For the second month, Stettler and area residents beat Ponoka in the Walk ‘n Roll’s “I’m Just Less Driven” campaign. In the month of June, Stettler registered 2,895 trips, while Ponoka registered 2,313.
Even though the gap seems to be narrowing down, Ponoka will have to ensure that all trips are being registered and more community members are getting involved if they want to see a better outcome, according to Grace Fix, vice-chair of the Heartland Beautification Committee and one of the organizers and proponents of the campaign.
Mayor Dick Richards of Stettler has joined in the fun and has issued a challenge to Ponoka’s elected officials. Richards and Mayor Rick Bonnett of Ponoka have decided that the losing community’s mayor and council will have to wear the winning town’s Junior B hockey jerseys to a council meeting in September this year.
The goal of the challenge, which goes on until the end of August, is to encourage residents in both communities to leave their cars at home sometimes and walk or bike to their destinations.
“To date, that has occurred 7,992 times in both communities, which is incredible,” Fix said. “Participation in both communities has exceeded our expectations and many people are certainly jumping on board with this. Distance is not important, with the ‘to’ and the ‘from’ trips counting as two trips.”
Residents of both communities are being asked to register their trips at www.stettler.net, whether they are walking or biking.
“Residents can register as often as they wish; however if they register each week, they are eligible for our weekly draw prize of our fun Walk ‘n’ Roll ‘I’m Just Less Driven’ t-shirt,” Fix added.
Winners in the month of June were Shane Snideman, Aimee Roste, Charleen Smith, and Wayne Smith.
The Walk ‘n’ Roll Challenge is organized by the Heartland Beautification Committee and funded in part by the Stettler Wellness Network.