Established in 1978, the long-running not for the profit service group, the Cochrane Activettes, will be leading the way for this year's Cochrane Labour Day Parade.

Jan Tracy, President of the Activettes, says they are honoured to be named as this year's 'Parade Marshall's'. "It is so exciting, we have now been as a group for fourty one years and it is great being recognized in the community for all that we do. I love walking in a parade, and I just love the parade itself."

Marina Chabbert, President of Cochrane Area Events Society (CAES), says when deciding who should lead the way, they look for an individual or group that makes a difference in the Cochrane area. "Our criteria is somebody that has made a difference in the past year or helped evolve the community to where it is or put our community on the map. We look for people that have a strong impact on the community, and the Activettes certainly prove that."

Giving a rundown of all the initiatives the Activettes are involved in, is tough, even tough for Tracy. "Someone in our group put it very succinctly one time, they said 'we take care of people from the cradle to the grave'. So we support the Cochrane Pregnancy Care Centre, kids in school with various food programs, the Challengers group, the Troy Thompsom Emergency Medical Fund, awards in the schools, the Blood Donor Clinic, we have the Cochrane Food Bank, our used clothing store 'The Clothesline', birthday party in July at the Bethany Care Centre, weekly Risk nights at the Big Hill Lodge, and we donated refurbished bikes and helmets to children as part of the Share Your Christmas program. So whatever needs to be done in the community we try to participate. There is more too, but I can't even remember it all off the top of my head."

An example of how much the Activettes do will be witnessed first hand by parade-goers as the service group will be flipping flapjacks on the morning of. "I did talk to Jan about it, and because they have around fifty volunteers she said not to worry, they are able to divide and conquer and assign people to the right areas."

While Tracy thought the Cochrane Activettes were Parade Marshalls a number of years ago, both herself and Chabbert are not 100% certain. "It is quite possible; when we (CAES) took over organizing the parade we didn't get all the data. Some of that data needs to be researched to find out who was and which years, from the very beginning. That would be quite interesting to know."

With CAES and the Cochrane Activettes partnering on a number of initiatives, Chabbert is thrilled to give the group the special recognition they deserve. "We are so happy, they work tirelessly behind the scenes to make things happen. They are such a great group of women that get together and they accomplish so much. We have been associated with them for quite some time now; I am so happy to not only select them but know that we are a part of what they do. It's a great honour for us to be part of their goals, mission and vision."

The women's service group continues to grow, says Tracy, and although they currently have over fifty members they are always willing to add caring compassionate women to the roster. "We don't have a big rigorous application process if you want to join. We ask that you attend some of our meetings, participate in some of our events so we both get a feel for each other. and then if all is fine you can join. We look for people that have good hearts and like to help make our community a better place."

If you would like to learn more about the Cochrane Activettes or interested in membership, go HERE.

The Cochrane Labour Day Parade gets underway at 10 a.m. but kicks off with breakfast hosted by the Activettes at 8:30 in the Northstar Ford Parking lot on the Monday of the Labour Day long weekend.