SOUTHEASTERN ALBERTA – Top 7 Over 70

A Southeastern Alberta chapter of the Top 7 Over 70™ hosted its first awards gala on Oct. 10, 2024, in Medicine Hat. The next gala for this area will occur Oct. 14, 2026. Details are at this link. For those interested in sponsoring, contact organizers at 7Over70@cfsea.ca or 403-527-9038. Tickets through Showpass can be purchased at this link.

The Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta (CFSEA) organizes the Top 7 Over 70 event in this region. The 2026 recipients are:

Uwe Karsten Krickhahn: At 91, Krickhahn has spent decades building and expanding a free online database that maps more than 110,000 locations across areas of present-day Poland and former Prussia and Pomerania. His research helps people trace changed family names, locate ancestral communities and reconnect with family history disrupted by the Second World War.

Terry Cooper: Cooper is the driving force behind Team Freewheel, repairing and refurbishing abandoned, unclaimed and donated bicycles for families and organizations in Medicine Hat and Redcliff. His work provides affordable transportation while helping people gain greater independence and access to employment, recreation and community resources.

David Carter: The 92-year-old author and former MLA continues to write, mentor and share his knowledge with others. Since turning 70, Carter has written extensively on history, politics and therapeutic and spiritual topics, with one of his books being used in nursing homes and with people living with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Gail Anderson: Anderson is being recognized for her leadership in creating and growing the Commemorative Forest, an initiative allowing residents to sponsor trees in honour of people, events or special occasions. Her vision and dedication have helped turn the project into a lasting community legacy.

Ron Edwards: Edwards has spent years serving the community as a businessman, auctioneer and volunteer, including organizing the Cypress Hills Children’s Make-A-Wish Trailride. The event raised more than $30,000 for the Children’s Wish Foundation. He also serves as general manager of the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede.

Les Little: Little’s lifelong passion for aviation has helped create opportunities for generations of aspiring pilots. After turning 70, he helped establish the South Alberta Flight Academy, allowing high school students to work toward their private pilot’s licence. He has also spent more than 50 years teaching, mentoring and sharing his knowledge with youth.

Gordon Reynolds: Reynolds is being recognized for his leadership in improving health-care access in his community. He spearheaded an effort to take over the local medical clinic and establish a municipally controlled corporation after the community faced a shortage of physicians. The initiative helped create a model aimed at strengthening physician recruitment and retention.

Community Foundation of Southeast Alberta Director and Chair of 2026 Top 7 Over 70, Jim MacArthur said the awards are about more than recognizing individual accomplishments, with the recipients serving as examples for younger generations.

“The Top 7 Over 70 program is a celebration of the accomplishments of people that are over the age of 70 and still contributing to society in a really meaningful way,” MacArthur said.

He says the contributions of the recipients can have a broader impact on the community by encouraging others to get involved.

“As people aspire to do better as individuals, it shows up in the community, it enriches the community,” MacArthur said.

MacArthur says the recipients are modest about their accomplishments, and the program gives them an opportunity to share their stories and receive recognition from the community.

He says their achievements can also inspire others to get involved and make a difference.

“We strongly feel that they will inspire others to do work.”

The seven recipients will be formally recognized at the Top 7 Over 70 Gala on Oct. 14 at Medalta, where each recipient is featured in a video and interviewed by emcee Dave Paulson.

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From 2024: The inaugural gala for this region

“The gala is an opportunity to influence multiple generations to continue their aspirations in following their passions and dreams,” say organizers. The Southeast Alberta Top 7 Over 70 organizing committee included David Andrews, Myrna Stark, Jim MacArthur, Frances Barnes, Todd O’Reilly, Niki Gray and Peter Donnelly.

The 2024 Top 7 Over 70 recipients in Southeastern Alberta.

“The Community Foundation has three pillars: we grow, we inspire and we give,” Stanley Sakamoto, businessman and CFSEA volunteer, said at an earlier news conference announcing the program in Medicine Hat. “The Top 7 Over 70 awards program aligns with the ‘we inspire’ pillar by not only applauding remarkable accomplishments but by serving as an inspiration for the generations to come, emphasizing that age is not a barrier to innovation, creativity and positive societal impacts.”

The work being done by organizers of the southeastern event is truly commendable, says Top 7 Over 70 founder Jim Gray.

“They are helping to spread the word and deliver an important message,” says Gray. “We need seniors and their contributions to help grow our communities and our economies. Their contributions — thanks to years of wisdom, experience and their ability to make things happen — are invaluable.”

David Andrews, chair of the Southeastern Alberta Top 7 Over 70, says it was difficult to narrow down the nominations they received to just seven recipients.

“We’ve got an author, we’ve got some naturalists, one of whom has taught herself to be a photographer after the age of 70.”

Recipients included Wilma Hunter from Brooks, who has done incredible work with the Dress a Girl project, which provides new dresses to girls in need around the world. The dresses also signal to human traffickers that these girls are being watched over by an international charity, which can help stave off an abduction. Hunter spearheaded a local effort to make hundreds of dresses.

Other Southeastern Alberta Top 7 Over 70 recipients were photographer Nancy Hanson, author Jacob Eckert, businessman and philanthropist Bill Yuill, sportsman Blair Reed, volunteer Martha Munz Gue, and artist Deborah Forbes.

The event occured at Medalta in the Historic Clay District of Medicine Hat on Oct. 10. You can also check out the southeast Top 7 Over 70 group at its Facebook page here.

THE 2024 TOP 7 OVER 70 RECIPIENTS IN SOUTHEASTERN ALBERTA