Len Mitzel Meadow officially named
By Gillian Slade on May 3, 2018.
A donation of 20,000 daffodil bulbs was made by Adair Prouty in memory of the late Len Mitzel, former MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat, and The Daffodil Project's planting site (previously called the Shepherd site) was declared Len Mitzel Meadow in a ceremony honouring him on Wednesday. Prouty, wearing the white jacket, is holding a bunch of daffodils. In the background is the area where the bulbs will be planted.--SUBMITTED PHOTOgslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade One of the daffodil planting sites was officially renamed “Len Mitzel Meadow” in a ceremony Wednesday honouring the late MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat. “He was a person who cared for everybody and everything, and great to work with. I miss him,” said Adair Prouty, who donated 20,000 bulbs to The Daffodil Project in memory of Mitzel, with whom she worked for many years. “I thought what a better thing to do than have a site in memory of him because he often came down the road here,” she said speaking of the route he would take from his office to his home in Etzikom. Mitzel’s life was cut short about 14 months ago after a battle with cancer. Mayor Ted Clugston, who spoke at the ceremony, called Mitzel a “gentle giant” and said remembering him with daffodils was a fitting tribute to someone who had battled cancer. Elvira Schmid, director for the Medicine Hat region in the Alberta ministry of finance and enterprise, was not able to attend the event but spoke of her fond memories of him in an emailed statement. “Len was a visionary. He saw value in collaboration long before others. He brought the Mayors and Reeves of southeast Alberta together so they could help each other be better leaders and solve common problems. He understood that all the communities were stronger together,” Schmid wrote. Many years ago Mitzel had been part of a group that met in a restaurant in Foremost to consider ways to encourage communities to work together on economic development. “The plans we laid that day eventually resulted in the creation of Palliser Economic Partnership, which has been serving communities for 17 years,” said Schmid. “Len was a great supporter of the people of southeast Alberta, and their social and economic well being. “He was also a great friend. I am grateful to see this planting of daffodils named in his honour.” This fall the first 10,000 daffodil bulbs will be planted in Len Mitzel Meadow, on the grassy area between the Trans-Canada Highway, Southridge Drive and Shepherd Crescent. In the fall of 2019, another 10,000 bulbs will be planted there. While The Daffodil Project has planted bulbs on this site since the first planting season, the plan is to focus on planting the 20,000 bulbs donated in Len Mitzel’s honour on the flat grassy area closer to the TCH. The Daffodil Project has a goal of seeing 1 million bulbs planted by 2025 along the TCH from Redcliff to Dunmore. The purpose is simply to beautify the environment each spring. Donations for bulbs can be made through the project’s trust account at ATB Financial, account number 07329-00410789600. Email a copy of your bank deposit slip for acknowledgment of the donation with your name recorded on the website or mail a cheque, made out to the project, to the News. Every cent donated for bulbs goes to the purchase of bulbs. For more information, contact The Daffodil Project’s chair, Gillian Slade, 403-528-8635, Twitter: @medhatdaffodils, email: hatdaffodils@gmail.com or visit the website: medhatdaffodils.wordpress.com 16
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