Our 50th Stories: The Society’s annual Fall Conferences

In the late ’90s, the North Peace Community Living Society held industry-related conferences, much like ACDS does today.

The inaugural conference was October 24-26, 1996 titled Transitions: Partners in Change and approximately 145 were in attendance.

The keynote speaker for this event was Dr. Rick Freeze – The Transition Planning Process. It focused on supporting Individuals after high school graduation as they transitioned into adulthood

The second annual conference was held September 10 & 11 1997, with guest speaker David Hingsburger who spoke about sexuality.

Third annual conference “Another Piece of the Puzzle; Understanding Behaviour”, was held October 22 & 23, 1998. Along with numerous speakers, there was also a self-advocacy panel where Individuals “shared their experience growing up with a developmental disability.”

The 4th annual conference was titled “Inclusion – Breaking the Barriers”. It focused on what Inclusion means from the perspective of Individuals as well as their families.

The 5th and last conference was held on October 19 & 20, 2000.

“Colors of the New Millennium” featured speaker Rob Chubb and his ‘colors’:

– Orange: Courageous

– Green: Conceptual

– Blue: Compassionate

– Gold: Conventional

He was quoted in the Peace Regional Record Gazette as saying” We need all four in our lives. When we use all four in our personal lives, all four in our community, then we have a more effective community.”

The annual conferences came to an end in the early 2000s as another similar conference began in Edmonton.

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