Christina Baker

As a lifelong resident of the region, she sits on many boards and is creating the Wood Buffalo Sports League, a new society that she is working on to enhance sport opportunity in our region. YMM: What is the most rewarding part of your career? CB: Sport Tourism is a new role for me and the potential in this position is very exciting. So far in my position, I have focused on working with key stakeholders in the community to help identify needs in the sport and event-hosting world and working to lay out a plan for how tourism can help address some gaps and make hosting a more attainable goal for organizations. The idea of being a part of a larger plan to enhance sport opportunities in our region is the most amazing reward. YMM: Tell us about your volunteer experience in the community. CB: I have had many small roles in events in our region, primarily with the Northern Lights Health Foundation. My biggest contribution was in 2014 when my husband and I raised $10,000 in support of the Health Foundation while we journeyed to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I love fundraising for events that also get me active – things like the McMurray Marathon, Color Run, Conquer Cancer and other fundraising runs/rides. I have also supported local Games and athletes in the region volunteering for previous Games we have hosted in our Region, as well as on Team Alberta North where I have travelled with our local athletes to Whitehorse, Greenland and this year to Alaska. This year will be a big year for me getting back in the volunteer game as I am starting a new sports league that will support adult and youth opportunities in sport to increase non-competitive opportunities in sport and facilitate safe and welcoming environments to just play. I am also starting this year as a Beaver Scouts guide and a cross-country ski coach with Ptarmigan North Ski Club. YMM: What keeps you in the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region? CB: Fort McMurray has always been my home. My brother and his wife, my brother and sister-in-law and their daughter, my mom and some extended family with aunts and uncles and cousins are all still here. Having family here always keeps Fort McMurray feeling like home. The most incredible thing however we find about Fort McMurray that we have not found anywhere else to compare is the endless outdoor opportunities. I can walk out my front door and be in an endless network of trails to hike, bike, cross-country ski and explore in less than five minutes. We can be on the river on a boat, paddleboard or kayak in 10 minutes. There are lakes for fishing and swimming, and land for hunting. And now for our kids growing up on the same trails I did, being able to walk to the same school my husband and I attended, there is a comfort and familiarness here and immense pride for the place we call home. YMM: What accomplishment are you most proud of? CB: This summer I completed my first solo backcountry hiking trip in British Columbia. I went completely independent – took public transportation with my big ol backpack to the trailhead and spent two nights exploring the wilderness on my own. It was a wild emotional ride feeling at times lost and alone, paired with moments of awe and amazement that in the end left me feeling strong, empowered and capable of anything.