Marg Southern
Being inducted this summer into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame is still giving Marg Southern a thrill.
“That really touched me deeply,” said Southern, who, along with husband Ron put Calgary on the show jumping map when they created Spruce Meadows.
“I’m humbled by it, to be one of two women selected (with the late Suzanne West). It’s always been men!”
Southern’s name is also in the Alberta and Canadian sports halls of fame.
“I don’t think anyone goes about what they do to get recognition,” she said. “They do it because they enjoy working at what they’re involved with. I love sports, but I also know that to run sport, you have to have some business acumen.”
Southern’s love of this province led her to a special summer endeavour. She flew to Toronto, rented a car, and for five weeks travelled west of that city through farming communities, mainly to educate people about Alberta.
“This is a great province and I think people are so poorly informed,” she said. “They only think about Alberta as dirty oil. I wanted to try to reach people to tell them Alberta is farming, it’s ranching, it’s tourism. And the oil industry is so valuable to this country, not just the province.”
No one had to tell Southern, an octogenarian, to undertake this trip. It’s just something she felt had to be done.
“I’m fairly independent and I’ve been lucky to be able to be independent,” she said. “I had a wonderful husband who is no longer with me, but I must say he always believed in women’s rights and that women’s voices should be heard.”
Southern continues to be a fixture at Spruce Meadows and promises more excitement in 2020.
“This year we’ll be celebrating our 45th anniversary,” she said, declining to divulge details. “But we’ll do something to make it special.”