WEBVTT
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The first thing is is to look around at your neighbors on your street, get to meet them, right?
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Personal relationships, get to get to know your neighbors, what are their needs, if they have any, and you know, uh what's going on?
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What are they involved in?
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What are the kids involved in, and so on.
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Start building those connections.
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And from there, right, it's uh, well, I know, you know, the person who needs this or whatever.
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Oh, and I have that skill or that, you know, competency or whatever, you know, I can follow up.
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So, you know, it starts at home, it starts from where we are and reaching out to the people around us.
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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Airdrie Inside.
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I am your host, Chris Glass.
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We are at Microacres again.
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Everything looks great here.
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It's nice and green.
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Make sure you check them out.
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I am with Phil Hoffman.
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Phil, welcome to the show.
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Thanks very much, Chris.
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Great to be here.
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Thanks for having me.
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Yeah, so I've wanted to have you on the show for a little bit of uh little bit of time here.
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Uh actually, the time that I thought I need to know this guy's story was at the Shamrock Shimmy, where I saw you tirelessly work hard for that event and then uh be so happy on the dance floor.
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And I'm like, this is this is a story that needs to be told.
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So welcome to the show.
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Yeah, yeah, thanks very much.
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All right, so I can tell you a bit about that story, um, why I became involved in Airdrie.
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Um I'll go back a little bit in time.
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So originally from Australia.
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I can tell.
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Jewel Citizen, it's a faded Australian accent.
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I have a call at Mid Pacific.
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Anyway, so I originally came over, Chris, to do a PhD at the University of Calgary way back in the day.
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And when I left, I wasn't sure whether I'd returned to Australia or not.
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And as it turned out, I basically stayed.
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So um, so a lot of the early days, obviously in Calgary as a grad student, um, didn't have much money to travel back to Australia, so I was here.
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And then, you know, did that, uh, work started coming up, relationships, um, how that goes, and uh, ended up staying.
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So um, my father always had a strong service ethic, and uh so I always you know wanted to follow in his footsteps in that way.
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Um when my partner and I, uh Suze Casey, were in uh Northwest Calgary, this is back now uh 2018, um, we were looking to move into a place and we looked at Airdrie and uh wasn't our first choice at first, but we ended up here and haven't looked back.
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We both loved it.
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Every day we say how much you know we enjoy Airdrie for all kinds of reasons.
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But when we moved, we kind of looked at each other and said, you know what, let's get involved in the community.
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She's service-oriented, I am, so you know, it was a no-brainer.
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So we just did.
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And uh Suze uh joined the board of the Chamber of Commerce.
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Um, I originally started out of the library, one thing led to another, you know, had time on my hands, COVID, you know, all that kind of stuff.
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Yeah.
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Um, so time on my hands, and just got more and more involved, and uh here I am.
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Well, you know, it's it's a story that I've heard uh from more than a few guests about Iridry not necessarily being the first choice, but definitely being the last one they're gonna make.
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Yeah.
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Uh and that's a similar story to me.
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I I moved back home, uh, I was born and raised in Calgary, moved to Edmonton for a two-year stint, uh, couldn't afford to come back to Calgary.
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I was transferred back to Calgary, took a promotion here with WestJet, and uh looking for a place to live, ended up settling on a place I could afford, and then realizing this community is pretty special.
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And it's hard to find elsewhere.
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Yeah, it is.
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It's special in um you know subtle and unique ways.
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First of all, there's a strong sense that we're not Calgary, right?
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I mean, originally, well, not originally, but it's been a bedroom community for a long time.
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People don't like using that term anymore, and rightly so, because Edri's evolved into its own thing.
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So not Calgary is one thing, but also I find a very strong um civil um and volunteer ethic.
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Calgary has that too.
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I would say, Airdrie, even more so.
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Yeah, you know, Calgary, I I remember the floods and how uh Marinenchi had to go on TV and say, we have too many volunteers.
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Like we need to slow down because we're starting to run into too many people trying to help.
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That doesn't happen in every community, but right, but when I see something happen in Airdrie or a need, so many people step up.
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Yeah, yeah, I agree.
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It's a it's a really great place.
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So let's talk about some of the ways you're stepping up.
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All right.
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So I we mentioned the library, so let's talk about your library journey.
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Uh sure.
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So as an academic, uh PhD.
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Natural connection.
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Yeah, right, right.
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Uh not much of a stretch there.
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So um, you know, PhD in philosophy.
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That's what brought me to Calgary and the University of Calgary.
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Anyway, so um, you know, literacy, I headed up Literacy Alberta for a while in Calgary a long time ago.
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And uh so literacy is uh something close to my heart, uh, books and so on.
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So uh one of the first stops I made when I moved to Airdrie was um the library to check it out at what is now the the previous location, right?
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And anyway, so um the volunteer coordinator at the time looked at my resume and said, you know what, I think we have a role for you.
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In other words, not sort of stacking shelves, but something else.
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And it was um advocates for the Airdrie Public Library Society, so kind of like a friends of the library group.
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And um, so I said, yeah, sure, sure.
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And so joined that and before too long ended up uh taking that on as um as the president and did about oh a six or seven year stint there.
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I've just recently stepped down from leading it.
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I wanted to get through the transition to the new facility, which we did.
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I know, it's been a runaway success.
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You know, the the the numbers of people attending are just off the charts.
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So that's been a huge success.
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The whole Inspire concept and the building, the way it works, uh I think is working out well.
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So, yeah, so that was one piece, the advocates for the library, and then there's a few others just sort of followed.
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Yeah, when I look at that Inspire Center, uh we just we were just uh you were volunteering, I was volunteering for Culture Fest yesterday at the time we're recording this.
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Um 20 some odd meetings were held at Inspire that led up to that event.
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Prior to Inspire opening, uh, we didn't have any meeting space.
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So it was either at somebody's house, which was really inconvenient for a larger group, or online meetings, or where you lose a lot of collaboration.
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Uh having a space where the community can go is so important.
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Yes, so important.
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For sure.
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And for quite a while, meeting spaces in Airdrie were very limited.
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Yeah, it's better, it's a lot better now.
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Yeah, and so great work on on being an advocate for for what came of that.
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So, and and now you're with the food bank.
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Yes, well, that's also been six years, uh the ending my third term, two-year term, pretty soon in October.
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Um, and that's been fantastic.
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I've been on a number of uh not-for-profit boards over the years in Calgary and uh here in Edry, and it's far and away the one I've loved the most uh for all kinds of reasons.
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Um, the cause itself, uh, which uh is you know greater than ever, sad to say, but the need is is greater than ever.
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And plus just the morale uh on the operations side and on the board side.
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I love our board, uh it's really functional, it's high-level functioning, and we get a lot done, and I'm really proud to be a part of it.
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So you you touched on the need.
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Um everything's getting more expensive, everything seems to be getting harder.
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Uh talk about food insecurity first.
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Yeah, sure.
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Why it should be front of mind.
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Yeah, so food insecurity, and who would have thought, you know, I mean, originally when food banks started back in the United States, uh, I'm gonna say the 1950s-ish, uh, around that time, they were always only ever meant to be a temporary band-aid solution, right?
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Now they're so entrenched in not only in North the United States, but in Canada and other parts of the world, that like here, they're an essential frontline service.
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Yeah.
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Right?
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Regarded as essentially like an emergency service.
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And so so they've really become part of the fabric.
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Um, there are many, many reasons uh that we could go into around that.
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Uh but you know, most recently, I mean, COVID was was a factor.
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The demand was already and the need was already increasing, though, regardless.
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Um, we've got uh lots of uh new families, new Canadian families, uh in Airdrie, of course, in Calgary as well.
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But lots of people trying to make mortgages, two parents working, uh sometimes up to three generations in a house, in these big houses we have, and so on, and not always being able to quite make those ends meet.
