Mayor Rod Gardner of Kamsack has joined a long list of Canadian celebrities who have been named Champions of the Trans Canada Trail.
At its regular meeting on April 25, town council authorized Mayor Gardner to become a Nation Champion of the Trans Canada Trail.
The authorization prompted Gardner to recall that several years ago, when the Two Rivers Trail Association was constructing the Trans Canada Trail from Duck Mountain Provincial Park to Veregin, he had been among the persons who had “purchased” a metre of the trail.
“As we are now preparing for the publication of this year’s Globe and Mail supplement, we were hoping to be able to add you to the list of TCT Champions that will be included in the publication,” said a letter from Deborah Apps, president and CEO of the Trans Canada Trail.
As a Champion, Gardner’s name and photograph will be added to the Trail’s website alongside “other respected and well-known Canadians who are showing their support for our national Trail.
“We are proud that a group of illustrious and patriotic Canadians have already agreed to lend their voices to our cause, including Chris Hadfield, Wade Davis, Margaret Atwood, Robert Bateman, Natalie MacMaster, Rick Hansen, Martin Short, Paul Brandt, Wab Kinew, George Stroumboulopoulos, Joseph Boyden, Kurt Browing and Mark Tewskbury, among others.”
Apps said that the trail committee asks only that Gardner voices his support for “this grand, national initiative, and promotes his involvement with others, when possible.”
When fully connected, the Trail will be the longest and grandest recreational trail in the world, Apps said. “The Trail inspires Canadians to be active, to connect to nature, to spend quality time outside and to see and experience their country at human speed.
“The Trail connects Canadians in almost 15,000 communities from coast to coast to coast and is a legacy for future generations of Canadians.”
Other Saskatchewan TCT Champions include Lieut.-Gov. Vaughn Solomon Schofield and the mayors of the province’s major cities.
