A Paralympian who excels in goalball and alpine racing will attend Saturday’s community celebration at Red Deer’s Collicutt Centre to mark the opening of an RBC branch on the east end.
Red Deer residents are invited to the party that includes free admission to the recreation centre from 6 to 10 p.m. Guests can enjoy any of the activities, including the water park and the climbing wall.
Visitors will have the chance to meet Paralympian Viviane Forest, one of the first women to earn gold medals at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. The 32-year-old Quebec native who now lives in Edmonton won two gold medals in two Summer Paralympic Games (Athens 2004, Sydney 2000) in the sport of goalball. She won a third gold medal, three silver and one bronze at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver in alpine skiing.
She is a legally blind high-performance alpine ski racer with four per cent vision.
RBC officials will make an announcement at 6:15 p.m. that will include a $10,000 donation to Big Brothers and Big Sisters Red Deer.
On hand at the festivities will be RBC regional vice-president Ron Sauve and branch manager Stacey-Lynn Green, as well as Big Brothers and Sisters executive director David Murphy and board chair Janet Whitesell.
The new RBC branch is located at Clearview Market Square, south of 67th Street and west of 30th Avenue.