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Yeah.
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Well, and and and people making decent or what was considered decent salaries too, still struggling.
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Exactly.
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It's getting so much harder for that middle to make things meet.
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Yeah, the middle class is being squeezed for sure.
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Yeah, yeah.
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So here in Airdrie, I I mean I've had the pleasure of coming out and seeing the facility, uh, and getting to know some of the people doing the work, but what does it take to run a food bank?
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What goes into that for people who don't know.
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Yeah, yeah, so a lot, a lot of logistics.
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Um, so I mean, the essential m model, the business, is fairly straightforward in that food comes in and food goes out.
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Yeah.
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Right?
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So we we receive food or we go out and get it or buy it, uh, and then we distribute that food.
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But that, you know, the in-between part, the food bank part, there's a lot of moving pieces in there, right?
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There's there's the constant turnover, uh, fresh produce coming in and out, and how to manage that.
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There's, you know, wastage and spoilage, which of course we try to minimize, right?
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There's um and and there's also that balance, Chris, of maintaining privacy and dignity for our clients, uh, and but also needing to get minimal information as well, right?
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Right.
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Um if we if we well, one model is ask no questions.
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We're not quite there, but uh if you do that, you get you tend to get a bit more abuse of the system.
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There's not much of that, but there's gonna be a little bit.
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So we just basically asked to show that our clients are from this area, um Edry area.
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Yeah, not driving from Red Deer.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Exactly.
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Yeah.
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And then uh one of the other things, when you talk about the logistics side of it, you know, uh, if you haven't had the opportunity to go suit sort food or or donate some time, I I suggest people do it if they can.
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Uh I was shocked with how much work goes into uh the sorting and then and even sourcing food that is food bank ready.
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And that was something I didn't know about.
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So yeah.
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So sourcing is always uh an ongoing you know work in progress.
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We need to find sources, you know, some come, some go, and so on.
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We're lucky to have uh a strong support from the corporate sector and also in the private sector as well, and and resonances, um, uh resonance of Airdrie.
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So we get a lot of support.
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Um, but uh just back to the point you made, yeah, it's a really eye-opening experience, Chris, to go to the food bank and do some volunteer work, do sorting, because you know, we get these big watermelon bins or gaylords, they're called, uh, these massive bins, huge, and they're full of tins or cans, right?
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And other stuff, cardboard, uh boxes, whatever, from you know, mac and cheese to you name it.
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Well, it all has to be sorted.
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I mean, you've got this massive container of food.
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It needs to be, before it can be distributed out the door, we need to organize it.
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So that's a lot of sorting that goes on.
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Um, a little less so when you get the pallets from the Costco's and so on, and it's all just one pallet of whatever watermelons or whatever.
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Uh, so then there's a little less, but then there's still always storage involved.
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So it's a constant, uh, a constant moving you know, warehouse project.
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Now, when somebody donates money to the food bank, uh where does it go?
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Because it I I know it goes to covering the costs of the sorting and whatnot, but what other expenses are the food banking?
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Well, sure, sure.
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So there's there's obviously operational expenses.
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So, you know, it is a non-for-profit, but we you know, we have to remember that um it's a business in the sense that some people are paid.
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We have hundreds of volunteers, but we have a staff as well.
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So there are there are staffing costs, there's ongoing uh maintenance costs, of course.
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Uh I mentioned that we do need to buy some food.
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You know, we're fairly fortunate.
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We get a lot donated from our corporate partners and so on, but there's still um uh food that we need to buy.
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For example, um baby food, uh baby formula, that kind of stuff, it's in high demand everywhere, and it has been for several years.
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So um, you know, we just don't get that donated, so we have to go out and buy it.
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And even things that used to be always on our shelves tomato soup, mushroom soup, that sort of stuff, cans, yeah, you know, we've had shortages of those as well in recent years, amazingly.
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Yeah, that's uh that's uh disheartening to hear, but at the same time uh that somebody's filling that service is is good to hear.
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Uh what challenges right now is facing the Yergy Food Bank?
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What's our biggest uh challenge here?
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Um just the uh the the growth of population and the need that's gone along with that, right?
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Right.
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And so in that sense, we're not alone.
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I mean, the city has growing pains in all kinds of ways.
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You know, on the city, right?
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So kind of similar kinds of growing pains, right?
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Where you've got you've got needs, demands uh to to meet, right?
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They're different from the cities, what you have to provide, but uh but there are just needs across the board because we've got a growing population.
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So um, so just keeping up with uh the demand, we're we're sort of there, but it's you know, from week to week, it can be pretty close at times.
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Right.
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In a perfect world, uh and obviously in a perfect world the food bank doesn't exist.
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Yeah.
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Uh so I don't want you to put yourself out of uh out of a uh responsibility here, but in a perfect world, what would support for the food bank look like from the community, from levels of government?
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Yeah, well, I I think um advocacy, um awareness, right?
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Uh stepping up.
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I mean, um, and really, Chris, it really comes down to uh philosophically, right, for a society, um, where are the society's priorities and how does a caring, responsible society support people who are most in need?
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Right.
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And I've got a little story I'd like to tell around that as a sort of segue back to that point.
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So this is a a story that happened a couple of years ago, and for the most part, uh, as I mentioned, because of privacy concerns, we don't know the stories of our clients.
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They come in, we ask for a little bit of ID, and what do you need?
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How what is your family size?
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First, first question.
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How big's your family, right?
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Uh, and then we go from there.
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And there's hampers and pantry and so on, right?
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And so um, so we mostly don't hear the stories of our clients.
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This is a different uh occasion.
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So our warehouse manager, Robert, was um was out the back, got a call that there was someone coming in for a food hamper, right?
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Right.
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Family of three coming in for a food hamper.
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So the the person came and it turned out to be um uh a man, uh younger guy, uh, with two boys in the front seat of his truck, about age four and six, something like that.
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Robert thought.
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Anyway, Robert takes a look at this truck, it's a pickup truck, and figures this is a tricked-out, you know, truck.
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It's probably worth 150,000 bucks.
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I mean, you know, not a poor person's vehicle at all.
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A newer tricked-out pickup truck.
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Yeah.
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So the guy comes over and they they uh he says, Yes, I'm here to pick up my hamper, and uh, you know, gets the the boys to sort of help out with him and make room for this, and you know, and so on, and the boys are being very respectful.
00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:52.000
And anyway, so Robert helps the guy, gives him the food, the hamper order, and he's about to walk away, and the guy turns at him and looks at him and says, You have no idea how much this is helping.
00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:52.399
Right.
00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:58.960
Robert just says, Oh, you know, and he's a ch Robert's a friendly chatty guy, allowed this person to tell a bit of his story.
00:16:59.120 --> 00:16:59.279
Right.
00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:05.920
Story is that a few weeks previously, uh, his wife um died in a car accident.
00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:06.480
Okay.
00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:10.880
Um with so they have two boys, right?
00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:16.640
Now no immediate family close by, so he's now primary caregiver to these two young boys.
00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:17.279
Okay.
00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:22.640
So primary caregiver has to do everything for them, loses his job, right?
00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:24.799
Because he can't keep up with both.
00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:25.519
Right?
00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:28.720
Couldn't keep up with his uh job, got laid off.
00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:37.599
Uh he was getting desperate um to make ends meet, and until he found someone else, another employer, who was willing to take him on.
00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:42.960
Okay, so he you know, gets on with this new employer, but he's still near the end of his rope, right?
00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:46.640
Because it's been weeks and weeks and he's got not much money and whatever.
00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:51.599
And so he's just in the front office and just sort of, you know, going, What am I gonna do?
00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:55.599
And the the woman at the front desk uh uh said, You know what?
00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:58.000
Go to the food bank, they'll take care of you.
00:17:58.240 --> 00:17:58.559
Yeah.
00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:05.599
And the boss, who is standing nearby, uh overhearing, said, Yeah, do that and take my truck, and flips him the keys.
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:12.559
So so there's a few things around that that that jump out again.
00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:14.880
Like I said, we don't know the stories of our clients.
00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:17.359
Another lesson is assumptions, right?
00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:20.079
Be careful about the assumptions we make.
00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:25.039
We we have this stereotype of who goes to a food bank or who needs the food food bank.
00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:25.920
We don't know that.
00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:26.880
You don't know that either.
00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:30.000
It could be anyone, could be right next door to you.
00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:30.880
You don't know.
00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:56.160
Um, so there's that, and then going back to uh the point about um what sort of society we want, you know, my view, Chris, is that uh the measure of a of a society, of a true, caring, and responsible society is not how well we take care of millionaires and billionaires, but it's how well we take care of people like that guy with those two boys.
00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:56.640
Right.
00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:57.039
Right?
00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:02.480
Because um in life, we're all good until we're not good.
00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:03.279
Yeah, right?
00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:04.319
It's all good until we're not good.
00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:06.640
Exactly, exactly.
00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:11.119
And so, right, and that's why society has to be responsible for that, right?
00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:13.680
I I love what you're saying about assumptions.
00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:20.160
Uh I I'm a pretty positive person and I I live a pretty stress-free life because of positivity.
00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:29.200
You know, I I don't uh I don't try to assume that everybody's out for bad intentions, and that usually leads to good relationships, right?
00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:38.720
Every now and then you're gonna meet somebody who is abusing the system or is uh having bad intentions, but for the most part, people are just trying to do their best, yeah, trying to make ends meet.
00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:47.119
And if you meet them on a bad day, it might be a bad experience, but to not assume the worst in that person and not assume something that you don't know.
00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:49.839
If you're going to assume something, assume that they mean well.
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:50.400
Yes.
00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:53.839
It's not always easy to do, but no, it's sometimes it's really hard.
00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:58.240
But if we can make that our default assumption to assume the best, you're right.
00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:03.279
We have better lives, we have better relationships, we have more fun, and life is less stressful, right?
00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:03.759
Right.
00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:06.160
It just it it works out better for you as a person.
00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:07.039
That's right.
00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:07.599
That's right.
00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:08.480
Couldn't agree more.
00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.039
Yeah, I I think uh that's a great way to go.
00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:18.880
And uh it's interesting to have uh somebody with a doctorate in philosophy agree with my personal uh way of going.
00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:27.680
Uh tell me a little bit about how your background in philosophy helps you navigate these real-world situations because I don't think they're disconnected.
00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:34.960
I don't think uh having a good uh philosophical background doesn't work operationally.
00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:36.079
So tell me about that.
00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:36.880
I agree.
00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:47.680
So um, you know, in universities, there's again, there's this stereotype about philosophers or a philosophy department of yeah, how can you get a job with that, right?
00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:49.680
Yeah, you'll never get a job with that.
00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:59.359
Well, actually, employment rates are quite good for philosophy graduates, and they they have been all along, and not just good for the humanities, but good, you know, period.
00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:00.319
Right.
00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:02.799
And I think a couple of things.
00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:20.559
Um, one is um critical thinking, um looking, tending to look at the big picture, being able to sort of stand back and and look at the big overall picture, and uh look at um underlying causes, of course, um ethics and morality, right?
00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:22.160
Uh that comes up all the time.
00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:27.039
How do we how do we uh address ethical and moral challenges?
00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:37.279
Um, and that comes up uh you know in life in general, but particularly when we're trying to balance resources, yeah, which we always are in you know in all aspects, right?
00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.759
So yeah, that's a really good point.
00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:56.720
So let me pick on this a little bit because I'm a nerd and I go down rabbit holes, and uh I really got into the good place, which created uh the show on NBC, The Good Place, and it sent me down a rabbit hole of philosophers and finding out some of the backgrounds of some of the things I heard on the show.
00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.839
When it comes to philosophy, what are some of your influences?
00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:03.440
What are some of the things that you've taken from your your education?
00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.279
Well, thanks very much for asking.
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:14.960
I could I could really go off on a tangent because my PhD dissertation was in philosophy of science, in philosophy of quantum mechanics.
00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:21.519
So I'm not going to go down that rabbit hole as much as I would love to, because you might lose all of your listenership right there.
00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:21.839
Yeah.
00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:25.440
Because it's, you know, it gets fairly technical fairly quickly.
00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:40.640
However, um I am a bit of a generalist as well, Chris, and uh um you know did ethics as well and logic and uh uh you know critical thinking, as I said, and um took something from all of that.
00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:51.680
And I would say um, you know, for for ethics, uh, for example, um, there's different, you know, theories and schools of thought about how we should be.
00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:53.839
Uh it's easy to say, yeah, just do the right thing.
00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:54.640
That's easy.
00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:56.079
But Google tried that.
00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:57.200
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:58.319
But what does that mean?
00:22:58.480 --> 00:22:59.759
That's where it becomes hard.
00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:01.759
What does it mean to do the right thing?
00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:03.680
Or what does it mean to be a good person?
00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:06.079
Because there's different conceptions about that.
00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:09.680
So um we don't we can't lose sight of the questions.
00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:22.319
They're important questions, and they're hard and they're tough, and we're all always going to keep coming back to them, but we have to keep um, you know, uh asking ourselves what that means for us personally and for our communities.
00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:36.240
So um, you know, the basic Kantian ethics thing of uh uh treating other people the way that you would want to be treated, which is like the golden rule, which is common in religions, uh that's a that's a pretty good starting point.
00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:40.079
So, you know, uh I like that as a as a basis, right?
00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:41.839
That reversibility principle, right?
00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:46.720
I treat you, how do you how do I want you to treat me the same way in the same situation?
00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:48.720
That's right, that's right.
00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:50.960
And you do that, Chris.
00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:53.119
Uh you give people the benefit of the doubt.
00:23:53.200 --> 00:24:01.279
And yes, you can get kicked in the butt every now and then, as you said, right, just before, but in the long run, it's still a good way to live.
00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:05.839
So yeah, you know, it's it's been quite rewarding for me.
00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:11.039
One of the things I've had the ability to do with a career in aviation is travel a lot.
00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:11.440
Right.
00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:16.400
And you hear about this country being dangerous or that country being dangerous, you're the worst about everything.
00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:23.440
And then when you get there and you start talking to people and being curious and learning their stories, you get rewarded with such a rich experience.
00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:24.000
Yeah.
00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:26.079
And I find that's the same way with people.
00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:33.119
Like if you give people the benefit of the doubt, you're more than likely to have a deeper relationship with them than just that surface transactional level.
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:33.680
Sure.
00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:42.480
And also just that being open and the openness when you travel, you know, you know, step in you you got to step outside your comfort zone a little bit and meet people halfway.
00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:46.079
You do that, people recognize that they and they respond to that, right?
00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:50.640
And they'll meet you halfway and they'll tell you about their situation and their country and their life.
00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:52.720
And that's why we travel to find that out.
00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:53.680
Of course.
00:24:54.000 --> 00:25:01.359
Yeah, you can go to an all-inclusive resort anywhere in the world and get the same beer and the same thing, but learning that waiter story and that like so.
00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:03.440
Like, I I've I could go on a rabbit hole one day.
00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:07.359
I'm gonna do a whole episode on my experiences in Cuba and bring on a Cuba expert.
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:18.480
But, you know, I've developed uh friendships with people that have lasted 20 years in two countries uh as they've immigrated to the United States or other countries, and we're still friends to this day.
00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:21.839
That all started with a conversation and getting to know somebody.
00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:23.519
So you never really know where it's gonna go.
00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:24.319
Yeah.
00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:28.400
Well, that's uh I didn't expect to go deep into philosophy here.
00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:30.960
Well, it's been a shallow dive so far.
00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:37.680
So far, well, the quantum mechanics side, uh quantum uh uh philosophy of quantum mechanics, yeah.
00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:44.799
That uh keeps me up at night in a way my brain just doesn't understand it, and I try to, so that'll keep me up all night.
00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:46.000
So that'll be off camera.
00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:46.880
I'll ask you about that.
00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:47.599
Right.
00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:48.160
Yeah.
00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:50.000
I'll give you the Cull's notes when we're done.
00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:50.559
Okay.
00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:54.559
Uh I want to pick on something uh about you personally when it comes to philosophy.
00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:59.119
Uh you have seemed to dedicate a life of service.
00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:00.079
Why?
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:07.680
Yeah, so I mentioned my father's service ethic, and um, yeah, it's always been part of my DNA.
00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:11.839
Uh um you know, he was an immigrant too.
00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:20.319
He was uh uh an immigrant from it was then Palestine to Australia, right, during World War II as a civilian internee.
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:22.799
That's a whole whole other long story, right?
00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:30.400
Um, but brought to a not a prisoner of war camp, but a civilian internment camp, like the Japanese were held here in World War II.
00:26:30.640 --> 00:26:40.720
So he was uh um a German Palestinian, transported to Australia with a bunch of you know relatives on a ship and and kept in a camp.
00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:48.640
And when he was released in 1947, you know, um he had a suitcase and that was it, and made his way in Australia.
00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:52.799
And in retrospect, he said, you know what, it's the best thing that could have happened to me.
00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:54.160
I didn't choose it, right?
00:26:54.240 --> 00:27:05.039
Yeah um, but I ended up in this amazing country, Australia, and you know, another of one of the best countries in the world, and started from nothing and made a life for himself.
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:12.720
But uh because of his good fortune that he realized, um, he gave back to Australia, right?
00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:17.119
And so here I am in Canada giving back to Canada, right?
00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:21.839
It's it's just to me what what you do, right?
00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:22.240
Right.
00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:23.359
So yeah.
00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:25.039
And in the ways we can.
00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:26.319
So right.
00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:29.680
And uh, you know, finding a way to contribute in the way you can is so key.
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:32.400
You know, it doesn't always have to be starting a foundation.
00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:36.799
Sometimes it's just a step, sometimes it's just a little volunteer shift to get things rolling.
00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:37.440
Yeah.
00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:42.960
And and while I'm at it, Chris, I'll just put in a quick shout-out for Volunteer Airdrie, which is another of the groups I'm in.
00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:45.759
Yeah, I'm on the board for that.
00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:52.640
And uh, you know, again, um really shows the volunteering spirit in in uh Airdrie.
00:27:52.799 --> 00:28:05.759
Uh hundreds and hundreds of volunteers registered, and then we sort of act as a sort of clearinghouse to match um volunteer needs with volunteers who are registered in a nutshell, right?
00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:09.839
There's more to it than that, but but it's that matchmaking service that's important.
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:22.400
Now, without that, um organizations can do it themselves and find their own volunteers and and scramble and and do that, and many um many towns and cities do that.
00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:28.240
But to have um an organized group that does that as a service, yeah, that's a good thing, right?
00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:32.640
Um just as we experienced this weekend with volunteer injury at Culture Fest.
00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:35.680
Yes, and next to Culture Fest, right?
00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:45.119
The Culture Fest staff working together, yeah, helping make sure things run smoothly with traffic control and just you know general maintenance and all that kind of stuff.
00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:48.799
Yeah, I mean that was an example of how things work, right?
00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:49.200
Right.
00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:50.240
And work well.
00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:50.960
So yeah.
00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:57.200
So just just an incredible uh depth of giving back to the community.
00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:58.960
I I really like to thank you for that.
00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:00.000
Uh thank you.
00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:05.119
I I hope more people look at these examples and go, uh, I could help, I could be a part of it.
00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:11.759
So what's your advice for somebody who's listening to this, going, I I feel a bit disconnected from my community and I want to get more involved?
00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:24.240
Well, I the first thing is, Chris, and this is maybe not what you're expecting me to hear to say, but the first thing is is to look around at your neighbors on your street, get to meet them, right?
00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:30.799
Personal relationships, get to get to know your neighbors, what are their needs, if they have any, and you know, uh what's going on?
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:31.759
What are they involved in?
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:33.599
What are the kids involved in, and so on.
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:35.279
Start building those connections.
00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:41.519
And from there, right, it's uh, well, I know, you know, the person who needs this or whatever.
00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:46.960
Oh, and I have that skill or that, you know, competency or whatever, you know, I can follow up.
00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:48.799
So, you know, it starts at home.
00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:53.039
It starts from where we are and reaching out to the people around us.
00:29:53.200 --> 00:30:02.720
And then in an organized way, there's um volunteered, you know, volunteeredry uh.ca, um, edrifoodbank.ca, and so on.
00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:04.960
Uh go online and start looking around.
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:08.480
And before you know it, you'll you'll get hooked up with lots of people.
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:11.680
You know, it's there's as much there as you want to get involved in.
00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:15.519
Well, that's that's a great way to end the pod.
00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:18.079
Uh, I really appreciate you coming on the show.
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:22.400
Like I said, I've been an admirer of you seeing you do so much in the community.
00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:25.599
I'd like to thank you for that, and thank you for being my guest today.
00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:27.359
Thanks very much for having me, Chris.
00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:32.079
And I want to thank you and the exciting new city council we have for all the work you're doing.
00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:32.720
Seriously.
00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:34.000
I do appreciate that.
00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:35.440
We're we're working hard, my friend.
00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:36.319
I know, I know.
00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:37.359
Thank you very much.
00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:40.319
And thank you for joining us here on Airdrie Inside.
00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:43.200
We're gonna be back with more great episodes coming up shortly.
00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:44.400
That's the one.
00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:45.279
Yeah, there you go.
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:06.080
The first thing is is to look around at your neighbors on your street, get to meet them, right?
00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:12.640
Personal relationships, get to get to know your neighbors, what are their needs, if they have any, and you know, uh what's going on?
00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:13.679
What are they involved in?
00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:15.439
What are the kids involved in, and so on.
00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:17.120
Start building those connections.
00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:23.359
And from there, right, it's uh, well, I know, you know, the person who needs this or whatever.
00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:28.879
Oh, and I have that skill or that, you know, competency or whatever, you know, I can follow up.
00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:35.280
So, you know, it starts at home, it starts from where we are and reaching out to the people around us.
00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:44.000
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Airdrie Inside.
00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:45.600
I am your host, Chris Glass.
00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:47.679
We are at Microacres again.
00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:49.439
Everything looks great here.
00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:50.640
It's nice and green.
00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:52.240
Make sure you check them out.
00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:53.759
I am with Phil Hoffman.
00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:54.880
Phil, welcome to the show.
00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:56.000
Thanks very much, Chris.
00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:56.799
Great to be here.
00:00:56.880 --> 00:00:57.600
Thanks for having me.
00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:02.560
Yeah, so I've wanted to have you on the show for a little bit of uh little bit of time here.
00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:15.120
Uh actually, the time that I thought I need to know this guy's story was at the Shamrock Shimmy, where I saw you tirelessly work hard for that event and then uh be so happy on the dance floor.
00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:18.159
And I'm like, this is this is a story that needs to be told.
00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:19.439
So welcome to the show.
00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:20.959
Yeah, yeah, thanks very much.
00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:25.599
All right, so I can tell you a bit about that story, um, why I became involved in Airdrie.
00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:27.439
Um I'll go back a little bit in time.
00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:28.879
So originally from Australia.
00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:29.680
I can tell.
00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:32.640
Jewel Citizen, it's a faded Australian accent.
00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:34.239
I have a call at Mid Pacific.
00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:40.079
Anyway, so I originally came over, Chris, to do a PhD at the University of Calgary way back in the day.
00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:44.400
And when I left, I wasn't sure whether I'd returned to Australia or not.
00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:47.280
And as it turned out, I basically stayed.
00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:55.599
So um, so a lot of the early days, obviously in Calgary as a grad student, um, didn't have much money to travel back to Australia, so I was here.
00:01:55.760 --> 00:02:03.359
And then, you know, did that, uh, work started coming up, relationships, um, how that goes, and uh, ended up staying.
00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:12.719
So um, my father always had a strong service ethic, and uh so I always you know wanted to follow in his footsteps in that way.
00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:30.800
Um when my partner and I, uh Suze Casey, were in uh Northwest Calgary, this is back now uh 2018, um, we were looking to move into a place and we looked at Airdrie and uh wasn't our first choice at first, but we ended up here and haven't looked back.
00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:31.759
We both loved it.
00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:36.319
Every day we say how much you know we enjoy Airdrie for all kinds of reasons.
00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:41.439
But when we moved, we kind of looked at each other and said, you know what, let's get involved in the community.
00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:44.719
She's service-oriented, I am, so you know, it was a no-brainer.
00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:46.159
So we just did.
00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:50.560
And uh Suze uh joined the board of the Chamber of Commerce.
00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:58.319
Um, I originally started out of the library, one thing led to another, you know, had time on my hands, COVID, you know, all that kind of stuff.
00:02:58.400 --> 00:02:58.719
Yeah.
00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:03.280
Um, so time on my hands, and just got more and more involved, and uh here I am.
00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:13.360
Well, you know, it's it's a story that I've heard uh from more than a few guests about Iridry not necessarily being the first choice, but definitely being the last one they're gonna make.
00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:13.759
Yeah.
00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:15.840
Uh and that's a similar story to me.
00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:23.919
I I moved back home, uh, I was born and raised in Calgary, moved to Edmonton for a two-year stint, uh, couldn't afford to come back to Calgary.
00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:35.599
I was transferred back to Calgary, took a promotion here with WestJet, and uh looking for a place to live, ended up settling on a place I could afford, and then realizing this community is pretty special.
00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:38.080
And it's hard to find elsewhere.
00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:39.280
Yeah, it is.
00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:42.639
It's special in um you know subtle and unique ways.
00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.639
First of all, there's a strong sense that we're not Calgary, right?
00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:51.599
I mean, originally, well, not originally, but it's been a bedroom community for a long time.
00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:56.879
People don't like using that term anymore, and rightly so, because Edri's evolved into its own thing.
00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:04.560
So not Calgary is one thing, but also I find a very strong um civil um and volunteer ethic.
00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:06.159
Calgary has that too.
00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:08.319
I would say, Airdrie, even more so.
00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:17.519
Yeah, you know, Calgary, I I remember the floods and how uh Marinenchi had to go on TV and say, we have too many volunteers.
00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:22.399
Like we need to slow down because we're starting to run into too many people trying to help.
00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:28.240
That doesn't happen in every community, but right, but when I see something happen in Airdrie or a need, so many people step up.
00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:29.839
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:31.839
It's a it's a really great place.
00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:34.319
So let's talk about some of the ways you're stepping up.
00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:34.800
All right.
00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:38.480
So I we mentioned the library, so let's talk about your library journey.
00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:39.519
Uh sure.
00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:41.839
So as an academic, uh PhD.
00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:43.759
Natural connection.
00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:45.199
Yeah, right, right.
00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:46.879
Uh not much of a stretch there.
00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:49.279
So um, you know, PhD in philosophy.
00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:52.560
That's what brought me to Calgary and the University of Calgary.
00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:59.040
Anyway, so um, you know, literacy, I headed up Literacy Alberta for a while in Calgary a long time ago.
00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:03.839
And uh so literacy is uh something close to my heart, uh, books and so on.
00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:12.959
So uh one of the first stops I made when I moved to Airdrie was um the library to check it out at what is now the the previous location, right?
00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:20.959
And anyway, so um the volunteer coordinator at the time looked at my resume and said, you know what, I think we have a role for you.
00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:24.319
In other words, not sort of stacking shelves, but something else.
00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:31.199
And it was um advocates for the Airdrie Public Library Society, so kind of like a friends of the library group.
00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:33.759
And um, so I said, yeah, sure, sure.
00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:44.399
And so joined that and before too long ended up uh taking that on as um as the president and did about oh a six or seven year stint there.
00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.759
I've just recently stepped down from leading it.
00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.120
I wanted to get through the transition to the new facility, which we did.
00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:54.079
I know, it's been a runaway success.
00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:58.639
You know, the the the numbers of people attending are just off the charts.
00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:00.639
So that's been a huge success.
00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:06.160
The whole Inspire concept and the building, the way it works, uh I think is working out well.
00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:12.079
So, yeah, so that was one piece, the advocates for the library, and then there's a few others just sort of followed.
00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:22.319
Yeah, when I look at that Inspire Center, uh we just we were just uh you were volunteering, I was volunteering for Culture Fest yesterday at the time we're recording this.
00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:28.560
Um 20 some odd meetings were held at Inspire that led up to that event.
00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:31.920
Prior to Inspire opening, uh, we didn't have any meeting space.
00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:41.920
So it was either at somebody's house, which was really inconvenient for a larger group, or online meetings, or where you lose a lot of collaboration.
00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:45.279
Uh having a space where the community can go is so important.
00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:46.879
Yes, so important.
00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:47.920
For sure.
00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:51.680
And for quite a while, meeting spaces in Airdrie were very limited.
00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:53.519
Yeah, it's better, it's a lot better now.
00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:58.879
Yeah, and so great work on on being an advocate for for what came of that.
00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:01.600
So, and and now you're with the food bank.
00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:09.680
Yes, well, that's also been six years, uh the ending my third term, two-year term, pretty soon in October.
00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:11.759
Um, and that's been fantastic.
00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:22.399
I've been on a number of uh not-for-profit boards over the years in Calgary and uh here in Edry, and it's far and away the one I've loved the most uh for all kinds of reasons.
00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:30.639
Um, the cause itself, uh, which uh is you know greater than ever, sad to say, but the need is is greater than ever.
00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:35.920
And plus just the morale uh on the operations side and on the board side.
00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:42.720
I love our board, uh it's really functional, it's high-level functioning, and we get a lot done, and I'm really proud to be a part of it.
00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:45.360
So you you touched on the need.
00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:50.319
Um everything's getting more expensive, everything seems to be getting harder.
00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:51.920
Uh talk about food insecurity first.
00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:52.639
Yeah, sure.
00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:54.399
Why it should be front of mind.
00:07:54.879 --> 00:08:10.560
Yeah, so food insecurity, and who would have thought, you know, I mean, originally when food banks started back in the United States, uh, I'm gonna say the 1950s-ish, uh, around that time, they were always only ever meant to be a temporary band-aid solution, right?
00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:22.560
Now they're so entrenched in not only in North the United States, but in Canada and other parts of the world, that like here, they're an essential frontline service.
00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:22.959
Yeah.
00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:23.360
Right?
00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:26.639
Regarded as essentially like an emergency service.
00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:29.680
And so so they've really become part of the fabric.
00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:34.159
Um, there are many, many reasons uh that we could go into around that.
00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:39.200
Uh but you know, most recently, I mean, COVID was was a factor.
00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:43.200
The demand was already and the need was already increasing, though, regardless.
00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:52.159
Um, we've got uh lots of uh new families, new Canadian families, uh in Airdrie, of course, in Calgary as well.
00:08:52.320 --> 00:09:05.200
But lots of people trying to make mortgages, two parents working, uh sometimes up to three generations in a house, in these big houses we have, and so on, and not always being able to quite make those ends meet.
00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:05.840
Yeah.
00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:12.799
Well, and and and people making decent or what was considered decent salaries too, still struggling.
00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:13.279
Exactly.
00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:17.120
It's getting so much harder for that middle to make things meet.
00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:19.279
Yeah, the middle class is being squeezed for sure.
00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:20.639
Yeah, yeah.
00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:31.440
So here in Airdrie, I I mean I've had the pleasure of coming out and seeing the facility, uh, and getting to know some of the people doing the work, but what does it take to run a food bank?
00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:33.519
What goes into that for people who don't know.
00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:36.960
Yeah, yeah, so a lot, a lot of logistics.
00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:45.360
Um, so I mean, the essential m model, the business, is fairly straightforward in that food comes in and food goes out.
00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:45.600
Yeah.
00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:46.000
Right?
00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:53.120
So we we receive food or we go out and get it or buy it, uh, and then we distribute that food.
00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:59.600
But that, you know, the in-between part, the food bank part, there's a lot of moving pieces in there, right?
00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:05.519
There's there's the constant turnover, uh, fresh produce coming in and out, and how to manage that.
00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:09.840
There's, you know, wastage and spoilage, which of course we try to minimize, right?
00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:22.000
There's um and and there's also that balance, Chris, of maintaining privacy and dignity for our clients, uh, and but also needing to get minimal information as well, right?
00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:22.399
Right.
00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:28.879
Um if we if we well, one model is ask no questions.
00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:34.559
We're not quite there, but uh if you do that, you get you tend to get a bit more abuse of the system.
00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:37.039
There's not much of that, but there's gonna be a little bit.
00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:43.120
So we just basically asked to show that our clients are from this area, um Edry area.
00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:44.399
Yeah, not driving from Red Deer.
00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:45.039
Yeah, yeah.
00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:45.759
Exactly.
00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:46.080
Yeah.
00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:58.080
And then uh one of the other things, when you talk about the logistics side of it, you know, uh, if you haven't had the opportunity to go suit sort food or or donate some time, I I suggest people do it if they can.
00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:08.480
Uh I was shocked with how much work goes into uh the sorting and then and even sourcing food that is food bank ready.
00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:10.559
And that was something I didn't know about.
00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:11.360
So yeah.
00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:15.759
So sourcing is always uh an ongoing you know work in progress.
00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:19.679
We need to find sources, you know, some come, some go, and so on.
00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:30.159
We're lucky to have uh a strong support from the corporate sector and also in the private sector as well, and and resonances, um, uh resonance of Airdrie.
00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:31.759
So we get a lot of support.
00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:49.679
Um, but uh just back to the point you made, yeah, it's a really eye-opening experience, Chris, to go to the food bank and do some volunteer work, do sorting, because you know, we get these big watermelon bins or gaylords, they're called, uh, these massive bins, huge, and they're full of tins or cans, right?
00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:55.519
And other stuff, cardboard, uh boxes, whatever, from you know, mac and cheese to you name it.
00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:57.120
Well, it all has to be sorted.
00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.919
I mean, you've got this massive container of food.
00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:05.440
It needs to be, before it can be distributed out the door, we need to organize it.
00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:07.679
So that's a lot of sorting that goes on.
00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:15.679
Um, a little less so when you get the pallets from the Costco's and so on, and it's all just one pallet of whatever watermelons or whatever.
00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:19.759
Uh, so then there's a little less, but then there's still always storage involved.
00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:25.120
So it's a constant, uh, a constant moving you know, warehouse project.
00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:30.960
Now, when somebody donates money to the food bank, uh where does it go?
00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:36.720
Because it I I know it goes to covering the costs of the sorting and whatnot, but what other expenses are the food banking?
00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:37.840
Well, sure, sure.
00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:40.720
So there's there's obviously operational expenses.
00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:48.559
So, you know, it is a non-for-profit, but we you know, we have to remember that um it's a business in the sense that some people are paid.
00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:51.600
We have hundreds of volunteers, but we have a staff as well.
00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:56.720
So there are there are staffing costs, there's ongoing uh maintenance costs, of course.
00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.000
Uh I mentioned that we do need to buy some food.
00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:01.519
You know, we're fairly fortunate.
00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:08.320
We get a lot donated from our corporate partners and so on, but there's still um uh food that we need to buy.
00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:16.960
For example, um baby food, uh baby formula, that kind of stuff, it's in high demand everywhere, and it has been for several years.
00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:22.080
So um, you know, we just don't get that donated, so we have to go out and buy it.
00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:32.720
And even things that used to be always on our shelves tomato soup, mushroom soup, that sort of stuff, cans, yeah, you know, we've had shortages of those as well in recent years, amazingly.
00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:42.080
Yeah, that's uh that's uh disheartening to hear, but at the same time uh that somebody's filling that service is is good to hear.
00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:46.559
Uh what challenges right now is facing the Yergy Food Bank?
00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:48.320
What's our biggest uh challenge here?
00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:54.960
Um just the uh the the growth of population and the need that's gone along with that, right?
00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:55.360
Right.
00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:57.919
And so in that sense, we're not alone.
00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:00.879
I mean, the city has growing pains in all kinds of ways.
00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:03.200
You know, on the city, right?
00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.399
So kind of similar kinds of growing pains, right?
00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:11.039
Where you've got you've got needs, demands uh to to meet, right?
00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:18.720
They're different from the cities, what you have to provide, but uh but there are just needs across the board because we've got a growing population.
00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:28.720
So um, so just keeping up with uh the demand, we're we're sort of there, but it's you know, from week to week, it can be pretty close at times.
00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:29.519
Right.
00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:34.159
In a perfect world, uh and obviously in a perfect world the food bank doesn't exist.
00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:34.720
Yeah.
00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:45.120
Uh so I don't want you to put yourself out of uh out of a uh responsibility here, but in a perfect world, what would support for the food bank look like from the community, from levels of government?
00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:51.120
Yeah, well, I I think um advocacy, um awareness, right?
00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:52.720
Uh stepping up.
00:14:52.879 --> 00:15:09.200
I mean, um, and really, Chris, it really comes down to uh philosophically, right, for a society, um, where are the society's priorities and how does a caring, responsible society support people who are most in need?
00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:09.840
Right.
00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:15.919
And I've got a little story I'd like to tell around that as a sort of segue back to that point.
00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:27.120
So this is a a story that happened a couple of years ago, and for the most part, uh, as I mentioned, because of privacy concerns, we don't know the stories of our clients.
00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.879
They come in, we ask for a little bit of ID, and what do you need?
00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:32.639
How what is your family size?
00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:33.759
First, first question.
00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:35.279
How big's your family, right?
00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:36.480
Uh, and then we go from there.
00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:39.200
And there's hampers and pantry and so on, right?
00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:44.080
And so um, so we mostly don't hear the stories of our clients.
00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:46.480
This is a different uh occasion.
00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:53.919
So our warehouse manager, Robert, was um was out the back, got a call that there was someone coming in for a food hamper, right?
00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:54.240
Right.
00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:56.960
Family of three coming in for a food hamper.
00:15:57.200 --> 00:16:10.639
So the the person came and it turned out to be um uh a man, uh younger guy, uh, with two boys in the front seat of his truck, about age four and six, something like that.
00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:11.679
Robert thought.
00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:18.399
Anyway, Robert takes a look at this truck, it's a pickup truck, and figures this is a tricked-out, you know, truck.
00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:20.399
It's probably worth 150,000 bucks.
00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:23.919
I mean, you know, not a poor person's vehicle at all.
00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:26.399
A newer tricked-out pickup truck.
00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:26.720
Yeah.
00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:39.039
So the guy comes over and they they uh he says, Yes, I'm here to pick up my hamper, and uh, you know, gets the the boys to sort of help out with him and make room for this, and you know, and so on, and the boys are being very respectful.
00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:52.000
And anyway, so Robert helps the guy, gives him the food, the hamper order, and he's about to walk away, and the guy turns at him and looks at him and says, You have no idea how much this is helping.
00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:52.399
Right.
00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:58.960
Robert just says, Oh, you know, and he's a ch Robert's a friendly chatty guy, allowed this person to tell a bit of his story.
00:16:59.120 --> 00:16:59.279
Right.
00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:05.920
Story is that a few weeks previously, uh, his wife um died in a car accident.
00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:06.480
Okay.
00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:10.880
Um with so they have two boys, right?
00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:16.640
Now no immediate family close by, so he's now primary caregiver to these two young boys.
00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:17.279
Okay.
00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:22.640
So primary caregiver has to do everything for them, loses his job, right?
00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:24.799
Because he can't keep up with both.
00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:25.519
Right?
00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:28.720
Couldn't keep up with his uh job, got laid off.
00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:37.599
Uh he was getting desperate um to make ends meet, and until he found someone else, another employer, who was willing to take him on.
00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:42.960
Okay, so he you know, gets on with this new employer, but he's still near the end of his rope, right?
00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:46.640
Because it's been weeks and weeks and he's got not much money and whatever.
00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:51.599
And so he's just in the front office and just sort of, you know, going, What am I gonna do?
00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:55.599
And the the woman at the front desk uh uh said, You know what?
00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:58.000
Go to the food bank, they'll take care of you.
00:17:58.240 --> 00:17:58.559
Yeah.
00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:05.599
And the boss, who is standing nearby, uh overhearing, said, Yeah, do that and take my truck, and flips him the keys.
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:12.559
So so there's a few things around that that that jump out again.
00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:14.880
Like I said, we don't know the stories of our clients.
00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:17.359
Another lesson is assumptions, right?
00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:20.079
Be careful about the assumptions we make.
00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:25.039
We we have this stereotype of who goes to a food bank or who needs the food food bank.
00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:25.920
We don't know that.
00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:26.880
You don't know that either.
00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:30.000
It could be anyone, could be right next door to you.
00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:30.880
You don't know.
00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:56.160
Um, so there's that, and then going back to uh the point about um what sort of society we want, you know, my view, Chris, is that uh the measure of a of a society, of a true, caring, and responsible society is not how well we take care of millionaires and billionaires, but it's how well we take care of people like that guy with those two boys.
00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:56.640
Right.
00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:57.039
Right?
00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:02.480
Because um in life, we're all good until we're not good.
00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:03.279
Yeah, right?
00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:04.319
It's all good until we're not good.
00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:06.640
Exactly, exactly.
00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:11.119
And so, right, and that's why society has to be responsible for that, right?
00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:13.680
I I love what you're saying about assumptions.
00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:20.160
Uh I I'm a pretty positive person and I I live a pretty stress-free life because of positivity.
00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:29.200
You know, I I don't uh I don't try to assume that everybody's out for bad intentions, and that usually leads to good relationships, right?
00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:38.720
Every now and then you're gonna meet somebody who is abusing the system or is uh having bad intentions, but for the most part, people are just trying to do their best, yeah, trying to make ends meet.
00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:47.119
And if you meet them on a bad day, it might be a bad experience, but to not assume the worst in that person and not assume something that you don't know.
00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:49.839
If you're going to assume something, assume that they mean well.
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:50.400
Yes.
00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:53.839
It's not always easy to do, but no, it's sometimes it's really hard.
00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:58.240
But if we can make that our default assumption to assume the best, you're right.
00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:03.279
We have better lives, we have better relationships, we have more fun, and life is less stressful, right?
00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:03.759
Right.
00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:06.160
It just it it works out better for you as a person.
00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:07.039
That's right.
00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:07.599
That's right.
00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:08.480
Couldn't agree more.
00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.039
Yeah, I I think uh that's a great way to go.
00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:18.880
And uh it's interesting to have uh somebody with a doctorate in philosophy agree with my personal uh way of going.
00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:27.680
Uh tell me a little bit about how your background in philosophy helps you navigate these real-world situations because I don't think they're disconnected.
00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:34.960
I don't think uh having a good uh philosophical background doesn't work operationally.
00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:36.079
So tell me about that.
00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:36.880
I agree.
00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:47.680
So um, you know, in universities, there's again, there's this stereotype about philosophers or a philosophy department of yeah, how can you get a job with that, right?
00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:49.680
Yeah, you'll never get a job with that.
00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:59.359
Well, actually, employment rates are quite good for philosophy graduates, and they they have been all along, and not just good for the humanities, but good, you know, period.
00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:00.319
Right.
00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:02.799
And I think a couple of things.
00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:20.559
Um, one is um critical thinking, um looking, tending to look at the big picture, being able to sort of stand back and and look at the big overall picture, and uh look at um underlying causes, of course, um ethics and morality, right?
00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:22.160
Uh that comes up all the time.
00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:27.039
How do we how do we uh address ethical and moral challenges?
00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:37.279
Um, and that comes up uh you know in life in general, but particularly when we're trying to balance resources, yeah, which we always are in you know in all aspects, right?
00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.759
So yeah, that's a really good point.
00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:56.720
So let me pick on this a little bit because I'm a nerd and I go down rabbit holes, and uh I really got into the good place, which created uh the show on NBC, The Good Place, and it sent me down a rabbit hole of philosophers and finding out some of the backgrounds of some of the things I heard on the show.
00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.839
When it comes to philosophy, what are some of your influences?
00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:03.440
What are some of the things that you've taken from your your education?
00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.279
Well, thanks very much for asking.
00:22:05.440 --> 00:22:14.960
I could I could really go off on a tangent because my PhD dissertation was in philosophy of science, in philosophy of quantum mechanics.
00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:21.519
So I'm not going to go down that rabbit hole as much as I would love to, because you might lose all of your listenership right there.
00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:21.839
Yeah.
00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:25.440
Because it's, you know, it gets fairly technical fairly quickly.
00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:40.640
However, um I am a bit of a generalist as well, Chris, and uh um you know did ethics as well and logic and uh uh you know critical thinking, as I said, and um took something from all of that.
00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:51.680
And I would say um, you know, for for ethics, uh, for example, um, there's different, you know, theories and schools of thought about how we should be.
00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:53.839
Uh it's easy to say, yeah, just do the right thing.
00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:54.640
That's easy.
00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:56.079
But Google tried that.
00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:57.200
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:58.319
But what does that mean?
00:22:58.480 --> 00:22:59.759
That's where it becomes hard.
00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:01.759
What does it mean to do the right thing?
00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:03.680
Or what does it mean to be a good person?
00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:06.079
Because there's different conceptions about that.
00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:09.680
So um we don't we can't lose sight of the questions.
00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:22.319
They're important questions, and they're hard and they're tough, and we're all always going to keep coming back to them, but we have to keep um, you know, uh asking ourselves what that means for us personally and for our communities.
00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:36.240
So um, you know, the basic Kantian ethics thing of uh uh treating other people the way that you would want to be treated, which is like the golden rule, which is common in religions, uh that's a that's a pretty good starting point.
00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:40.079
So, you know, uh I like that as a as a basis, right?
00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:41.839
That reversibility principle, right?
00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:46.720
I treat you, how do you how do I want you to treat me the same way in the same situation?
00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:48.720
That's right, that's right.
00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:50.960
And you do that, Chris.
00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:53.119
Uh you give people the benefit of the doubt.
00:23:53.200 --> 00:24:01.279
And yes, you can get kicked in the butt every now and then, as you said, right, just before, but in the long run, it's still a good way to live.
00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:05.839
So yeah, you know, it's it's been quite rewarding for me.
00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:11.039
One of the things I've had the ability to do with a career in aviation is travel a lot.
00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:11.440
Right.
00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:16.400
And you hear about this country being dangerous or that country being dangerous, you're the worst about everything.
00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:23.440
And then when you get there and you start talking to people and being curious and learning their stories, you get rewarded with such a rich experience.
00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:24.000
Yeah.
00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:26.079
And I find that's the same way with people.
00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:33.119
Like if you give people the benefit of the doubt, you're more than likely to have a deeper relationship with them than just that surface transactional level.
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:33.680
Sure.
00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:42.480
And also just that being open and the openness when you travel, you know, you know, step in you you got to step outside your comfort zone a little bit and meet people halfway.
00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:46.079
You do that, people recognize that they and they respond to that, right?
00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:50.640
And they'll meet you halfway and they'll tell you about their situation and their country and their life.
00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:52.720
And that's why we travel to find that out.
00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:53.680
Of course.
00:24:54.000 --> 00:25:01.359
Yeah, you can go to an all-inclusive resort anywhere in the world and get the same beer and the same thing, but learning that waiter story and that like so.
00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:03.440
Like, I I've I could go on a rabbit hole one day.
00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:07.359
I'm gonna do a whole episode on my experiences in Cuba and bring on a Cuba expert.
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:18.480
But, you know, I've developed uh friendships with people that have lasted 20 years in two countries uh as they've immigrated to the United States or other countries, and we're still friends to this day.
00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:21.839
That all started with a conversation and getting to know somebody.
00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:23.519
So you never really know where it's gonna go.
00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:24.319
Yeah.
00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:28.400
Well, that's uh I didn't expect to go deep into philosophy here.
00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:30.960
Well, it's been a shallow dive so far.
00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:37.680
So far, well, the quantum mechanics side, uh quantum uh uh philosophy of quantum mechanics, yeah.
00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:44.799
That uh keeps me up at night in a way my brain just doesn't understand it, and I try to, so that'll keep me up all night.
00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:46.000
So that'll be off camera.
00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:46.880
I'll ask you about that.
00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:47.599
Right.
00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:48.160
Yeah.
00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:50.000
I'll give you the Cull's notes when we're done.
00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:50.559
Okay.
00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:54.559
Uh I want to pick on something uh about you personally when it comes to philosophy.
00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:59.119
Uh you have seemed to dedicate a life of service.
00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:00.079
Why?
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:07.680
Yeah, so I mentioned my father's service ethic, and um, yeah, it's always been part of my DNA.
00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:11.839
Uh um you know, he was an immigrant too.
00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:20.319
He was uh uh an immigrant from it was then Palestine to Australia, right, during World War II as a civilian internee.
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:22.799
That's a whole whole other long story, right?
00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:30.400
Um, but brought to a not a prisoner of war camp, but a civilian internment camp, like the Japanese were held here in World War II.
00:26:30.640 --> 00:26:40.720
So he was uh um a German Palestinian, transported to Australia with a bunch of you know relatives on a ship and and kept in a camp.
00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:48.640
And when he was released in 1947, you know, um he had a suitcase and that was it, and made his way in Australia.
00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:52.799
And in retrospect, he said, you know what, it's the best thing that could have happened to me.
00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:54.160
I didn't choose it, right?
00:26:54.240 --> 00:27:05.039
Yeah um, but I ended up in this amazing country, Australia, and you know, another of one of the best countries in the world, and started from nothing and made a life for himself.
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:12.720
But uh because of his good fortune that he realized, um, he gave back to Australia, right?
00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:17.119
And so here I am in Canada giving back to Canada, right?
00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:21.839
It's it's just to me what what you do, right?
00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:22.240
Right.
00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:23.359
So yeah.
00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:25.039
And in the ways we can.
00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:26.319
So right.
00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:29.680
And uh, you know, finding a way to contribute in the way you can is so key.
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:32.400
You know, it doesn't always have to be starting a foundation.
00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:36.799
Sometimes it's just a step, sometimes it's just a little volunteer shift to get things rolling.
00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:37.440
Yeah.
00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:42.960
And and while I'm at it, Chris, I'll just put in a quick shout-out for Volunteer Airdrie, which is another of the groups I'm in.
00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:45.759
Yeah, I'm on the board for that.
00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:52.640
And uh, you know, again, um really shows the volunteering spirit in in uh Airdrie.
00:27:52.799 --> 00:28:05.759
Uh hundreds and hundreds of volunteers registered, and then we sort of act as a sort of clearinghouse to match um volunteer needs with volunteers who are registered in a nutshell, right?
00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:09.839
There's more to it than that, but but it's that matchmaking service that's important.
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:22.400
Now, without that, um organizations can do it themselves and find their own volunteers and and scramble and and do that, and many um many towns and cities do that.
00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:28.240
But to have um an organized group that does that as a service, yeah, that's a good thing, right?
00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:32.640
Um just as we experienced this weekend with volunteer injury at Culture Fest.
00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:35.680
Yes, and next to Culture Fest, right?
00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:45.119
The Culture Fest staff working together, yeah, helping make sure things run smoothly with traffic control and just you know general maintenance and all that kind of stuff.
00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:48.799
Yeah, I mean that was an example of how things work, right?
00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:49.200
Right.
00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:50.240
And work well.
00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:50.960
So yeah.
00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:57.200
So just just an incredible uh depth of giving back to the community.
00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:58.960
I I really like to thank you for that.
00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:00.000
Uh thank you.
00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:05.119
I I hope more people look at these examples and go, uh, I could help, I could be a part of it.
00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:11.759
So what's your advice for somebody who's listening to this, going, I I feel a bit disconnected from my community and I want to get more involved?
00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:24.240
Well, I the first thing is, Chris, and this is maybe not what you're expecting me to hear to say, but the first thing is is to look around at your neighbors on your street, get to meet them, right?
00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:30.799
Personal relationships, get to get to know your neighbors, what are their needs, if they have any, and you know, uh what's going on?
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:31.759
What are they involved in?
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:33.599
What are the kids involved in, and so on.
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:35.279
Start building those connections.
00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:41.519
And from there, right, it's uh, well, I know, you know, the person who needs this or whatever.
00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:46.960
Oh, and I have that skill or that, you know, competency or whatever, you know, I can follow up.
00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:48.799
So, you know, it starts at home.
00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:53.039
It starts from where we are and reaching out to the people around us.
00:29:53.200 --> 00:30:02.720
And then in an organized way, there's um volunteered, you know, volunteeredry uh.ca, um, edrifoodbank.ca, and so on.
00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:04.960
Uh go online and start looking around.
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:08.480
And before you know it, you'll you'll get hooked up with lots of people.
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:11.680
You know, it's there's as much there as you want to get involved in.
00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:15.519
Well, that's that's a great way to end the pod.
00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:18.079
Uh, I really appreciate you coming on the show.
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:22.400
Like I said, I've been an admirer of you seeing you do so much in the community.
00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:25.599
I'd like to thank you for that, and thank you for being my guest today.
00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:27.359
Thanks very much for having me, Chris.
00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:32.079
And I want to thank you and the exciting new city council we have for all the work you're doing.
00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:32.720
Seriously.
00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:34.000
I do appreciate that.
00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:35.440
We're we're working hard, my friend.
00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:36.319
I know, I know.
00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:37.359
Thank you very much.
00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:40.319
And thank you for joining us here on Airdrie Inside.
00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:43.200
We're gonna be back with more great episodes coming up shortly.
00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:44.400
That's the one.
00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:45.279
Yeah, there you go.
