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In Light of the Calgary Floods 2013...

There are so many reasons to love Calgary. One of my long time favourites is its amazing location in the front yard of the Rocky Mountains; our protectors they seem to be from coastal tsunami's and earthquakes that occur near fault lines such as the one that runs along the coast of British Columbia.
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In Light of the Calgary Floods in June 2013...

There are so many reasons to love Calgary. One of my long time favourites is its amazing location in the front yard of the Rocky Mountains; our protectors they seem to be from coastal tsunami's and earthquakes that occur near fault lines such as the one that runs along the coast of British Columbia.

It seems surreal when living in Calgary to witness on television the terrible tragedies caused by natural disasters around the world, where the worst weather I have experienced in my life time was a nasty snow fall that knocked out power for a few hours or baseball sized hail that did some damage to my car some years ago.

The True Testament...

Because it is easy for Calgary to accept worldwide recognition and awards such as the 5th best city to live in and 2nd most prosperous city in the world when things are going well.

But the true testament of how great our city is has been the reaction in our community in light of the recent flooding throughout Calgary and Alberta.

Calgary - Recover, Restore, Rebuild

Calgary Floods - We Will Rebuild!

Tragedy...

I have witnessed so many people's lives completely washed away - beautiful homes of all shapes and sizes decimated by floodwaters, in neighbourhoods where families grew and planned for a bright future together. Having such a place for your family is something in life that is simply priceless.

I have heard of the loss of life - Robert Nelson, a father of six, passed away when he was checking on one of his neighbours houses and his ATV flipped. Jacqui Brocklebank in High River also passed away when she went to her friend's home to warn her of the impending floods. Her friend made it but unfortunately she did not. These were selfless acts of heroism that will be remembered.

I had the opportunity to volunteer in the flood zones and saw strangers helping strangers and so much work done in such a short period of time.

My prayers go out to those families who have suffered the loss of life and of their belongings.

In the Face of Adversity...

And then I have seen our communities come together - It is remarkable to live in such an amazing city filled with people from all over our nation and the world who have united as one under the local state of emergency. These people are volunteering not only their time and money but are giving their love and compassion to those affected by the floods, people who they might not even know!

As Calgarians we should be proud of our rankings by media groups and research institutions. We should be even more proud of how we have remained strong in the face of adversity and have overcome the toughest of challenges caused by the floods in Southern Alberta.

You see, it's the people who live here that are the workforce behind our international accolades. Calgarians are the backbone of what makes Calgary so great even through disasters, not to mention the countless number of people from Alberta and other provinces who have volunteered or donated themselves in the relief effort.

I believe that life is not defined by what happens to you. It's about how you react to problems, how you solve them and rise above the challenge to thrive and prosper, because that is exactly what Calgary is doing.

In light of the the floods, we Calgarians have discovered even more reasons to love our city. Here are 25 more reasons to love Calgary, Alberta.

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