Wednesday, December 28  

Good morning, Reader

We hope you had a lovely Christmas weekend and welcome back! Since we are in the midst of that short week between Christmas Day and New Years where nothing really matters, we decided to keep things light this week. That’s why each one of us are going to share our favourite stories we wrote from over the past year, starting with Ashley’s today, Leanne’s tomorrow, and mine on Friday. These are not necessarily the most read stories, but the ones we had the most fun with or the most connection to. We hope you enjoy!

P.S. Did someone forward you this email? You can subscribe to Calgary Citizen here.

Managing Editor
Calgary Citizen

In today's edition

❤️ A stroll down memory lane with Ashley's favourite stories of 2022
🗞️ Catch up on the highlights from over the holidays 
🫶 How Two Small Men With Big Hearts hasn't lost its community roots

Forecast: It's a bit slick out there with snow showers ❄️ High -4℃

According to recent Statistics Canada data, prices of groceries and food are skyrocketing. Alberta saw a 9.2% increase and housing costs were up 6.2%. 📷 Shutterstock

Ashley's 5 favourite Calgary Citizen stories of 2022

BY ASHLEY PFEIFER 

Looking back on the last four months, I could not be more thankful for the opportunity I've had to work with the Calgary Citizen as an intern reporter. I have met so many amazing people and have been able to write many different types of stories that reflect the diverse and beautiful community we live in. 

As a student, I still had some self doubt when starting this position as I had not had any real-world experience in the journalism field yet. However, after interviewing so many people who gave me the trust and confidence to tell their stories, I am much more confident in my abilities and am very grateful.

It is a difficult task to choose my top five stories because each one has left an impact on me and my future career. I wanted to thank every source that I have spoken with for allowing me to tell their story, and also my amazing mentors at the Calgary Citizen for teaching me and helping me get closer to my dreams. These are the five articles that I am proud of, and I can’t wait to share more. 

Calgary’s Small Business Awards are back to showcase city’s diverse local businesses

I moved to Calgary about four years ago and I have loved discovering all of the amazing local businesses. This story allowed me to delve deeper into our city's diverse range of talent, including Doodle Dogs. Speaking with co-owner Meghan Huchkowsky was so fun, and as a side bonus I now have a place to shop for all my furry friends. The awards are a great way to highlight local businesses and being able to write a story on it only brightens their spotlight.

Poverty in Calgary: Hidden in plain sight and reaching every corner of the city

One of my main goals in life is to make a difference, no matter how big or small. This story meant so much to me because it is incredibly important to have difficult conversations in order to highlight issues within society. Being able to speak with Meaghon Reid with Enough for All and Yvette Biggs with the United Way of Calgary and Area was very eye-opening and made an impact on the way I will live my life forever. 

How the rebranded Calgary Women’s Shelter is helping combat rising demand for domestic violence and abuse services

When the Calgary Women’s Shelter announced its new name, we knew there was a story behind it. The rebranding to FearIsNotLove is important because it promotes inclusivity—the company is more than a shelter. It was amazing speaking with Kim Ruse, hearing the stories she had to tell, and learning how the rebranding was a call to action. Being able to spread the importance of speaking out and working together to make a difference meant the world to me. 

Pairing amputee children with veterans as role models through The War Amps

When I first heard about The War Amps, I was in awe of how beautiful the organization was. Being able to reflect and give my thanks to veterans is very important. I was so grateful to be able to write this story and speak with Liz Gareau with The War Amps and Jamie McCallum about their personal experiences. It was very wholesome and inspiring. 

How a Calgary author tapped into her farm roots to pen a children’s book about her pet pig George

I got really invested in this story. I could sit for hours listening to Linda Collier talk about her childhood with her pet pig, George. During the interview, I felt like a child again listening to an amazing story being told. Listening to Linda’s life story and how far she has come was so inspiring and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for the future. 

In other news

🚒 Calgary’s fire chief says 2022 was a record year for emergency responses with 80,000 calls, which was 10,000 more than 2021. (Global)

🥫 Local agencies selling discounted food to help feed Calgarians experiencing unprecedented demand due to rising costs and inflation. (CBC)

👮 Calgary’s police chief says morale among officers remains low while gun violence spikes in the city. (Herald)

🔫 A criminology expert says 2022 saw a record number of police shootings in Canada, with 87 people shot and 46 of those dying, which was a 25% increase over 2021. (CTV)

🩸 Canadian Blood Services is facing a severe shortfall of blood products after several days of stormy weather across the country. (Sun)

🎁 A University of Calgary psychologist says holiday stress levels are back to pre-pandemic levels as expectations have gone back to normal. (City News)

🚓 A man has been charged in relation to a September shooting in Kensington that left a woman in critical condition and a man with injuries.

