Calgary Retirees. Community Service Activities Projects BP Volunteers & Others Hours. Legacy of the BP Birthplace Forests

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1 bp volunteers Calgary Retirees 2013 Annual Report 1 Community Service Activities Projects BP Volunteers & Others Hours BP Alumni Activities 275 Birthplace Forest 103 Bow Habitat/Pearce Estate 484 Bluebird Project 105 Food Bank - Garden of Eat n 1,406 -Warehouse 578 Calgary Promotion 1,226 Churches 1,915 Community Associations 1,237 Golf Marshals -ATB Classic 421 -Shaw Classic 577 Health / Hospitals / Medical 859 Highway Clean Up 134 History / Museums 521 Nature / Environment / Parks 68 Service to Needy 98 Service to Seniors 499 Sports & Recreation 422 Tutoring & Education 438 Waiparous Clean-up 91 Wellness Fair 50 Wheels for Kids 1,949 Yarn Burners 3,174 Youth Activities 1,316 BP Volunteers Mgmt. & Admin. 924 Miscellaneous Projects 286 Legacy of the BP Birthplace Forests 103 hours 20 volunteers The BP Birthplace Forests are urban forests created through the planting of a tree for every baby born in Calgary during a specific year. In the interest of preserving some of Calgary s most beautiful green spaces and enabling generations of parents and their grandparents to watch their children grow along with the trees, a special event was held in early June at Elliston Park, the first of these urban forest locations in Calgary. Each of the families visiting were given a copy of "Grandpa's Forest", a specially written children s book by local celebrity Dave Kelly. In addition to the book, a lunch was provided along with an entertaining presentation by Dave Kelly and several of the children. Sub Totals BP Retiree Volunteers - Calgary 10,336 Other BP Retiree Projects 10,290 Grand Total 20,626 Hours Bold Items are BP Volunteer Projects *Note: For information regarding Volunteer Opportunities, please us at bpannuitants@gmail.com. From 2001 to 2009, more than 50,000 trees were planted and dedicated to over 33,000 babies across the nine Birthplace Forests. Coordinator: Judy Bilinski

2 2 Waiparous Campsite Cleanup 91 hours 11 - volunteers BP retiree volunteers joined representatives of the Ghost River Watershed Alliance Society (GWAS) in the foothills west of Calgary to cleanup campsites along Waiparous Creek. Bluebird Nesting Box Project 95 hours 8 volunteers The Mountain Bluebird is native to Alberta and is considered threatened. In an effort to sustain them, former BP employee Bill Spencer devotes time and funds to improve their nesting prospects through a project where he provides all building materials, tools, work space and unlimited nourishment for volunteer carpenters. Marina Krainer, Executive Director expressed thanks on behalf of the Board for BP s $5000 grant to support various projects with emphasis on ecosystem education of students. She and Andy Marshall joined the volunteers in cleaning debris from various campsites along the creek banks. The usual variety of items included a burned out barbeque, lawn chair frames, an abandoned tent, garbage, bottles and a large wooden chest... cautiously opened- only to find it empty. L/R: Rod Dreveny, Rob Thorburn, Don Smith, Susanne McRae, Bill Spencer, Ray Price, Phil Unland, Brian Thompson & Dave Thompson. In May, these eight retirees completed 100 bluebird and 5 wren nesting boxes. These were distributed to Heritage Park, Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, BP Alumni and fence posts on Bill Spencer s farm near Consort, Alberta. Coordinator: Phil Unland Enhancing Native Trout Populations 70 hours 4 volunteers Streams on east slopes of the Rockies have been invaded by more aggressive non-native brook and rainbow trout which threaten the survival of native cutthroat trout. The day concluded with hamburgers and all the trimmings courtesy of GWAS plus dessert provided by Sue Draychuk and Dawn Horn. Oh yes, it was a beautiful fall day! Other projects focused on restoring the natural environment for fish and wildlife in the Bow River watershed include enhancing native trout populations through restoration of a spawning site at Mallard Point in Fish Creek Provincial Park and the Nose Creek wetlands flowing through Airdrie and NE Calgary. Coordinator: Phil Unland This project provides trained volunteers with permits to catch and keep the invasive trout. In 2013, there were 151 special licenses issuedfour of which went to BP Volunteers. Coordinator: Phil Unland

