LAC LABICHE - For Nicholas Bartlett, volunteering his time with local organizations is all about giving back to the community.
Bartlett, who works as an equipment operator for Lac La Biche County, actively volunteers with the Native Friendship Centre and has been a member of the Lac La Biche Elks lodge #470 for the last two years.
“I enjoy giving back to the community in a way that will help promote Lac La Biche County in a positive light,” he tells www.lakelandtoday.ca as he gets the word out for an upcoming event hosted by the local Elks Club.
“Elks on Ice” will be a day of family fun and activities centered around one of the other activities Bartlett likes to do when he’s not busy volunteering. Ice fishing.
Bartlett says Elks on Ice is set to go March 9 at the boat launch on the Winston Churchill causeway. Youngsters under 17 will be given free fishing rods and a special permit allowing them to fish all day. The event will also feature ice safety displays, and an ice-rescue demonstration by Lac La Biche County Fire Rescue Services. Bartlett said the local Elks will have a warm-up tent on the ice, complete with warm food and drinks for participants. The hut will also feature monitors showing visitors underwater live-camera views of Lac La Biche lake.
He says the Elks on Ice day will give youngsters an opportunity to get out and enjoy the beauty of Lac La Biche Lake during the ice fishing season. It’s also a great way to remind youngsters about the Great Outdoors and spending time outside instead of on screens.
“We need kids with more tackle boxes and less Xboxes,” he said with a laugh.
The ice event is the second of recent awareness campaigns put on by the local service club. Last summer, local members hosted a ‘Get to know your Elks’ event at a local beach where members gave away free life jackets to children and provided free hot dogs and hamburgers.
The Elks on Ice Event — including a visit from Elks’ mascot Charlie the Elk — takes place from 10 am to 2 pm on March 9. In the weeks leading up to the event, local Elks members are looking for more volunteers to help with the event as well as donations from the community to help acquire more fishing rods.
“We have a small group of volunteers to help with the event…Scouts and Cadets will be helping with the food and warm beverages, KidsSport volunteers to help with the fishing lessons as well as Elk members,” he explained.
With recent weather trends, community support isn’t the only place the Elks are looking for cooperation. Bartlett says the event is also dependent on the weather and ice thickness.
Bartlett said anyone who is interested in volunteering for ‘Elks on Ice’ can reach out to the local lodge by email at laclacbicheelks470@gmail.com .