Q2 2025 - Jan 28
Presented by:
Our April 2025 (Q2) meeting again took place at ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge for our registered charity meeting.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to our Platinum Sponsor for the evening - the Vitreous Glass Inc.
In addition, our Gold sponsors for this meeting:
Our sponsors play a huge role in our quarterly meetings. They ensure that none of our presenters go home empty handed and help us top up the $10,000 goal, if needed.
Check out our Sponsor page, to learn more about our platinum sponsor and how to get involved in this program.
New Member Draw!
As we did last meeting, we started things by recognizing the new members in the group and had a special door prize draw just for them.
Finding new members is critical to helping the 100 Men grow. It helps inject new energy and enthusiasm, gets the word out, provides new networking opportunities, and more.
We will try to continue this tradition so, if you have any friends or family who might be interested, please let them know. Aside from being a part of something awesome, they've got a great chance of winning!
Wilkie Award - David Bowman
The Wilkie Award recognizes someone from the group that embodies the spirit of our late co-founder Keith Wilkinson. We consider The Wilkie to be a noble and prestigious honour!
Like Keith, David is another one of our founding members and is a familiar face to everyone as he greets and checks in everyone at our meetings. He has always been among the most vocal advocates of our group - sharing our message on social media, doing radio interviews, promoting us in person between meetings, and so on.
A very humble man himself, he never misses a chance to brag about the 100 Men and encourage others to join. He let us know that he will be stepping down in his role - still an active member, but taking a break from the board.
It is obvious that David is genuinely proud of what this group has become and it was an easy choice to award Mr Bowman with the Wilkie award.
Congrats Dave! We appreciate you.
Guest Speaker: Peter Brown
Mayor Peter Brown is another one who has been a champion of our group and spoke briefly about the impact of these meetings and donations.
Mayor Brown shared a few experiences he has witnessed from groups that we support (including the Food Bank and Community Links) and the real, tangible impact that he has seen first-hand.
We shouldn't lose sight that when we donate money each quarter and vote on where it should go, we truly are helping real people in our community. There is a lot of talk about shopping local - well, we are helping local with each meeting and it's something we should take pride in.
Previous recipient: Airdrie Raiders Football
Following on this note of tangible impact, our previous recipient - the Airdrie Raiders Football club - updated us on what they did with the money they received.
As promised, 100% of it went to equipment (mostly helmets and shoulder pads) and it allowed 25 additional boys and 15 additional girls to play. It essentially added two teams (one for boys and one for girls) to their program!
It is not just the growth of the program that is the highlight - it is that 40 kids are now committed to a team sport where they can learn, develop, an grow as athletes and teammates, whereas they might have otherwise spent that time glued to a phone or some other less positive way.
And it was entirely made possible through our donations. Awesome!
Q2 2025 Presentations:
We heard next from our three presenters.
BGC Airdrie Club
Cassandra from the BGC Airdrie Club kicked things off and held a little exercise where we closed our eyes and imagined a story she retold of a young boy who had arrived at their clubhouse after a long and lonely day. When asked how his day was, he replied that it was the first time someone noticed him all day. Days like that made him feel like there wasn't a point in continuing on if no one ever notices you.
Luckily he is doing well today and the story represents why the club is needed in the community. It helps develop a sense of belonging and acceptance and friendship and provides a non-judgemental, safe haven for anyone.
The club currently has two locations but the one meant for younger children is being condemned and is no longer safe for participants. If awarded the 100 Men funding, it would go to supporting their new build.
Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre
AARC presented next and told another heart-wrenching story. Guest speaker Jason told us about his son Jerome and the tragic tale of watching him go from a funny, thoughtful kid who people loved to be around to an addict caught in a vicious cycle of self-hate and self-medication.
Jason talked about feeling broken and powerless, the finger-pointing he resorted to, and the dread he felt as the downward spiral they were in seemed like it was inevitably going to end in "the call" that something horrible had happened.