3 3 Yarn Burners 3174 hours 11 volunteers The highlight of the Yarn Burner year was the annual craft sale of knitting and crocheting held in the lobby of BP Centre in November. Yarn Burners at the sale were: Judy, Susan, Bieny, Gerda, Gwen & Gudrun. Volunteer Golf Marshals Shaw Charity Classic-577 hours 22 volunteers This second professional tournament was a Champions Tour event, the Shaw Charity Classic, held August 28- September 1 at Canyon Meadows. This is the third time the tour has visited Calgary and the fifteenth time BP Volunteers have assisted in a local professional golf tournament. l/r: B. Standring, L. Horn, I. Berthelet*, D. Thompson, R. Findlay, C. Burgher, M. Standring, B. Starkes*, R. McDougall, L. Hudon, B. Marshall, B. McLay, E. Burdon*, B. MacDonald* (* Non-BP) Other knitters included Joan Price, Shirley Gerus, Marion Krzywda, Lorraine White and Susanne McRae. Over the two day sale, the group made over $2200 which will be donated to charities supporting women and children in need. Two new members joined the group in 2013 and some new crafts were introduced. Yarn Burners are still accepting unused skeins of yarn if anyone wishes to donate the group. Coordinator: Judy Bilinski BP Volunteers were responsible for Marshaling the 17 th Hole for three tournament rounds and two Pro- Am events. A field of 81 senior professionals (age 50+) included such well-known players such as Fred Couples, Tom Kite, Hale Irwin and Nick Price, as well as three Canadians, Dave Barr, Jim Rutledge and Rod Spittle. Three course records were set, the last a 9-under-par 62 by Bill Glasson. 22 BP Volunteers participated in the event. Total BP Volunteer time was over 576 hours All participants received a uniform shirt, jacket and cap and a message of thanks from the Volunteer Coordinator and the Project Manager Volunteer Golf Marshals ATB Financial- 421 hours 25 volunteers The 2013 ATB Financial Golf Classic was unique because it was contested over two sessions. Held at the Country Hills Golf Club in northwest Calgary, 156 golfers started June 20 but torrential rain washed out the event after only five holes. It was rescheduled and completed on August 9 th. The winner, 27-year old Joe Panzeri, from Meridian, Idaho won $27,000 and ATB contributed $50,000 to Habitat for Humanity. BP annuitants, alumni and spouses marshaled holes All received a uniform shirt, a cap and a message of thanks from the Project Manager Coordinator: Ross McDougall. l/r: B. Thompson, D. Donaldson*, L. Hudon, R. Matuska, B. McLay, M. Standring, J. Klochko, B. Standring, R. McDougall, B. McLean*, B. MacDonald* Missing: S. Ansari, R. Butler, D. Sewers, B. Turner, M. Turner, P. Unland (* Non-BP) The event winner, Rocco Mediate won $300,000 while Shaw later announced that it had contributed over 2.2 million dollars to the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta, Kidsport Calgary, the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre and Youthlink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre. Coordinator: Ross McDougall

