It was a great day to go for a walk.
    On Sunday, May 5, the hiking trail between the Homestead Museum and Drumheller Valley Secondary School was filled with runners and walkers participating in the annual Enerflex MS Walk.
    Organizers of the event were overjoyed with the turnout, which saw 150 people, up from 97 last year, show their support for helping those with multiple sclerosis (MS), a degenerative neurological disease.
    “I think it went pretty spectacularly. We had higher participation this year than we’ve had for the past three or four years in Drumheller,” said Shauna Brown, MS Walk coordinator. “It means a lot to the services that are provided to the clients who have MS in our area. With this, we’ll be able to work harder to support them.”
    Overall, sponsorship was up by 53 per cent and pledges up 40 per cent. As of Monday afternoon, the walk had raised $35,000, but the total continues to climb.
    “By May 17 I think we will have surpassed our goal of $40,000,” said Brown. “Considering the whole of Alberta was down seven per cent, Drumheller was superb.”
    There were also a large number of young volunteers helping and walking.
    “We had a lot of younger volunteers this time around too. It was a really heartwarming family event. Everybody had a fun time,” said Brown.
    Enerflex, like those who were volunteering and walking, pitched in their support, donating $1.3 million to the MS Society of Canada since 1998.
    “We started out in 1998, supporting an employee with MS, then things have just grown from there. Over the last five years, we’ve had a team in every walk across the province. It’s a big deal for us and we put a lot of time and effort into it. It makes a big difference. Hopefully someday we will beat it,” said Justin Francois, Enerflex account representative for the prairie region.
    The hope is the walk will continue to grow and, perhaps, more events throughout the year.
    “I would like to see us do more than one event,” said Brown. “It keeps us in the forefront and reminds us that there are people in the community that have MS.”

The Drumheller Titan cheerleaders, the Angels, led the charge at the MS Walk on Sunday, May 5.

Lorraine Evans-Cross (left), regional director of the Central Alberta MS Society of Canada chapter, cheers as Justin Francois, account representative prairie region for Enerflex, presents a cheque representing their 15 year, $1.3 million, commitment to the MS Society of Canada.

    Drumheller was paid a visit on Thursday, May 2, from two provincial ministers aiming to engage the community.
    The Mail had a chance to speak with the Honourable Dr. Richard Starke, Minister of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation about tourism issues affecting the area.
    Two weeks ago, Canadian Badlands Ltd. was shaken up and announced the departure of Bob Davis as executive director of the tourism group.
    Starke felt there were challenges ahead for the group, but felt Canadian Badlands has considerable potential.
    “You have a group of municipalities and stakeholders working together to promote an entire region as opposed to a piecemeal approach by a number of individual entities. One of the biggest challenges in tourism promotion is alignment; getting everybody to work for a common purpose in a unified way. That’s what Canadian Badlands does and they do it effectively,” said Starke.

The Honourable Dr. Richard Starke, Alberta Minister of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation

    “We feel Canadian Badlands is a model other parts of the province should try to emulate in a way that works for them. We’ve been very impressed with what they’ve been able to achieve (and) the buy in they’ve had.”
    One of the challenges facing tourism throughout the province is enticing people from both within and outside of the province to head to rural destinations.
    Part of increasing tourism is communities to increase what they offer so people will stay longer and therefore spend more money.
    “Thirty per cent of the tourism in the province happens in rural Alberta, outside of Banff, Jasper, Edmonton, and Calgary. There is potential for growth. In order to grow the tourism there, we have to look in all parts of the province,” said Starke.
    “I think the community has done a good job leveraging the success of the Tyrrell Museum, but there are always more ideas that could come forward. It’s important to diversify the range of tourism product in any area, so tourists will be encouraged to stay longer.”
    Drumheller in particular is a favourite spot of Starke’s, for himself and as a place to bring visitors to the province.
    “I drive through Drumheller fairly frequently. I love coming through this part of the world. I’ve been here many times with visitors from out of province and country and show them around the Dinosaur Trail,” said Starke. “I really enjoy it here.”