"I would like to thank all of the volunteers who have helped out both today and over the course of the summer. Without you, none of the weekly ALPS events would happen throughout the summer.
In particular, I would like to point out one individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty for many years. This particular individual originally got involved in ALPS not as a parent volunteer but rather as a young athlete. A member of Cedar Park pool with his family from his early years, he began by joining swim team, diving and water polo. His parents were active volunteers at ALPS events and on the Cedar Park pool committee. By the age of 16, he was well decorated, winning awards at his home pool and at ALPS finals events. The pleasure derived from the aquatic sports in summer turned into an athletic career as a competitive swimmer at Pointe-Claire and afterwards, as a water polo player at Dollard.
As the years went on, he made the natural progression into instructing, lifeguarding and coaching, first at Lakeside and eventually back at Cedar Park, where he moved up through the ranks eventually becoming pool manager for two summers. His coaching career finished a few years later at Viking as the head water polo coach. Following in the foot-steps of his parents, he became a volunteer, as a committee member at Cedar Park, and then on the ALPS Committee as the water polo coordinator from 2002 to 2004. His tenure in this position is still noticeable today and the program continues to benefit from several of the changes he instituted.
In 2005 he became the youngest ever ALPS president, a position he served in for the full 3 year term. Many of us recall the 2006 swimming finals where, after giving the welcome address, the president of the organization donned his suit and swam the 50 free. Last summer, his final year as the Past President represented his 9th year as an ALPS organizing committee member, very impressive considering his young age. He served the community well, always striving to increase participation, develop an environment of mutual respect and to ensure fair-play. His first concern was always the young athletes, and creating an atmosphere of healthy competition in which they could learn the sport. He supported all of the 4 ALPS disciplines equally and worked diligently to ensure respect and balance amongst them. While he has moved on from active duty on the committee for the time being, he still continues to maintain our swimming records, ensuring that we don't lose this link to our history. It is with pleasure that I award the 2011 President's trophy to Erik Bedard."

Past winners of the President's Trophy are:
1999 - Dan Cregan
2000 - Sandy Kelly
2001 - David Ward
2002 - not awarded
2003 - Jerry Turner
2004 - Brenda Chance
2005 - Christie Brown
2006 - not awarded
2007 - Bob Cox and Gary Malcolm
2008 - Tom McKenzie
2009 - Christiane Callary
2010 - Garry Milton

These individuals have been exemplary in giving their time and effort to ALPS to ensure that our programs are the best they can be. As you know, ALPS is run entirely by volunteers who see the value in giving kids and their families a healthy way to have fun and stay cool in the summer. Many of our own ALPS swimmers, divers, synchronized swimmers and water polo players go on to earn university scholarships and to compete at the highest levels, including the Olympics, having gotten their start in our summer programs. While we are proud to have been able to contribute to their start, we are equally proud to have been able to provide a warm community atmosphere of fun and participation for all ALPS pool members, from babies right up to grandparents. Get involved in your pool and get the most out of summer!