Although Sundre did not win the Pinkest Little Town in the West contest – Cremona-Water Valley was named the winner on Saturday – local organizers are very pleased and proud of the effort made by Sundre volunteers and businesses to fight breast cancer.
“I'm definitely happy with the effort here,” said local committee organizer Karen Carrier. “I want to commend everyone who took this cause so seriously and helped out, to help raise such an enormous amount. I'm proud of everybody and I know it will make a difference. And we got so much help from the Sundre businesses.
“With the whole area, with Cremona and Water Valley and Sundre and James River, we did over $80,000. I'm really proud of Sundre and the whole area. Everyone worked their butts off and it was all for a really good cause. For little towns and villages to raise $80,000 is awesome.”
The Pinkest Little Town in the West contest was part of the larger Wild Pink Yonder ride and fundraiser for cancer research.
In all the 2011 Wild Pink Yonder event raised $177,000,which is almost triple last year's total raised.
Wild Pink Yonder founder and organizers Jane Hurl and her son Rusty Hurl were in Sundre last week to accept the $29,201.17 cheque from Sundre committee members.
The money was raised in Sundre through a number of projects, including the sale of cancer ribbons that were painted on Sundre sidewalks (The Sidewalk of Hope), a bridge donation collection event involving local women wearing pink bras, a community event at the rodeo grounds and other events.
Cremona-Water Valley raised more than $40,000, collecting donations from those communities, as well as from neighbouring towns.
Karen's daughter Carly Carrier, 14, rode the entire 22-day Wild Pink Yonder trip across southern and Central Alberta this year. She said she was very pleased with the amount raised in Sundre.
“It was a long ride but it was worth it for this cause,” said Carly.
Although Sundre didn't win the Pinkest Little Town in the West contest, she said she's only a “little disappointed” with the outcome.
“It was a great community effort with people doing good things for other people. I think this will all help,” she said.
Carly said she plans to ride in next year's Wild Pink Yonder tour, and in following years too.
“I'll be doing this every year,” she said.
Both Karen and Carly said they are pleased that the money raised through the Wild Pink Yonder effort will be staying in Alberta “to help people in Alberta who are fighting this disease.
During her stopover in Sundre last week, Jane Hurl commended the local committee and all other supporters for Sundre's efforts.
“I think the Sidewalk of Hope is the most touching, most creative, most wonderful thing that we saw on the tour this year,” she said.
There were four communities in this year's Pinkest Little Town in the West contest as part of the larger Wild Pink Yonder effort. As the winning community, Cremona-Water Valley gets to display large roadside signs declaring the community the Pinkest Little Town in the West 2011, and host a community concert with the money going back to the community.
Judging for the contest winner was conducted by three of the Wild Pink Yonder riders, who made up a list of criteria.
“They judged every town based on their list,” said Hurl. “The way this is judged, is the amount of money is divided by the population so it comes up as a per capita amount and that amount is added to the number those three judges come up with.”
She said there were no rules against raising money for a Pinkest Little Town contestant community's efforts outside that community, she said.
The per capita for Cremona-Water Valley did not include the population totals for the surrounding communities where money was raised, she said.
“We can't run around being policemen of that kind of thing,” she said.
“The real feel of this thing is lots of fun and doing something for the good of everybody. So we heard about this and said to ourselves that we don't care how towns came up with their money, as long as it is legal and moral, we are OK with it.”
As for the concert awarded to the winning community, Hurl said it is up to organizers to put it together and decide where to spend the proceeds.
“You can do what you like with the proceeds of that concert. You can charge admission and use the money to buy books for the library, or build a new playground or whatever, or let's have a big party and let's throw open the doors. I don't care.”