4 4 Bow Habitat & Pearce Estate Park 484 hours 21 volunteers The June 2013 flooding was two meters deep covering the Trout Pond and leaking through the foundation of the Discovery Station. Quick action by staff saved all the hatchery fish but damages resulted in closure for more than month and only partial services for another 2 or 3 months. This left fewer opportunities for volunteers in Wheels for Kids 1949 hours 8 volunteers With restoration of 307 units in 2013, Wheels For Kids, in sixteen years have donated almost 3,000 bikes, trikes and scooters to the needy of our community. This group of five now has three standby technicians,ray Price, Werner Neumeister and Rob Thorburn who fill in when WFK is short of regular members who are called away on higher priority matters. Recycling Project - renovations following flood damage in 2013 resulted a number of metal baffles no longer needed at the hatchery. In 90 minutes, a salvage crew of ten recovered 37 pounds of bolts, 340 pounds of buckles and 5,740 pounds of baffles. Funds from the three tons of metal salvaged, amounting to $3,138, went into a designated education fund. At the conclusion of the job, the exhausted crew retired to Boston Pizza for revitalization. One of the major agencies who receive bikes are the Cochrane Activettes, a dedicated group of women who engage in charitable work in their community. As a token of their appreciation of the retiree volunteer efforts; upon pick-up of 40 units, which was WFK s largest single shipment of 2013; they brought the WFK group a very large box of Tim Horton epicurean treasures (donuts). The Bow Habitat Station resumed normal hours by the end of the year and should complete flood remediation soon. With all features of the Bow Habitat Station resuming, we expect to have expanded volunteer opportunities in 2014 as Ambassadors or tour guides in the Discovery Center and general clean-up and maintenance in the natural areas of Pearce Estate Park. Coordinator: Lloyd Horn Here, the Cochrane Activettes represented by Jan Tracy, is transferring custody of the gift to Dave Thompson. Dave allowed that while the gift was totally unexpected- it would be well received by the group. To a man, they were delighted with the gift. Coordinator: Dave Thompson:

5 5 Highway Clean-Up 134 hours 24 volunteers The Highway 1A clean-up on Tuesday August 13 th involved 16 volunteers who collected nine bags of garbage along with a large TV and a solitary nickel. The weather cooperated and it was great day topped off with a KFC chicken. Special mention to Gerda, Sue and Ellen for the salads and desserts. Garden of Eat'n 1,406 hours 66 volunteers in 5 work sessions; BP, Chevron, Conoco Phillips and The Food Bank Since the program began in 1996, BP retirees have dedicated thousands of volunteer hours to this project. In the process, they have donated over 137,000 pounds of fresh organic produce to The Food Bank for Calgarians in need. Eleven volunteers handled the Highway 2 cleanup on Sept. 3 rd following their pre-work coffee. Onion Patch This year, BP Canada invited staff to join the retirees in harvesting the crop. The assistance of younger workers on this project is appreciated. Also appreciated was a Potato Digger Angel who volunteered to dig the spuds. Their efforts yielded 21 bags of garbage including a bong was appropriately disposed of. One member of the group commented, I can t think of anything particularly exciting but there were several garter snakes sighted. Harvest Patch However, the extreme wet conditions of June were not conducive to the usual level of production. Nonetheless, beginning at 8:30 am on Thursday, September 5th, the 36 volunteers were able to harvest 5606 lbs. of organic produce from the one acre of garden by noon. This was followed with a barbecue luncheon. Good weather prevailed and a super lunch followed in Okotoks rather than the still flood ravaged town of High River. Special thanks to Betty, Gail, Pat and Ellen for their salads and desserts. Coordinator: John Klochko Luncheon Patch We had our 16 retirees, 11 new volunteers from Oxford Group as well as 9 Chevron employees. Coordinator: Marlene Begg:

6 Alumni & Volunteer Website The new BP sponsored website ( is a site where Volunteers and Alumni members can go to get the latest information on BP, Alumni and Volunteer activities. The website also provides a convenient way for members to renew their memberships and sign-up for Volunteer activities. Wellness Fair 50 hours 7 volunteers A Wellness Fair for company employees was held on October 30 th on the 14th floor of BP Centre. Various organizations showed their wares, including firms offering fitness programs, Sun Life s benefit role, various health promoting organizations and the volunteer and social activities of BP Retirees. 6 New website and Alumni Club President Jim Langbein Questions regarding the Website, Alumni organization or Volunteer opportunities can be directed via to bpannuitants@gmail.com A number of displays were set-up showing photos and other material related to past volunteer activities along with information on the Alumni Club. Seven retirees were present to discuss their activities and answer employee questions. Food Bank Operation 578 hours 19 retiree volunteers After 16 years, BP retiree volunteers are still meeting the third Wednesday of the month at the Food Bank to sort food donations and make up food hampers for Calgary s needy families and the homeless. Rob Thorburn and Dawn Horn present BP cheque to Food Bank s Morissa Choptain Volunteering here continues to provide a chance to join fellow retirees and give to back to the community. New volunteers are welcome. Coordinator: Dawn Horn

7 7 Candid Photo How many can you name??

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