Chance Encounter Leads to Large Breakfast Club Donation
Erin Pincemin, the Principal of Westcliffe Composite School, had a chance encounter one day at the Co-op Cardlock in Marengo. Being the extrovert she is, Mrs. Pincemin struck up a conversation with another person fueling up. The man recognized her as the new Principal at Westcliffe, and mentioned that he had worked with her husband on collaborative oil field projects in the past.
Curious, the man asked if the school needed any funding for initiatives that would benefit the students. He explained that his company was looking to donate to local community projects. Ms. Pincemin mentioned that the school was always in need of donations for their Breakfast Club, and the man left her his contact information at Canadian Natural, a local resource company.
Shortly after, Westcliffe’s Breakfast Club advisor reached out to the man, and he promptly delivered a donation for the Breakfast Club. But the generosity didn’t stop there. The man forwarded an application for a larger donation from Canadian Natural, a company that holds an annual charity golf tournament to raise funds for community-benefiting projects.
Erin and her team saw an opportunity to enhance their school playground, a space used daily by the entire community. The School Community Council chairperson submitted the application, and she, along with a parent volunteer, attended the charity golf tournament in Lloydminster, spending the day watching for a hole-in-one.
Their patience and effort paid off when Westcliffe Composite School was selected as the recipient of a $25,000 donation from Canadian Natural. This generous contribution would be used to purchase new playground equipment, benefiting not just the students but the entire community.
In the beginning of August, Les Cook, Assistant Foreman for Canadian Natural- Marengo/Mantario, met Westcliffe representatives at the school and presented a cheque for the donation. In attendance were (in the picture above): Erin Pincemin(Principal), Natalie Sullivan(Parent volunteer), Michelle McKillop(SCC chairperson) and Les Cook(Canadian Natural Assistant Foreman for Marengo/Mantario).