February 23 saw a return of winter to central Alberta, just in
time for the monthly Country Drive meeting. This time it was
held at the property of Tracie McTaggart. She operates her
business, Care Clothing, from her rural property located 20.4
km west of the QE II on the Cottonwood Road, near Gleniffer
Lake. She specializes in special needs clothing, bags, and
accessories. She can design and custom-sew for the tiniest
preemies, or for those needing easy-dressing options because
of physical limitations. She has a wide selection of styles and
fabrics used in the finished items for sale in her cottage shop.
Wheelchair accessible and very prettily situated in its garden
setting; her cottage also houses her workspace, sewing and
design studio.
During warmer weather, visitors placing or picking up orders
can tour the garden and enjoy a visit with her many ‘pets’
– pygmy goats, an alpaca, a pot-bellied pig, a small flock of
various poultry, several sizes of dogs, and some very musically
inclined, very yellow German Roller Canaries. She can be
reached at www.careclothing.ca or www.countrydrive.ca or
by calling 403.227.6214.
This February meeting of Country Drive members focused
on selection of the executive for 2009. John Mills of Bowden
Sunmaze and Eagle Creek Farms will continue as Chair.
Elna Edgar of Edgar Asparagus Farm was prevailed upon
to continue as Treasurer. Needless to say, everyone was
very pleased to have the organization in their capable and
experienced hands once again.
As well, this meeting saw finalization on the wording of
Country Drive’s mission statement and vision description.
With so many diverse rural members, it is vital that these
statements reflect the broad range of agritourism business
initiatives represented by Country Drive. The membership
was pleased with the final result, it appeared.
Also attending was Debra McGillivray from the local Tourism
Destination Region Office in Red Deer. She had many
interesting marketing and promotion concepts to share,
and was most encouraging and enthusiastic with regard
to the future endeavors of Country Drive. The advice and
encouragement from the various Travel Alberta branches has
been invaluable in the past and will continue for 2009.
The next meeting has been set for Friday, March 20 at 7:30pm
at HolmeHus Antiques at The Farm With the Good Food.
Anyone interested in joining Country Drive can telephone
Kathleen Raines at 403.728.3145 or check the website at
www.countrydrive.ca.
