This week, the Metis Nation of Alberta (MNA) Region 3 held their first annual Marlene Lanz Memorial Golf Tournament at the Apple Creek Golf Course which Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown says is just another example of the developing, strong relationship between the city and the Metis Nation.  

Brown was invited to the tournament where he took the opportunity to exchange gifts with MNA Region 3 President Lawrence Gervais in recognition of Airdrie being the host city for the 92nd Annual Metis General Assembly, scheduled for August 13th - 16th, 2020. 

Brown says he was honoured to receive the beautiful gift, but he jokes that he may have trouble keeping it.  "It's a beautiful painting.  My EAs (Executive Assistant) fighting for it to hang in her space," laughs Brown.  "It's just a terrific gift.  We actually exchanged gifts.  I gave him a memento of the City of Airdrie and we received this gift.  It just bodes well for the continued great relationship we're continuing to grow with the Metis Nation."

Brown says between 1,500 and 3,000 delegates are expected to attend the General Assembly next year in the city.  "We didn't realize Airdrie has the third-largest Metis population in Region 3 so we have a real opportunity to reach out to them and to continue to grow our relationship which started with a meeting then this golf tournament and as we move forward it looks just awesome for our community as it relates to the Metis Nation."

Brown says he enjoyed his time golfing with the Metis and also made an important, and totally unexpected connection when he visited at his table following golf with a woman who began talking about the Blue Zone Project.

"One of the ladies at our table said, 'you know, I've been reading about this thing called Blue Zone.'  She had no idea that the City of Airdrie is going down that road so there was a real connection," says Brown. "She's actually now going to bridge the gap between the (Metis) population that's here and get them involved in Blue Zone, probably more personally than a person who's not Metis.   So it's pretty awesome to see the connections that are already being grown."

The golf tournament was in honour of Marlene Lanz.   Lanz was the former President of the MNA Region 3 and a longtime fixture in Metis politics.   In 2012 she received the Diamond Jubilee Award from the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.  Lanz passed away on August 25th, 2018 at age 74.  

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