Friday, Oct. 16 was a big day for Little Pine First Nation.
It was the grand opening for a new store building, a dream that, despite delays and difficulties, has become reality for the staff and customers of Little Pine Gas Bar.
The grand opening ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. featured the staff standing with manager Vanessa Fox along with her seven-year-old daughter Cassidy.
"It is our custom to have an elder pray before we do any kind of events," said Fox, so she had asked Elder Marshall Bear to do the opening ceremony to the new store.
"We had children from the local school, Chief Little Pine School, to sing an honour song and then the ribbon was cut."
Afterward, said Fox, everyone enjoyed a bite to eat and the excellent weather. Until 5:30 p.m., there were activities, entertainment and free food.
"We had the council members from Little Pine First Nation in attendance for this special occasion," said Fox. "We also had about 100 people that attended the grand opening. The staff served free bannock cheese burgers, regular cheese burgers and hot dogs, along with three different salads and, of course, two big carrot cakes."
A local band, Pokket Aces, was hired to play live for the grand opening and other local talent showed up to play music during the afternoon, said Fox.
Manager for the last three years, building a new store was a goal for Fox since she took on the job. When she took over, the business, located in a Quonset-type building never intended for that particular use, was in a deficit situation. It was actually the second time she had managed the store and turned its fortunes around.
There were delays in construction of the new store building due to lack of available contractors and Fox was beset by a number of family crises, including her own diagnosis of breast cancer requiring several rounds of chemotherapy. She carried on, however, and the staff rallied around her, moving the stock and equipment into the new store to begin operations Oct. 9.
She is proud of the new building.
"The store for Little Pine First Nation is a first in history to have its own building," said Fox.
In the past, stores have been located in old buildings, with the latest being so cold the pipes would freeze in the winter and so warm in the summer "the chocolate bars melted."
The new store offers more open space, proper insulation and even air conditioning.
"Little Pine community members are proud to have a nice big store in their community and have expressed their gratitude for the building," said Fox.
Now that the grand opening is over, Fox will be taking a leave of absence because she will be going for surgery.
"I am glad that we are out of the old building and that the staff will be in the new store," said Fox. "I plan on returning to the store after I have recovered from the long frustrating ordeal that I have gone through … I believe in my staff and have confidence that they will do well while I am away."
Meanwhile, the staff of the store are participating in the October Breast Cancer Awareness campaign and all donations are being forwarded to the cause. Their goal is $3,000.
Five people are prepared to shave their heads. Councillor Carl Kennedy will shave his head and his eyebrows if they surpass $1,500. The other four are staff members who will shave their heads if they reach $2,000.
In addition, some of the staff have streaked their hair pink for the month of October.
