Her Excellency Sharon Johnston, wife of the Governor General of Canada, visited the Buckland campus and arena on October 9, 2012 and the Pilot Butte campus on October 11, 2012.
Her main focus of the visit to the north was to experience the Equine Assisted Therapy Program and interact with the Ranch youth. She was welcomed and given a tour of the arena and the program by Heather Chow, arena manager. Shortly afterwards she joined an equine assisted therapy session with three of our youth.
The session, called the Brain, uses teams of three people; one person is the brain in the middle while the other two are the left side and right side of the body. The brain must tell the two sides what to do with the horse. Her Excellency and the two youth on her team shared a lot of laughs while they all took turns being the brain.
Following the session everyone joined Her Excellency for a sit down dinner followed by a Ranch leadership discussion.
During her tour of the Pilot Butte campus Her Excellency had the opportunity to see one of the three schools the Ranch operates, as well as visit a group home on campus, see a Pow Wow performance, and meet many of the youth in residence. She asked the youth about their stay at Ranch Ehrlo, what types of goals they were working on, and what they liked and disliked about the agency. The interchange between the youth and Her Excellency was most informative.
The last segment of Her Excellency's visit at the Pilot Butte campus was spent in the Hudson Building boardroom, meeting with senior management, board members, and one member of the senate. Her Excellency was quite interested in what set Ranch Ehrlo apart from other like-agencies and how clients ended up at the agency. Senior management and the board spent some time fielding her questions explaining that we offer an accredited therapeutic milieu consisting of a "living therapy", engaging and connecting with families and support systems, and serving as a model of excellence for numerous other agencies.
Her Excellency shared about her experience at the Ranch Ehrlo Society saying:
Ranch Ehrlo reflects the theme of a Smart and Caring Nation – A Call to Service and the related three pillars set out by my husband the Governor General in his installation speech. It was in the context of supporting these pillars that I visited Ranch Ehrlo.
Pillar one is Families and Children which is exemplified in your long term approach to rehabilitation.
Pillar two is Learning and Innovation. Ranch Ehrlo uses an innovative, non-punitive method of gaining trust in troubled young people. The aim is to put them back into an educational stream in which they can be successful.
Pillar three is Volunteerism and Philanthropy. Dr. Geoff Pawson was an excellent example of volunteering and philanthropy. He has left a lasting legacy.
I will through our travels across Canada and elsewhere tell people in the field of child care about your extraordinary program. I enjoyed every minute of my tour and thank you for being such a nice host.
- Her Excellency, Sharon Johnston.
