During the recent fun-filled celebration of Sam Steele Days in June, a life-sized version of Sir Sam Steele emerged, receiving exceptional notoriety through a social media ‘selfie’ contest created by Genex Marketing to promote the East Kootenay’s number one community festival.

The public was invited to visit various locations in Cranbrook who hosted ‘Flat Sam’ and post their own photo with him to social media using #samsteele. Three winners were selected randomly from volumes of selfie posts and each received a $50 gift certificate from one of three local sponsoring restaurants; Boston Pizza, The Heid Out Restaurant and Brewhouse or Don Cherry’s Sports Grill.

Congratulations to our winners: Cranbrook Relay for Life organizers (Mallory Balfour is pictured above accepting the award), Sarah Miller of Bloom Jewellery and her children Emerson (9), Avery (8) and Nolan (6) and also Shelby (nee Rankel) and Kyle Martyn from Lethbridge, Alberta.

Shelby, upon learning of her good fortune, proudly identified that she was a 2006 Sam Steele Sweetheart candidate and always looks forward to returning to Cranbrook for the Sam Steele Days festival.

The Sam Steele Society continually looks for creative ways to showcase the Cranbrook area as a wonderful place to live, a great place to get involved, and as a prime tourist destination. To help remind the public of the heritage elements of the festival, the six-foot something sturdy coroplast model nicknamed ‘Flat Sam’ was built, printed and donated by Wolfpack Signs and Printing using the likeness of the Sir Sam Steele image developed by Genex Marketing.

Flat Sam’s two-week journey in June highlighted some of Cranbrook’s incredible restaurants as well as the stunning beauty of numerous locations and many exceptional community-minded businesses. This historical celebrity will definitely return next year.

The volunteer Sam Steele Society Directors oversee all aspects of the management of the festival and work cooperatively with more than one hundred different clubs, organizations, businesses and government agencies to bring the four-day celebration to Cranbrook each year.

What began with a small group in 1965 now involves hundreds of dedicated volunteers and in 2015, was attended by an estimated 21,500 people.

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