The 1988 Winter Olympics sparked a spirit of community in Calgarians.  Thousands of people pitched in to volunteer and help out in anyway they could.  While the games ended, the spirit did not.          

On Tuesday, the Calgary Police Service honored five people who signed up to volunteer with the force for the Olympic winter games, and continue to serve today.        

Almost a thousand people signed up to help out, and of those, 76 are still active volunteers with the CPS.  Over the years, civilians have worked on over 800 projects, and donated almost 30,000 hours of their own time.

Johanne Aylett, Vi Fischer, Pat Folwark, Glenn Pennett and Bill Weeks all received honors for their 25 years of service.

Volunteers had a high level of responsibility throughout the games, but the group experienced very few issues while hosting visitors from around the world.

“Everybody was really well behaved,” says Vi Fischer.  “The only thing is at the hockey games we had to take the sticks off the flags.  They could have the flags, but that was about the most policing I did.”

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1998 Calgary Winter Olympic Games, a series of events are scheduled for Wednesday.

At the Olympic Oval, an Olympic Cauldron lighting ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m. Mayor Nenshi will declare February 13 as the official Olympic Legacy Day in Calgary.  Olympic medalists Kristina Groves and Catriona LeMay-Doan, and key personalities from the ’88 games, Dr. Roger Jackson and Frank King, will be in attendance.              

Also at the Oval, the Celebrate ’88 Legacy Skate party will run from 6:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.  The family friendly free event will be ‘80’s themed and include family skating, hot chocolate, music, pin trading, autograph sessions with Olympic athletes, and special guests.  During the skate party, free parking will be offered in the University of Calgary’s Parking Lot 10. 

The torch atop the Calgary Tower will be lit on Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. to commemorate the anniversary of the Olympic Games and the beginning of the Alberta 55-plus Winter Games.