Every time Morley Krause heads to a Drumheller Dragons hockey game, he knows where his seat is.
    In fact, it is not in the stands, but it is more of a bar stool, and in his right hand he holds a remote with a button, and he’s the first to know when the Dragons score.
       For about 10 years Krause has been a volunteer with the Drumheller Dragons. His role is goal judge. He sits behind the net on the north side of the arena at each Dragons home game.
    “I was asked by Barry Pozzo because he knew me from my umpiring days. They were short of people that one year, so they asked me if I would come out, and I said sure,” said Krause.
    He has been there through the team’s ups and downs, keeping a close eye on the action.
    “It gets you into the game and you are close to the action,” he said. “I love hockey and it is a way to get involved.”
    Krause has always been involved with sports and when he first came to Drumheller, he began umpiring.
     “After we moved to Drumheller, I was too busy with my job to play, so I went out to a game where a friend of mine was playing to watch and there was no umpire. So they said ‘you know the rules because you played.’ So that’s how I got started.”
    That was 40 years ago and at age 79 he is still going strong. Last season he umpired more than 100 games.
    He belongs to Baseball Alberta who assigns him to officiate baseball and softball games all over Southern Alberta.
    “I got to know towns I never knew existed before,” he chuckles.
    The position does come

with risks. He has broken both his collar bones and his arm umpiring.
    “When you are behind the plate and the ball comes off the bat at 100 miles an hour you can’t get out of the way.”
    He has also been involved in training new umpires, something that’s hard to come by.
    “Especially after I retired I needed something to do and that is one way to keep doing things. Between golf and umpiring that pretty well kept me going,” he said.
    He also volunteers with the Salvation Army and the Drumheller Community Church, serving on different committees and boards.
    “I tell everybody when they come close to retirement, they better plan on doing something,” said Krause. “I have seen too many people retire, sit on their couch and inside of a year they are dead, so you got to have a plan.”

    The Hand Hills Lake Stampede has become a tradition for many families to come and enjoy an up-close and personal rodeo experience.
    For some, the tradition is volunteering to make it a great show.
    Marilyn Vredegoor has been one of those volunteering for more than four decades.
    “I have been a volunteer for about the 45 years I have been here in the Hand Hills,” she tells the Mail. “It was just the thing to do, everyone was involved, it was such a big community thing to do. The whole community shut down to get ready for the stampede.”
    While she has not been on the executive, she has played key roles as a volunteer, planning and preparing, as well as working during the event.
    “I was still going to be there regardless,” she said.
    She was a big part of the centennial celebrations for the Hand Hills Stampede, including creating a book to celebrate the legacy of the event.
    “My thing is I like to see people have a good time, and I figure that is what is happening. The accolades that come with it, they don’t matter, as long as they are having a good time,” she said.
    The Stampede has gone through its ups and downs but has seen a strong resurgence.
    “It was dying for a while because we had it on a Wednesday, but once we went to the weekend, it has come a long way in the last 20 years,” she said.   
    They were named the Small Committee of the Year Award by Pro Rodeo Canada for the last three years running.
    Vredegoor says one of the most important aspects of the event is families.
    “We never want to lose that part of it, where families can come and spend a weekend together,” she said. “It is a tradition, 104 years, there is a generational thing that goes along with it.”
    She sees volunteerism is important to a small community and everyone should give it a try.
    “It’s work, but it’s fun work. You get to mingle with people, be out with people and express your own ideas and see them come full circle. You need to do it because there is something bigger than you,” she said.