Thursday, August 27, 2020
VOLUME 3 I ISSUE 9
MERIDIANSOURCE.CA
Summers to sizzle with Ribfests GEOFF LEE
WRITER
.................................. Border City Connects has signed a five-year deal with the Western Canada Ribfest Tour as a major summer event and fundraiser for the Lloydminster region. Notably, Ribfest will help fund the nonprofit’s fleet of specialty vehicles serving Lloydminster area residents and benefit other charities. The deal follows the overwhelming success of the first COVID-friendly drive-thru format of Ribfest, held Aug. 21-23, by raising $25,000 net for the transportation service in partnership with the Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association. The vehicle count at the four meat vendors was 2,869 to the amazement of Glenn Fagnan, the director of Border City Connects. “It was crazy; it was lined up from one end of the Lloyd Exh to the other and even out to the street, and that was for hours and hours of that,” said Fagnan earlier this week.
“The ribbers were very happy and we were very happy; it’s pretty amazing how everything worked out.” The event also generated $15,000 from the sale of 3,000 50/50 tickets with Lloyd resident Taryn Mardes winning a $7,500 prize share. Aaron Buckingham, marketing coordinator at Border City Connects, describes the initial event as a taste test of what’s to come with a full-scale Ribfest in the future. “We can have a fullfledged beer garden and entertainment and everything that goes with it,” anticipated Buckingham. “This will be Border City Connects major fundraiser for years to come—this is going to be a long-range commitment to this group and we’re looking forward to hosting it and watching it grow.” Fagnan says Ribfest is not just a fundraiser for Border City Connects, but an event for Lloydminster. “When we are back
to normal, it will be an event to go on for 20 years,” he said. The initial Ribfest was his group’s first and main opportunity for any fundraising this year. Border City Connects gets a donation fee from the Ribfest companies along with all of the proceeds from refreshment sales, sponsorships, and their own 50/50 raffle tickets. The bulk of the funds will go toward paying off the remainder of a new van purchase while helping with the operating cost of the fleet. “The fixed costs just don’t go away. We’ve had the lowest payroll we’ve ever had as well as the lowest fuel cost, but it’s still an expense on the insurance,” said Fagnan. The fleet includes Border City Connects’ buses to transport area residents with mobility issues and Care-AVans that shuttle residents and seniors door-to-door to medical appointments in Edmonton as well as Saskatoon.
Geoff Lee Meridian Source
Aaron Buckingham, left, marketing manager of Border City Connects, does an elbow bump with Andrew Reinhardt, organizer of the Western Canada Ribfest Tour and owner of Billy’s BBQ last Friday at the Lloydminster Exhibition Grounds. Ribfest will become a major annual fundraiser for Border City Connects.
“There are so many things that we do in the community and more exciting things to come. We need an event like this to help to continue the good work Border City Connects does,” added Buckingham. “We are very excited the proceeds are going to Border City Connects, which is a vital service in the city. It’s not provided by anybody else and it needs to be provided.” Event organizer,
Andrew Reinhardt, a Niagara Falls Ont. resident who owns Billy’s BBQ in Michigan, says helping non-profits “is a big deal right now” with the pandemic going on. “ I t h i nk c o mm u ni ties and businesses are hurting, so we are doing everything we can to raise money,” he said. Ribfest vendors donated roughly $14,000 worth of leftover food products to The Olive Tree.
Reinhardt says the success of Ribfest is due to it being based on the idea communities will rally behind the events knowing they financially support community charities like Rotary, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Border City Connects in Lloyd. He says when that happens, they can grow it into a partnership that lasts. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2