SPONSORED POST

TOGETHER WITH JUBILATIONS

Kick off 2023 with a hilarious musical!

Start the year off right with a NYE celebration at Jubilations Dinner Theatre featuring “The Office - A Pop Rock Parody.” Tickets include a hilarious musical comedy, multi-course dinner, party favours, DJ and dance, late night snack, and glass of bubbly. It’s a live show, so anything could happen. Play along, and the actors might just include you in the act! The cast never breaks character and audiences always have a good time. Each show features classic hit songs – they dare you not to sing along.

Break from your routine and immerse yourself in a totally unique, truly Canadian experience and a guaranteed good time!

📸 YYCam

Last week's photo was of the George C. King Bridge (formerly known as the St. Patrick's Island Bridge) over the Bow River.

In this new section called YYCam running weekly on Wednesdays, we will be showcasing a different photo from across the city and we invite readers to share their best guess for where it was taken.  Any guesses as to where this photo was taken? Share your answer here. We will publish the answer next week. 📷 Calgary Citizen

Calgary Roundup

🍻 DRINK

Let’s Get Fizzy at Craft Beer Market this New Year’s Eve! Enjoy a four course dinner and countdown party to ring in 2023. Grab tickets here.

🎭 ARTS

Are you a craft, artisan or direct sales vendor? Join YMCA at its next Remington YMCA Winter on Jan. 28 by applying here by Jan. 15.

🎶 MUSIC

Canadian rock band Big Sugar will hit the Palace Theatre stage tomorrow night for a show that’s sure to be “a little bit a alright”. Tickets are still available.

❤️ LOCAL LOVE

Planning on getting a new pup over the holidays? Make sure they get proper training with services from Kayenna Training Academy. Check out all the different class options here.

🎄 HOLIDAYS

Want to ring in the new year early? Limerick’s Pub will celebrate the British New Year at 5pm on Dec. 31 with party favours, bagpipes, and trivia. Donations will be collected for the Veterans Food Bank.

Two Small Men With Big Hearts CEO Addison Parfeniuk says Two Small Men dedicates 10% of its of annual revenues to supporting charity partners. 📷 Submitted 

Addison Parfeniuk // Two Small Men With Big Hearts CEO 

Calgary-based moving company celebrates its 40 year milestone as it looks ahead to another 40

It’s a milestone this local moving company is proud of. Two Small Men with Big Hearts Moving originated in Calgary 40 years ago in 1982 with only a single moving truck and has since expanded across Canada. With a focus on community, Two Small Men exemplifies its big hearts through giving back to community nonprofits and charities all over Canada by offering its moving services. Every year, Two Small Men also sends employees during two paid workdays to volunteer at organizations in their communities. With 25 offices around Canada, this equates to 500 days of volunteer work annually. The organization also gives 10% of their profits each year to nonprofits and charities. A few of the organizations that Two Small Men has helped include the Women’s Centre of Calgary and the Trellis Society. At the end of this year, Two Small Men has accumulated $200,000 to donate to local and national organizations. We spoke with compay CEO Addison Parfeniuk about the company and its commitment to the community.  

How has this company grown since its inception 40 years ago?

We started with one truck and now there's over 100 trucks in our network. We have an amazing team of over 250 employees and I think that one of our greatest assets is this group of people that care. Our people care so our customers have the best moving experience.

You’ve grown exponentially as a company but how important is it to stay connected to the community? 

We wanted to remain locally connected to each community. Our slogan Local Roots, National Reach. We do that through the dozens of organizations that we support and we do that in each community.  We consider it our purpose to work together and grow our company and power our passion for community giving. So this year, our budget is $200,000 to help different organizations in communities across western Canada and we hope to grow that contribution to a million per year by 2030. It's so energizing to be able to support them in the way that we do, and I know they value the partnership as well. Last year as part of our season of giving, we donated 64 moves to community partners in need of support. This year, we aim to donate 101 moves with our community partners in each market.

How have moving trends changed over the course of the pandemic? 

These last couple years have been going pretty well for us during the pandemic. The Bank of Canada famously reduced interest rates to pump stimulus into the economy with lower boring borrowing costs and higher income levels created the perfect storm for the housing market. So, the moving business was firing on all cylinders during unprecedented real estate activity. The top line grew quite a bit, our expenses grew substantially and supply chains were disrupted. We were trying to do everything we could to get to get more trucks on the road. We did a lot of good work in the communities through that period, which was very energizing go through that kind of growth as a company. Now, we have interest rates are certainly slowing, slowing real estate activity and thereby affecting demand for movers. 

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