Q1 2026 - Jan 27
Our January 2026 (Q1) non-registered charity meeting again was another record-setting night, with barely a free seat to be found at a packed ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge. Great stuff!
For this meeting, Genesis Land Development was presented as our Platinum sponsor. They got so excited about our initiative that they were able to secure 3 other Platinum sponsors to ensure that we are set for the rest of the year!
Genesis has spent the last 30 years planning and creating beautiful, welcoming, award-winning communities designed to improve the quality of life of all who call Airdrie home.
For most of us, we connect the Genesis logo with our top-notch rec centre. Their donation towards its expansion and renovation helps ensure year-round activities and programs for friends, families and neighbours to enjoy together.
Genesis Land Development currently has three featured Airdrie communities - Bayside, Bayview and Canals Landing.
The 100 Men thank you for your support!
We were also proud to be supported by four Gold sponsors, and we would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to:
Our sponsors play a huge role in our quarterly meetings. They ensure that none of our presenters go home empty handed and help us top up the $10,000 goal, if needed.
Check out our Sponsor page to learn more about our platinum sponsor and how to get involved in this program.
New Member Draw
As we did last meeting, we started things by recognizing the new members in the group and had a special door prize draw just for them.
Finding new members is critical to helping 100 Men grow - bringing new energy, spreading the word, and creating new connections.
We will try to continue this tradition so, if you have any friends or family who might be interested, please let them know. Aside from being a part of something awesome, they've got a great chance of winning!
Wilkie Award - Tim Lowing
The Wilkie Award recognizes someone from the group that embodies the spirit of our late co-founder Keith Wilkinson. We consider The Wilkie to be a noble and prestigious honour!
Tim is very familiar to us. He has been a member from the beginning, was an ambassador for a time, has been a guest speaker, and has been generous with photography and videography at many of our events.
Tim was genuinely touched by the award and said a few words reminiscing about his relationship with Keith and how much he meant to him.
Congrats Tim!
Previous recipients: Boots on the Ground and BGC Airdrie
Boots on the Ground
Our Q4 recipient returned to share that our donation has helped them train additional peer support volunteers and keep phone lines open. The type of training required for these volunteers - peer support, resiliency education, suicide prevention - are very costly but critical to providing proper support. They also noted that no dollars went toward salaries.
We also heard an example of a life-saving intervention in December to hit home how the dollars are making significant impacts in Airdrie.
BGC Airdrie
Our Q2 recipient was unable to make previous meetings so we got a small update on some big news - the opening of their new clubhouse! This has been a long-time coming, desperately needed, and we're proud to play a part.
Q1 2026 Presentations:
We altered our agenda a bit this meeting, starting with our presentations ahead of the guest speaker.
Airdrie Festival of Lights
The Airdrie Festival of Lights is one of the better-known attractions in Airdrie - a wintery wonderland of lights, music, and family-friendly experiences that has been running for 30 years and averaging 75,000 visitors each season.
We were treated to a short video reminding us of the scope of the festival and the 'glow' it put on Airdrie faces.
Completely volunteer-run, the Festival board works throughout the year to plan the month-long event. As many of us can relate to, the Festival has been met with skyrocketing costs and any money won tonight would go towards offsetting those increases.
SMART Recovery
SMART Recovery has an ultimate goal of life beyond addiction where participants can focus on building their lives with new behaviours that transcend addiction. And addiction, of course, goes beyond 'substances' like drugs and alcohol, but extends to negative behaviours as well.
SMART takes a secular, science-based, stigma-free approach to recovery that offers practical tools and support to encourage lasting change.
The $10,000 would go to enhancing the program and allow them to provide more meetings in Airdrie, further facilitator training, SMART handbooks, and source guest speakers. All will help with providing a better chance to recover.
Business Club of Airdrie
Lastly, we heard from the Business Club of Airdrie. The Business Club is ultimately a networking group of local business professionals, but they have a very healthy community component to their group as well.
