From the Branches
Edna Warriner | President, CARTA
Central Alberta Retired Teachers’
Association (CARTA)
Our Distinguished Volunteers for 2019 are Mernie Alderson and Ben Mudd. In addition to
their commitment to teaching for many years in central Alberta, they have been active
in multiple sports groups and are dedicated supporters of many community programs.
Their roots are firmly planted in central Alberta but their wings have taken them all over
the world.
Mernie Alderson has lived most of her life
in central Alberta and has dedicated her life to
supporting programs here. She has worked for
causes that matter to her and her family: the Red
Deer Gardening Club, the MS Society, and the
Vintage Auto Club to name but a few. Currently,
Mernie and her husband Jerry grow saskatoons
on their acreage and share them with neighbours,
family, and friends. Hundreds of buckets of berries
are picked each year, and many saskatoon pies
have been made for the various organizations she
supports. Mernie is the neighbour everyone wishes
they had. She regularly takes baking to neighbours
and shares her garden in jellies, pickles, produce,
and her many flowers. Mernie and Jerry have
travelled all over the world to places like New
Zealand, Australia, Japan, the British Isles, Hong
Kong, and recently Korea.
Ben Mudd emigrated to Canada from Yorkshire,
England, and has been an active member of our
community. As a physical education teacher he
loved soccer and was proud to serve as the first
president of the Parkland Soccer Association. After
retiring from teaching, Ben’s greatest satisfaction
was as a volunteer at the Salvation Army soup
kitchen. When the soup kitchen closed in 2008, Ben
felt the loss and decided to start baking chocolate,
carrot, and lemon cakes for the various charities
and folks who are sick, homebound, or just needing
some cheer. Every week he takes two cakes to
each of the following: Potters Hands Housing, the
Mustard Seed, Safe Harbour, and Turning Point. In
the last ten years he has baked and delivered over
three thousand cakes. And as Ben says, “I feel useful
again.” Ben Mudd has a delightful sense of humour
and it serves him well with all the groups he enjoys
so much. Ben and his wife have travelled extensively
through South America, Central America, Australia,
New Zealand, Africa, Europe, China, and Vietnam.
CARTA is proud to recognize our Distinguished
Volunteers for 2019: Mernie Alderson and
Ben Mudd.
Central Alberta Retired Teachers’Association
news&views AUTUMN 2020 | 13