CANADA—Fifty-two Spokesman Club members and guests attended the Pioneer Trail Spokesman Club Ladies Gala on July 1, 2018. Guests traveled from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and South Carolina. The Gala was held at the prestigious Fairmont Hotel Macdonald overlooking Edmonton’s lush and vibrant river valley. The event took place in the Wedgwood Room, the exact room members of the British Royal Family dined in when they visited Edmonton in 1951. This perfectly fit with the Gala’s theme of Royal Headquarters Pillars. The event was organized by member Joel Price with decoration planning by Mr. Ryan Friesen and hotel liaison Kyle Tremblay.

The Gala began with a rousing table topics session led by club graduate Kyle Tremblay.

“I thought the topics fit the royal theme of the Gala and helped me think more about the reality of our future as kings and priests,” Club graduate and Vice President of the Pioneer Trail Club, Matthew Friesen, commented.

After the first half came to a close, a professional violin and cello duo serenaded the guests as they dined on beef tenderloin, lemon thyme chicken, roasted vegetables and cheesecake.

The second half included five speeches covering varying aspects of the Royal Headquarters Pillars theme. All those in attendance were encouraged to develop a royal personality, to expand their thinking by reading Shakespeare, to become big thinkers, to become a steadfast pillar, and to embrace the motto of the Prince of Wales: “Ich Dien” or “I serve.”

The afternoon concluded with an inspiring closing lecture by the visiting Preaching Elder and Regional Director of Canada, Mr. John Macdonald. He encouraged the men to view the end of club as a beginning, not an end. To use this opportunity to share what we had learned with our wives, families and congregations and ultimately with the world and out into the universe!

Club Graduate Paul Kessler aptly summed up the event, “I think the Ladies Gala—the theme, speeches, fine meal and music and how it was conducted—left a lasting overall impression of a vision of royalty we can see in our own minds.”