By Medicine Hat News on October 10, 2024.
@MedicineHatNews An annual Leadership Breakfast event held later this month will expand to include local government leaders from the Brooks area, where the sponsor, the local Chamber of Commerce, expanded last year. It brings the number of speakers at the Oct. 22 morning event to 10, including for the first time, Martin Shields, the former mayor of Brooks and current MP for Bow Valley, Newell County Reeve Arno Doerksen and current Brooks Mayor John Petrie. They will join Hat region mayors and reeves, MLAs and the MP on the agenda at Chinook Village in Medicine Hat. The date however, requires several speakers to provide remarks via pre-recorded video. MLAs Premier Danielle Smith (Brooks-Medicine Hat), Justin Wright (Cypress-Medicine Hat) will be preparing for the Alberta legislature’s fall sitting, beginning on Oct. 28. As well, the House of Commons returns Oct. 21 after a constituency week, requiring the presence of MPs Shields and Glen Motz (Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner). Those four will provide a recorded address. Attending in person will be Medicine Hat Mayor Linnsie Clark, Redcliff Mayor Dwight Kilpatrick and Cypress County Reeve Dan Hamilton, Doerksen and Petrie, along with CFB Suffield base commander Lt.-Col. Joe Andrechek. One year ago the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce was formed to join chambers in Brooks and Medicine Hat. Earlier this year, a Brooks State of the City event was held in that city featuring Petrie, Doerksen and Smith, as the mayor, reeve and MLA for that city’s region. Chamber of Commerce officials also announced Wednesday that a limited number of tickets are still available through the chamber office for the event that runs from 7:30-9:30 a.m. on Oct. 22 at Chinook Village. 12