The focus of their presentation is around supporting their annual golf tournament. They are currently gearing up for sponsorship, prize donations, and early bird registration for the July event.
What started as a fun networking event for club members has grown to a significant fundraiser looking to generate $30,000 to give away!
——
Guest Speaker: Bob Wilkie
In a departure from our normal agenda, we decided to shift our guest speaker to the end, knowing the material was heavy. Taking a 'hot stove' format, Jack held a short but wide-ranging discussion with Bob that touched on tragedy, grief, regret - emerging from the darkness that those cause.
The inciting incident that kicks off Bob's story is the devastating bus crash involving the 1986 Swift Current Broncos, incredibly overshadowed in later years by the sexual assault conviction of their coach Graham James.
It is detailed in the 2012 book Sudden Death and more recently in the full-length documentary Sideways:
The fallout of the tragedy led to years of depression and addiction, interspersed with individual and team success as a hockey player. He achieved his dream of playing in the NHL but also burdened himself for years with regret and doubt.
Bob noted how the birth of his daughter was a wake-up call to 'get his shit together', which he did through years of meetings, therapy, support, and hard work. Bob is the president of I Got Mind and is an advocate for mental health and resiliency.
Thanks for sharing your time and impactful story with us, Bob!
Visit the Sideways website to find out how to watch the documentary as well as learn about the efforts to turn it into a movie.
——
Back to the vote!
We were blown away this meeting to have our largest in-person turnout as well as the most paid members for a single meeting that we have ever had - 149! Incredible. Combined with our sponsorship dollars and an auction item, we had a record $20,200 to give away!
The Airdrie Festival of Lights was voted the recipient of $10,000 while our other two groups walked away with $5,100.
Thank you to ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge for once again being fantastic hosts.
We’d also like to give a giant shout out to those that donated door prizes. Thank you to:
We will be back at ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge for the next meeting - April 21st.
See you then!
For this meeting, Genesis Land Development was presented as our Platinum sponsor. They got so excited about our initiative that they were able to secure 3 other Platinum sponsors to ensure that we are set for the rest of the year!
Genesis has spent the last 30 years planning and creating beautiful, welcoming, award-winning communities designed to improve the quality of life of all who call Airdrie home.
For most of us, we connect the Genesis logo with our top-notch rec centre. Their donation towards its expansion and renovation helps ensure year-round activities and programs for friends, families and neighbours to enjoy together.
Genesis Land Development currently has three featured Airdrie communities - Bayside, Bayview and Canals Landing.
The 100 Men thank you for your support!
We were also proud to be supported by four Gold sponsors, and we would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to:
Our sponsors play a huge role in our quarterly meetings. They ensure that none of our presenters go home empty handed and help us top up the $10,000 goal, if needed.
Check out our Sponsor page to learn more about our platinum sponsor and how to get involved in this program.
New Member Draw
As we did last meeting, we started things by recognizing the new members in the group and had a special door prize draw just for them.
Finding new members is critical to helping 100 Men grow - bringing new energy, spreading the word, and creating new connections.
We will try to continue this tradition so, if you have any friends or family who might be interested, please let them know. Aside from being a part of something awesome, they've got a great chance of winning!
Wilkie Award - Tim Lowing
The Wilkie Award recognizes someone from the group that embodies the spirit of our late co-founder Keith Wilkinson. We consider The Wilkie to be a noble and prestigious honour!
Tim is very familiar to us. He has been a member from the beginning, was an ambassador for a time, has been a guest speaker, and has been generous with photography and videography at many of our events.
Tim was genuinely touched by the award and said a few words reminiscing about his relationship with Keith and how much he meant to him.
Congrats Tim!
Previous recipients: Boots on the Ground and BGC Airdrie
Boots on the Ground
Our Q4 recipient returned to share that our donation has helped them train additional peer support volunteers and keep phone lines open. The type of training required for these volunteers - peer support, resiliency education, suicide prevention - are very costly but critical to providing proper support. They also noted that no dollars went toward salaries.
