The Youth Ambassador Program has been a part of Cranbrook’s history since 1965 and in that time over 400 candidates have been part of this unique tradition in our City. The story of our history is rich and varied, with many chapters as things evolved and changed over the years.

So, how did all this get started?

You might be surprised to learn, the program started as a fundraiser for the Cranbrook Royals Hockey Club. Go back, maybe a year and a half before we started. The Lieutenant Governor of the day paid a visit to Cranbrook. His Aid De Comp was having a meeting with Lloyd Hoole, owner of CKEK, the local radio station and Ron Powell, owner of the Courier, now the Daily Townsman. He announced that the Government would be restoring Fort Steele. How could Cranbrook be a partner?

Well, we didn’t have a local festival and so one was established, called Sam Steele Days to tie Cranbrook and Fort Steele together. Rueben and Karin Penner were both very involved with the Royals Booster Club and were always looking at ways to raise funds. Karin had a telephone call from Mr. Hoole one evening suggesting that the ladies of the Booster Club hold a pageant. He talked a lot about the restoration and the festival and the naming of the pageant winner. Kelowna had Lady of the Lake, the festival was honouring Superintendent Sam Steele so why not “The Sweetheart of Sam Steele.” The wife of one of the hockey players had been in the Vernon pageant and she was willing to take this project on, and asked if the rest of Booster ladies would help. A few telephone calls to the rest of the women and yes, they all agreed to take it on.

Well guess what? When hockey season ended, that couple left Cranbrook so, the women had a meeting at Karin Penner’s house to select a Chairman. Karin left the room to attend to a very fussy baby and came back only to find out she was that Chairman. In 1965, the very first pageant was held. There were six candidates and the venue was the Armond Theatre. The fire exit was the change room. The Armond Theatre remained the venue for many years but we moved from the fire exit to the back of one of the stores down the alley. Now we’re talking about a movie theatre here not a performing arts theatre. Drag in the spotlights, build a set of stairs, rent the sound equipment, endure the heat, blow the fuses, but we made it work.

Over the years, we’ve called on dance instructors, drama teachers, music directors, interior decorators and others to assist and provide guidance. Brent Carver first sang the Sweetheart Heart of Sam Steele song to Bronwyn Jones in 1968. In 1976, Toastmasters under the leadership of John Noonan became an integral part of our training. Today this is headed up by Kathleen Simon and we remember that for many years, Pat Casey and Midge Naylor were here assistants. You will always hear Karin say WE made it work because this program is where it is today because of some very talented and dedicated people who over the years have been an important part of this history.

THE FLOAT

Now the float…well that’s another story in this history book. We have always had a float. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Karin Penner remembers one year when Reuben and Lorne Richards pushed the float through many blocks of the Calgary Stampede. When Rick Jensen became Mayor, he recognized that the City should be contributing towards the City float. Mayors Patterson, Priest and Manjak also saw value to invest in the float as so each year we receive $12,000.00 from the City of Cranbrook for the float. Members of City Council would often travel to Whitefish with us and walk with the float for that parade. The theme of the float changes every two years, historically to meet the criteria of the Calgary Stampede. For many, many years, Cranbrook’s Ambassador Team and float participated in the Calgary Stampede. It’s estimated that more than a quarter of a million people watch that parade. Live TV coverage is both national and international. Line up for parades are always 2-3 hours before the actual parade time and that in Calgary is 10:00a.m. This gives exposure to people who come down early to set up or look at the floats. Our Youth Ambassadors have the opportunity to interact, hand out City pins and promote Cranbrook and the community festival. For several years, Jim Wavrecan oversaw construction, maintenance and driving of the float. His wife Ann was one of our chaperones. Jim estimated that he and Ann and other volunteers spent over 700 hours with the float annually. The City of Cranbrook float is now overseen by Joe McGowan and a team of volunteers he helps recruit each year as needed.

THE ICONIC SWEETHEART GOWN

For over 50 years, the Sam Steele Sweethearts were easily recognized by their heritage-style dresses. The program earned a reputation for having stunning, one of a kind dresses across BC and the northern states of the USA. Wherever the ambassadors went, everyone knew where they came from. It was a tradition and a symbol of our community. For over 20 years, the program kicked off with a presentation by Kathleen Melenka provinding an in depth history session on Heritage Dresses. She discussed the trends and changes throughout the 1800's up until around the 1920's.

Each girl is then tasked with designing their own "Sweetheart Ball Gown" incorporating their favorite elements from the history lesson, but that fit within the Sam Steele era (1890s) as this was tied to our community’s Sam Steele Days Festival, which still celebrated the early days of Sam Steele’s arrival at Fort Steele. The gowns were then created by local, talented mothers, grandmothers and seamstresses. In the early days, the girls kept their design and fabrics a secret right up until the night of pagenat, but in the 90’s, this practice was changed to have the reveal at the ball in April when they are officially introduced as ambassdors for the City. The outcome is a stunning one of a kind dress for each candidate that has ever been in the program.

A SPECIAL CANDIDATE IN OUR PROGRAM’S HISTORY

A special page in our history book is reserved for a young woman named Isil, who called Turkey home. She arrived in Cranbrook in 2012 for one year as part of the Rotary Exchange Program. We were approached by her host mom Shelley, whose daughter had been in the program. Recognizing the unique experience this could provide, we welcomed her in to the program and it was the most rewarding year of our lives. Just think about it. You at the age of 16 going to a new country, not speaking the language, no family to support not knowing or understanding traditions. When we first met Isil in January her English was very limited but in May she stood up at the Dessert auction and delivered a speech on her Rotary jacket of many pins; she had never worn make-up, and learned that technique quickly. We borrowed Michelle Makie”s Sam Steele gown and she was stunningly beautiful the evening of the Banquet and Ball. No one had more fun that night than Isil. Surrounded by host family members, sponsors, new friends and a committee who loved her deeply she danced the night away. Leanne Jensen skyped her parents back home in Turkey as John Balfour escorted her. She spoke on the radio, her photo was in the newspaper, things we take for granted but that would never happen in Turkey. For several years our candidates, parents and sponsors would do a spring cleanup in the garden area at the FW Green Home. We don’t think Isil had ever put her hands in dirt let alone plant flowers. We took the candidates and the float to Castlegar that year so that she could see a pageant and experience being in a parade. We all learned from Isil . We learned to appreciate the freedom we have and the everyday things we take for granted. We continue to stay in touch with her, and while we were saddened to be unable to attend, were thrilled to celebrate her marriage in 2023 from afar.

A NEW CHAPTER….

In 2015, the Sweetheart Program celebrated “50 Years of Heart”. Over the years, there have been many changes in pageants and in our program. Each of those changes represents a new chapter in the story of our program’s history. In the early 2000’s, our program introduced a wider array of guest presenters and program topics to help further enhance the personal development and leadership training provided to candidates. This programming has continued to expand over the years and now includes things like self-defense, online meeting etiquette, car care and, new in 2024, emergency preparedness planning.

In 2023, the City of Cranbrook announced the community festival was changing to “Spirit of the Rockies Festival” to represent Cranbrook’s wider community spirit. This has led to a new chapter in our program’s history - a chapter where our team is no longer officially known as as the Sam Steele Sweetheart Youth Ambassadors, but rather the Cranbook Youth Ambassadors. We are still in the midst of writing this next chapter and we are excited to see where the future will take us with the help of our candidates, our volunteers and our community.