Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

About Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

SACPA seeks to promote a sense of community and citizenship amongst the public. It is strictly non-partisan in its political outlook and encourages the expression of divergent viewpoints. SACPA does not take sides on the issues debated at its sessions. The opinions expressed by speakers are their own and are not necessarily shared by the Board of Directors.

Publisher

Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 Feb 2010

Latest episode

2 Sept 2025

Latest episodes

1,044 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Sept 2025

   How did the hugely successful Henderson Lake Dragon Boat festival get started? With Karen Johnson and Wendy Aitkens

   This year marks the 24th ATB Financial Lethbridge Rotary Dragon Boat Festival. The speakers will share some of the festival’s early beginnings. What is it about, and how did it start? The abreast of Bridge Dragon Boat Team has, for 25 years, provided a social and recreational environment that embraces a full and active lifestyle for cancer survivors. An overview of their history and how that helped to inspire the development of the Lethbridge Dragon Boat Festival will also be discussed. Speakers: Karen Johnson and Wendy Aitkens Karen Johnson is the Festival Chair for Dragon Boat Canada, President of the Dragon Boat Association of Southern Alberta, and coaches the Coulee Cruisers and the u24 Junior Cruisers. She joined the sport as a team-building activity with other City of Lethbridge employees in the first year of the festival, 2002, Dragn’ R Butz. Finding a new passion for the sport, Karen was instrumental in starting Team ID just after the 2003 festival in hopes of paddling through a longer season and traveling to other festivals. Karen was the assistant coach of Team ID for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. In 2008, the Rotary Festival made a concerted effort to improve the skills of local dragon boaters and decided to “beef up” the training provided to the festival teams. With fellow coach Dave Hunt, Karen agreed to take on the Head Coach. Karen has been the ATB Financial Lethbridge Rotary Dragon Boat Festival race chair since 2010. Wendy Aitkens was conscripted into the abreast of Bridge Dragon Boat Team in 2007. She had never even seen a dragon boat, but the first time she rode in one, she was impressed by the women around her and decided to join. She has been active on the Board and in the boat since. In her other life, she worked in the museum community at Fort Calgary and the Galt Museum & Archives, and currently volunteers at the Lethbridge Military Museum.

2. 

   2 Sept 2025

   What are the pillars of ULethbridge’s new Strategic Plan? With Dr. Digvir Jayas

   An inclusive and engaging journey that brought together all aspects of its internal and external communities has culminated with the recent release of the new strategic plan for University of Lethbridge — a shared vision that addresses the changing landscape of post-secondary education provincially, nationally and globally. The new plan for Iniskim; the Blackfoot name gifted to the University of Lethbridge, defines its values and commitment, and sets the course for the next 10 years. The values, as enunciated in the Strategic Plan, informs what the University does and supports strategic directions such as relationships, belonging, respect, courage, quality, access and sustainability. The speaker will discuss how the plan provides for a long-term framework to enhance academic excellence, research innovation and community engagement, setting the University on a path to continued success, one that will create an even better student experience and enrich the University’s substantial contributions to bettering society. Speaker: Dr. Digvir Jayas, ULethbridge President & Vice-Chancellor Born and raised in India, Dr. Jayas earned a Bachelor of Agricultural Engineering at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, and went on to complete a graduate degree and PhD in agricultural engineering at the Universities of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, respectively. He began teaching at the University of Manitoba in 1985, eventually ascending to the position of Vice-President (Research and International), which he held for 12 years. An internationally renowned researcher, Dr. Jayas studies the drying, handling and storing of grains and oilseeds, and digital image processing for grading and processing operations in the agri-food industry. From 2002 to 2009, he was a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Stored-Grain Ecosystems, and in 2009 was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2018, Dr. Jayas was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is the 2023 recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in Manitoba and will be invested into the Order of Manitoba this summer, recognizing his significant contributions to the Manitoba agri-food industry.

3. 

   2 Sept 2025

   Lethbridge as a living City: How can green infrastructure and water-wise design help our community adapt to a changing climate? With Kathleen Sheppard and Amber Murray

   This talk will give a brief history of Environment Lethbridge, the Living Cities initiative, the Lethbridge Living Cities Pathway (and why we need it), and Environment Lethbridge’s role in pursuing the Pathway through education and engagement with citizens in the community. Speakers: Kathleen Sheppard and Amber Murray Kathleen Sheppard joined Environment Lethbridge as Executive Director in November of 2015. Originally from southern Alberta, Kathleen has more than 25 years experience working for non-profit organizations in BC and Alberta. Prior to coming to Environment Lethbridge, she was the Executive Director for Social Planning Cowichan, located in Duncan, BC. Her previous experience includes work in land conservation, wildlife rescue, wilderness protection and environmental sustainability. Amber Murray is an Urban Watershed Ambassador with Environment Lethbridge. She has over 20 years of experience in landscape management and design in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario, including turfgrass management, aesthetic gardens, edible landscapes, permaculture design, resiliency farming, deer resistant gardens, composting, plant retail, and water harvesting. When she’s not working in the dirt, she can be found writing and/or speaking about the dirt.

Who has been a guest on Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Chandra Singh
• Jason Shriner
• Kathy Lewis
• Genesis Molesky
• Ross Kilgour

Podcast Authority Score: 46 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

72

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

50

Contact Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.