$113,900 to Kids in Alberta Hospitals!
Co-operative Works
We shot for the moon and kept going to the STARS!
The seventh annual STARS Air Ambulance CEO Rescue in the Rockies was a phenomenal success, with over $680,000 donated to this vital lifeline in the sky.
On June 15, 2018, four Alberta CEOs – our own Executive Director Tom Kee, ATB Financial President Dave Mowat, ENMAX Corporation President and CEO Gianna Manes, and Peavey Industries LP President and CEO Doug Anderson – were airlifted and dropped off in the mountains west of Calgary. If they wanted down, they had to fund-raise $400,000. They flew right through that target and kept on going. Albertans, Alberta businesses, and our gas co-ops came through for STARS!
Every CEO had their reasons for wanting to be there. For Tom and the Federation, it was all about the rural communities. Our natural gas system of 80 utilities stretches across this province. Rural communities are where we live, work and play. We know that when emergencies happen, the nearest hospital or ground ambulance could be hours away. Unfortunately, we don’t always have that amount of time, so thank the stars that STARS is there for us to get us to help when we need it the most. It was fitting that when the CEOs had come down from the mountain and a thank you banquet was held, the guest speaker was a Very Important Patient who just happened to be a member of our Harvest Hills Gas Co-op.
Since 1985 STARS Air Ambulance has been a beacon of hope for when our community members need it most. They have flown nearly 40,000 missions, and average eight missions per day across Western Canada. They are that vital lifeline to hospitals for when emergencies happen.
STARS has been putting on the CEO Rescue in the Rockies for seven years now. Over those years, the community leaders who have needed rescuing have managed to raise over $5 Million through this unique fund-raising adventure. The funding helps STARS to: provide ongoing specialized emergency medical training for STARS doctors, nurses and paramedics provide critical care training to rural health care providers through STARS’ Mobile Education Unit acquire the latest sophisticated medical equipment inside the helicopter’s intensive care unit environment, and more.