Miraculously, a friend reached out about AARC. They convinced Jerome to enrol it changed everything! Treatment wasn’t just about the addict, it was about the family and the addiction.
Jason feels that AARC saved his and Jerome’s life and that not enough people know about it. It is “hope in human form” as they like to say at AARC.
Unfortunately, support like this is costly. 90% of families receive financial support - customized to their situation - and no family is turned away. However, that means that AARC needs to raise over $2 million each year. Money awarded from this meeting would go towards closing that funding gap.
Bethany Care Foundation
For our last presentation, Heidi from the Bethany Care Foundation talked about using any funding received to support their Music Therapy Program at their Airdrie facility.
This is a rewarding program that focuses on residents' ability to communicate and reduce anxiety. It is a non-pharmecutical method of pain reduction, mood improvement, and social interaction that is particularly effective with those who have dementia. “Music brings out the best of us at any age”, Heidi says.
Heidi shared the story of a gentleman named Neil - a WWII veteran - who had developed dementia after retiring and got involved in the music therapy program.
It changed his life because, once that was a part of his weekly routine, he became alive in a way he hadn’t since his dementia started. Songs and lyrics and vivid memories from his life came back to him during the program that wouldn't be there in his day-to-day life. It was life-changing for him and his family.
The program uses certified therapists that do individual and group sessions. Because we have an aging boomer population, it is expected that there will be a sharp rise in dementia in the near future and programs like these will become even more important.
——
For this meeting, between our paid members, the $2000 from sponsors and an additional $625 from auction items, we had $13,625 in total! This meant that we would be giving away $10,000 to one of the groups and over $1800 to each of the other presenters.
After the online vote tally, the BGC Airdrie Club was announced as the $10,000 recipient for Q2 2025. Congratulations!
Thank you to ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge for once again being fantastic hosts.
We’d also like to give a giant shout out to those that donated door prizes. Thank you to:
We will back at ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge for the next meeting - July 15th.
See you then!
We would like to extend a huge thank you to our Platinum Sponsor for the evening - the Vitreous Glass Inc.
In addition, our Gold sponsors for this meeting:
Our sponsors play a huge role in our quarterly meetings. They ensure that none of our presenters go home empty handed and help us top up the $10,000 goal, if needed.
Check out our Sponsor page, to learn more about our platinum sponsor and how to get involved in this program.
New Member Draw!
As we did last meeting, we started things by recognizing the new members in the group and had a special door prize draw just for them.
Finding new members is critical to helping the 100 Men grow. It helps inject new energy and enthusiasm, gets the word out, provides new networking opportunities, and more.
We will try to continue this tradition so, if you have any friends or family who might be interested, please let them know. Aside from being a part of something awesome, they've got a great chance of winning!
Wilkie Award - David Bowman
The Wilkie Award recognizes someone from the group that embodies the spirit of our late co-founder Keith Wilkinson. We consider The Wilkie to be a noble and prestigious honour!
Like Keith, David is another one of our founding members and is a familiar face to everyone as he greets and checks in everyone at our meetings. He has always been among the most vocal advocates of our group - sharing our message on social media, doing radio interviews, promoting us in person between meetings, and so on.
A very humble man himself, he never misses a chance to brag about the 100 Men and encourage others to join. He let us know that he will be stepping down in his role - still an active member, but taking a break from the board.
It is obvious that David is genuinely proud of what this group has become and it was an easy choice to award Mr Bowman with the Wilkie award.
Congrats Dave! We appreciate you.
Guest Speaker: Peter Brown
Mayor Peter Brown is another one who has been a champion of our group and spoke briefly about the impact of these meetings and donations.
Mayor Brown shared a few experiences he has witnessed from groups that we support (including the Food Bank and Community Links) and the real, tangible impact that he has seen first-hand.
We shouldn't lose sight that when we donate money each quarter and vote on where it should go, we truly are helping real people in our community. There is a lot of talk about shopping local - well, we are helping local with each meeting and it's something we should take pride in.
