The BC Summer Games are heading to Maple Ridge .... and they are getting ready!  

To announce to the community that things are underway, a flag raising was held at City Hall on July 21, marking one year out from the Games.  The flag raising created a perfect opportunity bring together community and Games leaders to announce that the countdown is on. 

Maple Ridge 2020 BC Summer Games President, Mike Keenan, and Vice President, Tom Bowen, together with His Worship Mayor Mike Morden, MLAs Lisa Beare (Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows) and Bob D'Eith (Maple Ridge-Mission), School District 42 Trustee, Collette Trudeau, and BC Games Society President and CEO, Alison Noble, took their places on the balcony overlooking the plaza at City Hall and helped to launch the countdown to the Games.   The BC Games flag will stay in the community until the conclusion of the Games.

With the support of the President and Vice President, the members of Board of Directors will oversee planning in 14 functional areas.  The Directors are in the process of identifying Committee Chairs to take on specific responsibilities.  Planning will ramp up in the fall.  The Board list and bios can be found here.

In January 2020, the volunteer registration system will open and local citizens will be encouraged to sign up.  In all, as many as 3,000 volunteers will be needed.  Keep an eye on social media and bcgames.org for information about volunteer opportunities and for the announcement of the Community Awareness Event which will be held in January.

Black Press Media, a long standing Corporate Partner of the BC Games Society also joined in the celebration with Games feature in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News in print and online.

Other BC Games Society Corporate Partners are Global BC and Coast Capital Savings.  Funding Partners for the Games are the Province of BC, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the City of Maple Ridge and School District 42.

"The BC Games provide a unique opportunity to connect the unconnected across all stakeholder groups," said Alison Noble, President and CEO of the BC Games Society.  "Athletes from all corners of the province, that a few short months before knew nothing of each other, leave the Games as new friends; volunteers who live in the same neighbourhoods but have never spoken, work alongside each other forming strong and lasting friendships; corporate partners develop new relationships with companies they have never done business with in the past; and the community learns new ways of working together to create a common vision.  The Games are a powerful vehicle through which people connect and communities are built."

Many months of planning are underway and will be sure to result in exceptional experiences for all involved!