Vulcan Community Health Centre’s Palliative Care Project.

Photo Back Row L to R:
Shannon Horkoff, Recreation Therapy VCHC
Colin Gateman, Secretary Mossleigh Lions Club
Front Row:
Laurie Mehlhaff, R.N., Home Care,
Brenda Ingraham, R.N., Nursing Educator, VCHC,

The spirit of neighbour helping neighbour continues to shine across our region.

The Mossleigh Lions Club has made a generous $3,000 donation in support of the Vulcan Community Palliative Care Project, helping move this important community-led initiative forward.

Service clubs like the Lions have long been the quiet backbone of rural communities—showing up, lending a hand, and investing in the well-being of others. Their support reflects the shared belief that compassionate care should be available close to home, when families need it most.

The Palliative Care Project Committee continues to work toward creating enhanced comfort, dignity, and support for individuals and families navigating end-of-life care within our community. Contributions like this one help ensure that the resources and environment needed for compassionate care are available right here in Vulcan County.

To the members of the Mossleigh Lions Club, thank you for your generosity, your community spirit, and for standing alongside us in support of this meaningful project.

Together, we continue building something that will care for our neighbours today and for generations to come.

Photo (left to right):
Matt Krause, Project Coordinator for Health and Shared Services;
Kevin Fisher, District Manager, Pronghorn Controls Ltd.
Peter Sherstabetoff, Facilities Maintenance and Engineering, Vulcan Community Health Centre;
Paulette Wagenvoort, Site Manager, Vulcan Community Health Centre;
Brenda Ingraham, Nursing Educator, Vulcan Community Health Centre.

At the Vulcan Community Health Centre, even the infrastructure behind the walls plays a vital role in patient care.

Beginning in April 2024 and completed in November 2025, the Centre underwent a significant electrical systems upgrade. Original 40-year-old breakers, transformers, and switchgear were carefully replaced — an essential modernization to ensure the continued safety, reliability, and efficiency of the facility that serves families across Vulcan County.

But what makes this story especially meaningful is what happened next.

Throughout the project, the team from Pronghorn Controls Ltd. thoughtfully separated, stripped, and salvaged the non-usable copper and aluminum materials. Rather than letting those proceeds disappear into general project costs, they chose to reinvest them directly back into local healthcare.

On February 24, 2026, Kevin Fisher, District Manager for Pronghorn Controls Ltd., presented a cheque in the amount of $12,147.00 to the Vulcan Community Health Centre.

These funds will directly support staff education and resources, as well as the ongoing Palliative Care Project — ensuring compassionate, dignified care remains close to home for our rural residents.

This generous gesture is a powerful example of community partnership in action. It reflects a shared belief that when we invest locally, we strengthen the very systems that care for our friends, neighbours, and loved ones.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Kevin Fisher and the entire Pronghorn team for their leadership, foresight, and commitment to rural healthcare.

In the photo (left to right):
Matt Krause, Project Coordinator for Health and Shared Services;
Kevin Fisher, District Manager, Pronghorn Controls Ltd.
Peter Sherstabetoff, Facilities Maintenance and Engineering, Vulcan Community Health Centre;
Paulette Wagenvoort, Site Manager, Vulcan Community Health Centre;
Brenda Ingraham, Nursing Educator, Vulcan Community Health Centre.

When local industry partners choose to reinvest in local health, the impact reaches far beyond the walls of the building — it touches every life cared for within it.

Back Row: Brenda Ingraham, R.N., Nursing Educator, VCHC, Charlene Shearer, Vulcan Kinette Club, David Lyons, Vulcan Kinsmen Club, Paulette Wagenvoort, Site Manager, VCHC

Front Row: Laurie Mehlhaff, R.N., Home Care, Stewart Surman, Lynn Surman, Kelly Bowers, R.N., VCHC.

Receiving a life-altering medical diagnosis changes everything. It reshapes time, sharpens meaning, and brings into focus what truly matters.

Years ago, a gentleman from the UK met a woman from Vulcan County. Through a whirlwind of chance and connection, they set the course for a shared future, one that would eventually bring him across an ocean to make Canada, and Vulcan County, his home.

In choosing this community, he didn’t simply arrive; he became part of it. Over the years, he wove himself into the fabric of local life, spinning records at community gatherings, filling rooms with familiar melodies, good vibrations, and the unmistakable joy that music brings. His gift was not just sound, but connection.

This past year has not been easy for him or his bride. With uncertainty ahead, a quiet but powerful desire took hold: to do one more show, for the people, the place, and the music that had shaped his life. A New Year’s Eve dance, filled with the unforgettable sounds of the ’70s and ’80s, felt like the perfect way to honour the past while welcoming whatever came next.

