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Good
evening and thank you for this amazing turn out tonight. It
brings me great pleasure on behalf of the board to introduce
our first inductee this evening.
Although I
have not met Al Clemmer until tonight, one trait that
resonated with everyone I was able to speak to was his
ability to lead. Not the kind that comes to mind
immediately--taking over projects and pushing people into
jobs they haven’t signed up for -but a quiet, humble, and
unassuming type of leadership.
A simple
characteristic of a great leader is knowing how to motivate
a group of people to achieve a common goal. The common goal
in this case is creating community. The community of Alder
Flats is fortunate to call him their own.
Al is able to
inspire others while always being prepared to do the hard
work. He makes others want to follow the example he sets.
He is a man generous with his time. He has always made
himself available to anyone in need, in a “behind the
scenes” kind of way. Although Al spearheaded many projects,
he contributed silently to countless others. He is always
one of the first people to show up, sleeves rolled up, and
ready to get to work. He is humble, and not looking for
accolades or kind words. He simply wants to make his
community a better place to live.
He was
instrumental in helping to build the facilities and programs
that have allowed thousands of people to participate in
sport. He is able to envision opportunity, not obstacles,
and bring people together to achieve common goals.
A great leader
can make important decisions about an issue in the time it
takes others to understand the question. While helping to
organize the 1967 Voyageurs Relay, no one could have
anticipated the rain that would fall that day. Being ten
miles out of town with more than a thousand people parked in
a small area, it was no surprise that most vehicles got
stuck. Al helped to organize a number of tow trucks - no
small feat considering the location and the year. By late
that night, the last vehicle was able to get out.
Many have
spoken about his propensity for the barbeque. Al can
barbeque a mean steak as he’s had decades of practice. Not
only did he barbeque for the opening of the Alder Flats
Community Center on July 1st, 1967, he did it again on its
50th anniversary last year as well as every rodeo in
between. A feat not easily placed on everyone’s resume.
Al is
innovative. He can always create a way to repair whatever
is broken or has stopped working. Because of Al, Alder
Flats will have generations of people who use a local verb…”Clemmer”.
As in, “Hey Joe, the boards came apart at the rink. Can
you fix it?” And Joe says, “Well, I can order in a part, but
for now, we’ll just have to Clemmer it.” You can tell the
amount of involvement he has in his community as it mirrors
the size of his key ring. If Al doesn’t have the key for
it, give him an hour or so and he’ll find one.
All leaders
leave a trail but great leaders leave a legacy, because they
leave people better than they were when they found them.
On behalf of
the Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame and the
countless people your actions have helped to improve, I’d
like to thank you, Mr. Al Clemmer, for leaving your legacy.
Return to Al Clemmer Inductee Page
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