ATHABASCA – Athabasca RCMP Detachment members hosted a birthday party for their organization May 26, and invited the community members for an outdoor BBQ, featuring an appearance from their mascot, Safety Bear, and a helicopter out of ‘K’ Division in Edmonton.
Athabasca RCMP Staff Sgt. Mark Hall was joined by his predecessor’s Brian Scott and former Athabasca County councillor and Westlock RCMP commander Dwayne Rawson, who also served in Athabasca, who spoke about their experiences at the detachment, and the importance of the anniversary.
“I think the event was fantastic, we had a great turnout. The weather was great, and we’ve been getting a lot of good feedback from the community, with people coming up to me in person and thanking the detachment for their service to the community. I’m really happy with the turnout,” said Hall.
Despite the abundance of local dignitaries as the majority of the Town of Athabasca’s council was present, the appearance of an RCMP helicopter out of ‘K’ Division in Edmonton stole the show. Kids had the opportunity to climb in and out of the machine, and the chopper remained busy for the two hours that it was in town.
Throughout the celebrations, the idea that everyone was celebrating 150 years remained present. Scott, who spent 21 years in Athabasca before retiring in 2015 as a Staff Sgt., said that the legacy of the RCMP always lurks in the back of your mind when you wear the uniform, even if you don’t always acknowledge it.
“I think it’s something we’re cognizant of, especially late at night when you’re driving around and you wonder what a guy did 20, 40, 80 years ago, riding around on a horse at 11 o’clock at night. Most of the time we’re too busy to give it a whole lot of thought, it’s not in the forefront of your mind, but it is something that we’re cognizant of.”
Two RCMP officers from ‘K’ Division were also in attendance manning a recruitment booth; while the local detachment is fully staffed at the moment, that fluctuates yearly, and the RCMP as a whole are in the middle of a nationwide recruitment push.
Sgt. Steve Shott, who handed out lanyards, chapstick, and information sheets on what a career with the Mounties would look like, said that the biggest thing they were looking for was character.
“People with good character, people with good sound moral judgement (are what we’re looking for.) We’re not looking for people to go out and engage in physical fisticuffs at your local pub or whatever. We want level-headed thinking, methodical approaches to problem solving, and people that are able to recognize that people’s problems are unique to themselves; we don’t have a global brush that we can paint everyone’s issues with,” he said.
To Hall, those types of characteristics that the recruiters are looking for tie in to what he has been working to build at the detachment; a sense of belonging, trust, and mutual respect with the members of the greater Athabasca community.
“You can talk to members of the detachment, or really Mounties anywhere, and they’ll say that they love this career, they love what they do, and they love being part of the community. That’s one thing that is a driving factor for most of us, is that we get to be a part of the community. It’s very significant for us to be able to be a part of these communities,” said Hall.
