Camrose hosts A. W. I, convention
By Brett Browne
Delegates from throughout
the province gathered in Cam-rose
last week for the 89th annual
convention of the Alberta
Women's Institutes ( AWI), June
9 and 10.
This is the fourth straight
year that the convention has
been held in Camrose at August
a n a University College. This
year it attracted 250 delegates.
The theme of this year's convention
was " The Challenge of
Change into the Next Century"
and many of the presentations on
the convention agenda centered
around change and working
towards the future.
Alberta Women's Institutes
President- elect Maxean Brigley,
from Cochrane, says one of the
things the Women's Institute will
continue to focus upon is the promotion
of farm safety. At last
year's convention AWI unveiled a
farm safety book called Tractor
Trouble which was distributed
free of charge to nearly 2,000
Alberta schools.
Also during the past year
AWI, along with Alberta Agriculture
Food and Rural Development,
developed an interactive CD ROM
on farm safety entitled Lost on the
Farm, which was also distributed
to Alberta school students.
Brigley says the Institute is
currently working on another
safety book which will be printed
early in the new year. Brigley
says a title hasn't yet been chosen
for the book, but it will be about
safety around large animals.
" We're pretty excited about
that, it's our big project for 1999,"
says Brigley.
She says AWT will also be
involved in a project to recognize
" the famous five" who won the
vote for women in Alberta with
statues. One of the women was
Emily Murphy, a member of the
Alberta Women's Institutes.
" I guess we feel a real close
connection with the famous five
because of Emily Murphy and we
will be helping the committee
that's doing these statues to do a
celebration in 1999," she said.
A PARADE OF FLAGS A ND DIGNITARIES MARKED THE OPENING OF THE 89TH
ALBERTA WOMEN'S INSTITUTES ANNUAL CONVENTION HELD AT AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE.