Two more people have been named as torchbearers as the torch for the 2019 Canada Winter Games comes through Olds on Jan. 31, 2019.
They are Mayor Michael Muzychka and Red Deer-Mountain View MP Earl Dreeshen.
Their names were announced by Games organizers last week. The Games take place in Red Deer Feb. 15 to March 3, 2019.
Muzychka and Dreeshen join seven current and former Olds residents announced as torchbearers last month: well-known local bottle collector Jon Ahlgrim; Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper; Olympic wrestler Danielle Lappage; Robert McBeath, brother of the late local hockey and lacrosse player Ryan McBeath; Special Olympics athlete Mark Mengersen; former NHL hockey player Jay Rosehill; and former Olds College president Tom Thompson.
Muzychka was sworn in as the mayor of Olds in the fall of 2017.
"He has always been involved in the community and is an avid sports enthusiast," a bio provided by Games organizers says. "As a junior athlete, Michael carried the torch during the 1981 Canada Summer Games torch relay and would be honoured to participate in a Canada Games torch relay once more."
Dreeshen, a member of the federal Conservative Party caucus, has served as a Canadian delegate for ParlAmericas, the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, as well as the Parliamentary Association for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. He has also spent time working with area youth as a coach.
The MNP Canada Games Torch Relay began Oct. 4 from the centennial flame on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. It will go through nearly 50 communities before arriving in Red Deer for opening ceremonies on Feb. 15.
Names of the final torchbearers will be revealed during the opening ceremonies.
More than 900 torchbearer nominations were received and reviewed by 2019 Canada Winter Games officials between May 14 and June 30.
