Group helps members broaden horizons
Women’s Canadian Club of Calgary is still going strong at 104 years old
The Fairmont Palliser Hotel last year celebrated its 100th birthday to a lot of fanfare and best wishes. Among its gifts was a small plaque from the Women’s Canadian Club of Calgary to recognize the relationship it’s had with the grand hotel since the day it opened. The club held a luncheon at the hotel in 1914 and has held monthly gatherings there ever since.
The organization itself is even older. The Calgary club was established on Jan. 21, 1911 with a membership of 53 women. All had to be a British subject and have two members sponsor them.
Today, the club has a membership of 250 ladies from all walks of life who wish to learn about and celebrate Canada’s diversity and strengths. In its early days the club attracted some notable speakers who found their way to Calgary, including prime ministers R. B. Bennett and John Diefenbaker, feminist Emmeline Pankhurst, a member of the Famous 5, Nellie McClung, Ottawa mayor Charlotte Whitton and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Organizers must have been busy tracking down visitors and quickly arranging events. Things have changed now. This year’s program is already filled and speakers’ chair Carol Tittemore already has bookings lined up for next year.
President Janet Watson said members like to know well in advance who they can look forward to hearing. On May 6 they’ll hear from Linh Huynh, an international marathon runner and educator at Bow Valley College. Twice a year the format changes to offer entertainment and the June meeting will feature lyric sopranos Barbara Thorsen and Melissa Jackson.
The club has carried on all of these years offering members an opportunity to broaden their horizons, celebrate Canada’s history, foster an appreciation of Canadian accomplishments and help promote a sense of Canadian identity. But it’s primarily a social gathering where women can enjoy each other’s company.
Watson told me she had never heard of the club before a visit to Winnipeg. About to leave the Fort Garry Hotel, she noticed a group of well- dressed ladies entering a luncheon. Intrigued, she read the welcome notice and found it was a Winnipeg chapter of the Women’s Canadian Club.
Back in Calgary she googled the local club and asked if she could attend a lunch. Now she is part of its history.
Past president Sylvia Adams said they have a lot of fun — the lunch is previewed with a sherry and wine bar — but it is still quite formal in that members dress for the occasion and the proceedings begin with a singing of The Maple Leaf Forever and O Canada, and end with God Save the Queen.
Many of the ladies — and a couple of males — have been members for many years and look forward to the luncheons. I can remember during my time in the film industry — while shooting a movie in the lobby of the Fairmont Palliser — having to restrain a group anxious to get to the Crystal Ballroom while John Frankenheimer was directing Jurgen Prochnow in a scene from The Fourth War.
The average age of club members today is in the 60s and Watson is anxious to attract younger members to keep the lunch numbers up to around 150 each month. She doesn’t expect an influx of 20- year- olds but believes the club presents a wonderful opportunity for business women to join a new networking group and for those who recently left the workforce to stay involved in our community.
NEWS AND NOTES
Al- Arqam Amer, regional vice- president of Riddell Kurczaba Architecture, has been appointed to the role of principal operations, responsible for the delivery of service by the firm’s staff in both Calgary and Edmonton where he has his office. Amer, a former project manager with Trammell Crow, worked in the Calgary office before making the move to Edmonton in 2008. He became quickly involved in that community and was a cofounder of the NAIOP Edmonton chapter.
In the Calgary office Niha Prasad- Kroliczek has been appointed principal business development and Julie Shields is the new managing director interior design.