurcell@dpqclaw.com.