With the loving support of his wife, Lynn, and the steadfast encouragement of his brothers and sisters from the Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs of Vulcan, that vision became reality. On December 31, 2025, the Vulcan Legion came alive. One hundred and twenty-five people gathered to ring in 2026, not just with dancing and laughter, but with gratitude for life itself.

With a heart as big as an ’80s hairdo, Stewart Surman and his Kinsmen and Kinette family donated the proceeds of $ 9,314.94 from that magical night to the Palliative Care Project Committee, ensuring that others, in their most vulnerable moments, would be met with comfort, dignity, and care.

From this night, and from these warm memories, a message rings clear and true:
We are better together. Real communities take care of one another, through every track, every season, and every chapter of life.

Thank you, Stewart and Lynn, Surman, and thank you to the Kinsmen and Kinette Club of Vulcan, for your generosity, your compassion, and for reminding us all what a beautiful symphony a caring community can create.

Creating a Room to Live In… Click for the Newsletter.

To everyone that purchased a ticket and supported this event supporting the Vulcan Community Health Centre . Staff and Committee. Thank you to all the bidders and buyers of the live and silent auctions. You raised $30,696.00 toward this project

Additionally, cash donations were made by.

McMorris Ranches Ltd.  $2500.00

Northwest Coating Inc. $200.00

Brenda and Doug McIntyre $200.00

Pioneer Farms Ltd. $500.00

Ralph Umscheid Farms Ltd. $400.00

Carol Steiner $200.00

Nadine Bexte $5000.00

Kinette Club of Vulcan $5000.00

Totaling $14,000.00 

Total dollars raised: $44,696.00

If you would like to donate to this project, contact Gail at 403-485-4001

From all of us here at your Vulcan County Health and Wellness Foundation, thank you for your generous and continued support.

VCHC Palliative Care Committee and Vulcan Community Health Centre Staff

VCHWF Trustees and Volunteers of the Fundraising Committee

Delude Design and Drafting – Champion

McInenly Auction Ltd., Stacey and Crew

SideNote Trio, Musical Entertainment

Roadside Grill Catering

Vulcan Kinettes, supporting ticket sales and event volunteers

Joelle Reimer, Emcee from The Eagle 100.9

Foothills Auctioneers Inc.

Smashing Weddings and Events, Ashley Jacobsen

Sarah Umscheid, Floral

Nine in a line: Brewing, Dan Anderson and team

Friends of Vulcan County Emergency Servies Society, Diane Smith and Jessi Dick, Tiffany Wyatt and Leanne Sydenham

Vulcan County Health and Wellness Foundation Fundraising Committee:

Hugh Campbell, Shilo Andrews-Brauer, Cindy Andrews, Darian Ashbacher

Ashbacher Land and Cattle-Arrowwood

Campbell Farms Ltd. -Vulcan

Ron and Jean Forhmzway-Vulcan

Janice Povey – Champion

George Andrews-Vulcan

Lie Low Music Festival

>Markert Seeds Ltd. – Vulcan

Marvin Maronda Fairview Ranch Ltd. -Lomond

Sylvia Hunter- Foothills County

Highview Animal Clinic- High River

Carey Insurance Agency – Vulcan

Jim and Cathie McNiven- Vulcan

Brant Lake Cattle Corporation – Michelle Ball

Glen Hutton – Vulcan

Elon & Karen Maronda and Family -Lomond

Vulcan County- Vulcan

RA West International – Vulcan 

Napa Vulcan – Vulcan

P&H Mossleigh

Sarini Fine Jewellery – Vulcan

Long Coulee Growers- Champion

Char & Bob Fisher and Nadine & Bruce Bungay

Brandt Tractor – Vulcan

Alberta AG Centre – High River

Gail Wark – Vulcan

Arrowwood Co-op – Arrowood

Market Street Vulcan

Randles Handles – High River

Flowers and Fancies – Vulcan

Foxworks Construction-Vulcan

Mind Meld Massage – Vulcan

Cattlemens Chophouse – Picture Butte

Larry Umscheid – Vulcan

Western Financial- Vulcan

Green Haven Garden Centre – Lethbridge

Salty Clothing Company-Lethbridge

Impact Impressions – Vulcan

Dan Anderson

Nine in a Line Brewing Company

Lorelei and David Bexte – Arrowwood

Wisener Holdings Ltd. – Vulcan

Town of Vulcan

Nanton Veterinary Clinic – Nanton

Kona Fitness -Vulcan

Linda and Fred Pratt – Vulcan

Vulcan Golf and Country Club – Vulcan

Ashbacher Land and Cattle – Arrowwood

Stokes Massage Therapy – Vulcan

Paulette Wagenvoort – Champion

Latinium Loonie – Vulcan

Wayne Richmond – Vulcan