Previous recipient: Airdrie Raiders Football
Following on this note of tangible impact, our previous recipient - the Airdrie Raiders Football club - updated us on what they did with the money they received.
As promised, 100% of it went to equipment (mostly helmets and shoulder pads) and it allowed 25 additional boys and 15 additional girls to play. It essentially added two teams (one for boys and one for girls) to their program!
It is not just the growth of the program that is the highlight - it is that 40 kids are now committed to a team sport where they can learn, develop, an grow as athletes and teammates, whereas they might have otherwise spent that time glued to a phone or some other less positive way.
And it was entirely made possible through our donations. Awesome!
Q2 2025 Presentations:
We heard next from our three presenters.
BGC Airdrie Club
Cassandra from the BGC Airdrie Club kicked things off and held a little exercise where we closed our eyes and imagined a story she retold of a young boy who had arrived at their clubhouse after a long and lonely day. When asked how his day was, he replied that it was the first time someone noticed him all day. Days like that made him feel like there wasn't a point in continuing on if no one ever notices you.
Luckily he is doing well today and the story represents why the club is needed in the community. It helps develop a sense of belonging and acceptance and friendship and provides a non-judgemental, safe haven for anyone.
The club currently has two locations but the one meant for younger children is being condemned and is no longer safe for participants. If awarded the 100 Men funding, it would go to supporting their new build.
Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre
AARC presented next and told another heart-wrenching story. Guest speaker Jason told us about his son Jerome and the tragic tale of watching him go from a funny, thoughtful kid who people loved to be around to an addict caught in a vicious cycle of self-hate and self-medication.
Jason talked about feeling broken and powerless, the finger-pointing he resorted to, and the dread he felt as the downward spiral they were in seemed like it was inevitably going to end in "the call" that something horrible had happened.
Miraculously, a friend reached out about AARC. They convinced Jerome to enrol it changed everything! Treatment wasn’t just about the addict, it was about the family and the addiction.
Jason feels that AARC saved his and Jerome’s life and that not enough people know about it. It is “hope in human form” as they like to say at AARC.
Unfortunately, support like this is costly. 90% of families receive financial support - customized to their situation - and no family is turned away. However, that means that AARC needs to raise over $2 million each year. Money awarded from this meeting would go towards closing that funding gap.
Bethany Care Foundation
For our last presentation, Heidi from the Bethany Care Foundation talked about using any funding received to support their Music Therapy Program at their Airdrie facility.
This is a rewarding program that focuses on residents' ability to communicate and reduce anxiety. It is a non-pharmecutical method of pain reduction, mood improvement, and social interaction that is particularly effective with those who have dementia. “Music brings out the best of us at any age”, Heidi says.
Heidi shared the story of a gentleman named Neil - a WWII veteran - who had developed dementia after retiring and got involved in the music therapy program.
It changed his life because, once that was a part of his weekly routine, he became alive in a way he hadn’t since his dementia started. Songs and lyrics and vivid memories from his life came back to him during the program that wouldn't be there in his day-to-day life. It was life-changing for him and his family.
The program uses certified therapists that do individual and group sessions. Because we have an aging boomer population, it is expected that there will be a sharp rise in dementia in the near future and programs like these will become even more important.
——
For this meeting, between our paid members, the $2000 from sponsors and an additional $625 from auction items, we had $13,625 in total! This meant that we would be giving away $10,000 to one of the groups and over $1800 to each of the other presenters.
After the online vote tally, the BGC Airdrie Club was announced as the $10,000 recipient for Q2 2025. Congratulations!
Thank you to ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge for once again being fantastic hosts.
We’d also like to give a giant shout out to those that donated door prizes. Thank you to:
- Kevin Moore / Legacy Real Estate
- Hussain Mumtaz / Simmply MD
- Ron Chapman / Tiger Propane
- Peter Flanagan / Maaco
- Keith Yeoman / Yeoman Woodworks
- ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge
- Myles Ridge / Big Ben Cleaning
We will back at ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge for the next meeting - July 15th.
See you then!
