Charity champion bids city farewell
Bob Westbury helped raise $100 million for numerous good causes in Edmonton
A goodbye wave came last week from an Edmonton charity champion.
Bob Westbury and his wife Marilyn have departed Edmonton to retire in Victoria.
He's the man who made sure the Edmonton Oilers remained in Edmonton and raised countless millions of dollars for local charities.
“I'm 84 and can't imagine a better space to live than near the Victoria harbour,” says Sydney, N.s.-born Westbury.
“My wife Marilyn and I will enjoy our view overlooking the Empress Hotel's bowling green and the many great walks and runs along the seacoast.”
Westbury, whose friends note he has raised an estimated $100 million for local charities, began expanding his focus of giving back in the mid-1980s.
That's when, in a new post, he served as vice-president of public affairs and environment for the Calgary-based Transalta Corp.
Offering a helping hand to a great many causes, he went on to serve as a Citadel Theatre board chair and the Capital Region United Way campaign cabinet chair. He also developed a successful fundraising approach that generated significant income for Kids Kottage.
“Edmonton is a better place because of Bob,” says Stephen Mandel, three-time Edmonton mayor (2004-2013) and Alberta Party leader (2018-2019)
“He helped sustain the Fringe, one of Edmonton's most prestigious events, while also reaching out to and impacting many needy groups. So many events would have not succeeded without his support.”
Westbury has gathered numerous awards over the years, including the Order of Canada; the Queen's Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee Medals; the Alberta Award of Excellence Centennial Medal; the Alberta Star of the Millennium Volunteer Award; and the Grant Macewan University Outstanding Citizen Award.
Among his treasured memories, two stand out.
“In the mid-1990s, and while working for Calgary-based Transalta in Edmonton, I was serving as Northlands president when it became clear Oilers owner Peter Pocklington was considering selling the Edmonton Oilers,” he says.
“We inserted a location clause saying before Pocklington could move the team, he had to offer it to Northlands or another city group for US$70 million.
“When an American businessman came to buy the Oilers in 1997, he read the location clause and left town the next day,” says Westbury. “It was one of my proudest moments.”
The businessman later became a director of the Fringe Theatre Adventures board, and noted to Transalta president Steve Snyder that while much of the company's wealth was being made in Edmonton, not much was being spent here.
Snyder kicked in what would have been about $1 million today and Westbury went on to launch a campaign that raised $9.2 million to create the Transalta Arts Barns. Today, the 375-seat main venue is named The Westbury Theatre.
Westbury went on to work for Telus as its Edmonton Community Board chair and was delighted to hold annual Fringe fundraising dinners that contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Footnote: Watch this fall for a book on the history of the Fringe Theatre, which will include a chapter on Bob Westbury.
SPINNING TO HELP
John Bodnar, a cyclist on
CASA'S five daily bike rides from Edmonton last week, asked for the group's fundraising target to be raised from $50,000 to $100,000.
“John was on his way to raising $25,000 by himself, sensed two friends and other riders would do well, and suggested we raise the bar,” says CASA Foundation executive director Nadine Samycia. “We of course were delighted to agree. Our rides are supporting the mental well-being of Indigenous children.
“CASA helps families in which a child has a mental health issue, and is committed to providing culturally safe care to all of their patients and their families. This means committing to taking more purposeful and effective action to improve in the areas of equity, diversity and inclusion.”
Bodnar, who has a drywall business, and his friends, lawyer Bill Shore and home renovator Martin Pederson, set a goal of covering 1,000 kilometres in the Monday-to-friday rides.
“By riding a few more kilometres each day and on the weekend, we all totalled over 1,000 km each,” Bodnar says.
Warmly congratulated was CASA Indigenous-success coach Courtney Zielinski, who had never ridden a bike previously but successfully rode the 130 km from St. Albert to Sandy Beach on an older bike with one gear.
“To keep me going all the way, I kept the `every child matters' mantra in my mind,” she says.
Also congratulated was CASA'S new CEO Bonnie Blakley, who borrowed an older bike and, with coaching from fellow riders on her first long ride, cycled a 121km Elk Island route.
“With Frank Flaman's $10,000 sponsorship and the big-heartedness of supporters who backed some 40 riders daily, our ride total is just over $90,000 and climbing,” Samycia says. “With little help from friends, we hope to reach John's $100,000 target.”
To support the mental health of Indigenous children, go to: www.casacyclechallenge.org.