We might acknowledge the importance of a particular person in our corner of the world. Every region has their own famous people. No matter how important locally, that name will probably pale compared to other names around the world. Julius Caesar, Da Vinci, Genghis Khan and Winston Churchill are better known than Alexander Hamilton, Sitting Bull, or Simon Bolivar.
As it happens, even though Banting and Bell are well known scientists or inventors, or Picasso a well-known artist, it seems the majority of famous people are politicians. In fact, we remember famous names for their politics, even though some also had other careers.
We have some names. Some are well-known in Alberta. Some perhaps just in our own part of this province. In no order of importance, to name a few politicians who made significant contributions, and only those who have passed away, we have Grant Notley, Walter Twinn, Marv Moore, Fred Dumont, Dennis Barton, Harold Cardinal, Len Pelland Sr. and “Peace River” James Cornwall. We apologize if you think we have left names out.
To the list, add our good friend, the late George Keay. As a business person in High Prairie, former mayor, George didn’t mince words. He spoke his mind and let chips fall where they may.
Across the Peace Country and the Lesser Slave Lake region, George was well known as a straight shooter. He was also well-known as what some say is a “homer.” He stood up and fought for, in order, his community, his local region, for northern Alberta and Alberta. Although it never really came to that, for Canada also.
George’s pride and joy outside of family was his community. And although it doesn’t have his name on it, the new High Prairie Regional Hospital should have it stamped someplace, prominently and fittingly. George spent, not months or years, but decades on the project
Every time our local health authorities were “consolidated” into bigger groups by the Alberta government, George was against the move. He saw the centralization of authority as a move away from a new hospital.
First, it was away from local control to a board around the Lesser Slave Lake region. Then it became a mostly northern Alberta board, headquartered in his nemesis community, Grande Prairie. One of his favourite comments over the years was, “Grande Prairie is a giant black hole, sucking in everything around it.”
When the Peace Country board was merged into the aptly-named SuperBoard based in Edmonton, George actually saw an opportunity to really get to work. Now he didn’t have to argue as much with northern Alberta politicians all in-fighting for their own communities.
George got on with the business of looking after his own hometown because he knew the real power, no matter what the government of the day was saying, was all in Edmonton.
In the end, we can see if we all work as hard as George did for what is actually all our communities, no matter what the challenges, we will all leave better communities and a better region behind.
Jeff Burgar