Welcome to 2850 Army Cadets!
The Grande Prairie Association for Army Cadets (GPAAC) welcomes you! And for those returning, welcome back! We would like you to know a few things about who we are and what we do. We are the official Support Committee that provides support and manages funds for the Grande Prairie Army Cadet unit. We work in a partnership with the Officers of the unit to effectively run the unit in an open and transparent manner.
There are 2 different offices for Army Cadets at our corps:
1. The cadet office – located just inside the main door of the armories, to your left. Sign up your child for cadets here and find all the staff and officers here. Contact the cadet office for anything related to the cadet program, however you will find almost everything you require coming to you via email.
2. The GPAAC office – located at the top of the stairs on the parade square. You will find all things related to support here – fundraising, screening and information specifically for the parents.
Our Parent Information Meetings are the life blood of how both the Association and our Commanding Officer’s (currently Captain Hagarty’s) team communicates with the parent body. This is an opportunity for you to see what the cadet corps is planning for upcoming events like FTX’s, competitions, training and fundraising required to do all of these things at no cost to our families. We take great pride in what we can do for our corps and value your input! We have a Facebook page (a closed group) as a brag page about our cadets. Only active cadets and parents are permitted to be part of this page, and the contents are monitored by Ottawa. Grande Prairie Army Cadets Unit 2850 Please note this is not a place to ask questions regarding parade nights or questions for the staff. That should be done by phone or email to the cadet office.
Parent information meetings are the 2nd Wednesday of every month (with the exception of the summer months of July and August) and generally meetings won’t last more than 1 hour. Please refer to the Cadet Calendar.
Your current Executive:
- President: Diana Gismondi
- Vice President: Martina Hoddinott
- Secretary: Esther Thompson
- Treasurer: Casey McLean
A new election of officers will take please usually every two years, during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in October.
You can contact us by email: [email protected] or in person at the armouries. Please understand that we have full time jobs that sometimes don’t allow us to answer immediately, however, we strive to respond to all messages within one business day.
How do we do all these cool things without charging…?
Fundraising is vital to provide approx. $30,000 of support to our cadet corps every year. Fundraising allows our cadets to participate in many events throughout the year and we look for a commitment from our cadets and parents; we can’t do it without you. “Many Hands Make Light Work!” We commit to events that generate the best compensation for the work provided while creating a great reputation for our corps within the community. We focus to keep the cadets at the forefront of the fundraising, so they understand the work that goes into having this program. If you have issues with getting your cadet to any event please let us know via the Facebook page, we have options. The funds we raise benefit the entire corps, not individuals, so it’s important that everyone participate in some way. Generally, the time commitment is only for a few hours at a time. The co-ordination of such fundraising events is a large task, therefore communication and information will be sent to parents first via the monthly parent information meetings, then via email and Facebook posts. Please ensure your email address is correct and you are a member of our Facebook page.
In the past, for example, we have participated in the following fundraising:
- Cash & Camping/Cars for Christmas Lottery
- Brian Harms / Press Race
- Wapiti Shooters Club – Oilman’s Shoot
- City of GP Events
- Rotary Food Drive
- Evergreen Park Events
- GP Stompede
- Community Gala Events
- TeePee Creek Rodeo
- And many, many more!
We have established a VERY good reputation within Grande Prairie and surrounding area, and we do everything we can to continue that standard. When participating, please remember you are representing the entire corps. If there is an issue that you feel needs to be communicated, please do so to the GPAAC coordinator of that event. The email you receive will identify this person to you.
Fundraising and Volunteering hours that the Cadets put in can count towards their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award if they sign up for the program. We encourage Cadets to sign up for this because most of the requirements for this prestigious award can be achieved simply by participating in the cadet program. For more information, check their website: www.dukeofed.org or see the Training Officer for more information.
Volunteer Screening
If you want to volunteer for one of the Executive Committee positions, you must go through a screening process with the Army Cadet League. This information will be provided when you are elected into a vacancy.
If you want to volunteer with the unit (help out on a Field Exercise or in a Training capacity) please arrange an appointment with the Commanding Officer who will explain the screening process.