We also heard an example of a life-saving intervention in December to hit home how the dollars are making significant impacts in Airdrie.
BGC Airdrie
Our Q2 recipient was unable to make previous meetings so we got a small update on some big news - the opening of their new clubhouse! This has been a long-time coming, desperately needed, and we're proud to play a part.
Q1 2026 Presentations:
We altered our agenda a bit this meeting, starting with our presentations ahead of the guest speaker.
Airdrie Festival of Lights
The Airdrie Festival of Lights is one of the better-known attractions in Airdrie - a wintery wonderland of lights, music, and family-friendly experiences that has been running for 30 years and averaging 75,000 visitors each season.
We were treated to a short video reminding us of the scope of the festival and the 'glow' it put on Airdrie faces.
Completely volunteer-run, the Festival board works throughout the year to plan the month-long event. As many of us can relate to, the Festival has been met with skyrocketing costs and any money won tonight would go towards offsetting those increases.
SMART Recovery
SMART Recovery has an ultimate goal of life beyond addiction where participants can focus on building their lives with new behaviours that transcend addiction. And addiction, of course, goes beyond 'substances' like drugs and alcohol, but extends to negative behaviours as well.
SMART takes a secular, science-based, stigma-free approach to recovery that offers practical tools and support to encourage lasting change.
The $10,000 would go to enhancing the program and allow them to provide more meetings in Airdrie, further facilitator training, SMART handbooks, and source guest speakers. All will help with providing a better chance to recover.
Business Club of Airdrie
Lastly, we heard from the Business Club of Airdrie. The Business Club is ultimately a networking group of local business professionals, but they have a very healthy community component to their group as well.
The focus of their presentation is around supporting their annual golf tournament. They are currently gearing up for sponsorship, prize donations, and early bird registration for the July event.
What started as a fun networking event for club members has grown to a significant fundraiser looking to generate $30,000 to give away!
——
Guest Speaker: Bob Wilkie
In a departure from our normal agenda, we decided to shift our guest speaker to the end, knowing the material was heavy. Taking a 'hot stove' format, Jack held a short but wide-ranging discussion with Bob that touched on tragedy, grief, regret - emerging from the darkness that those cause.
The inciting incident that kicks off Bob's story is the devastating bus crash involving the 1986 Swift Current Broncos, incredibly overshadowed in later years by the sexual assault conviction of their coach Graham James.
It is detailed in the 2012 book Sudden Death and more recently in the full-length documentary Sideways:
The fallout of the tragedy led to years of depression and addiction, interspersed with individual and team success as a hockey player. He achieved his dream of playing in the NHL but also burdened himself for years with regret and doubt.
Bob noted how the birth of his daughter was a wake-up call to 'get his shit together', which he did through years of meetings, therapy, support, and hard work. Bob is the president of I Got Mind and is an advocate for mental health and resiliency.
Thanks for sharing your time and impactful story with us, Bob!
Visit the Sideways website to find out how to watch the documentary as well as learn about the efforts to turn it into a movie.
——
Back to the vote!
We were blown away this meeting to have our largest in-person turnout as well as the most paid members for a single meeting that we have ever had - 149! Incredible. Combined with our sponsorship dollars and an auction item, we had a record $20,200 to give away!
The Airdrie Festival of Lights was voted the recipient of $10,000 while our other two groups walked away with $5,100.
Thank you to ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge for once again being fantastic hosts.
We’d also like to give a giant shout out to those that donated door prizes. Thank you to:
- Shams Mumtaz / A-List Security
- Ron Chapman / Tiger Propane
- Peter Flanagan / Maaco
- ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge
- Genesis Land Development
- Tend Flowers
We will be back at ¡Glitch! Gaming Lounge for the next meeting - April 21st.
See you then!