A retired school teacher is the inspiration behind the biggest gospel music jamboree in southern Alberta and is the CTV Calgary Inspiring Albertan this week.
For the past sixteen years, Fran Hanson has inspired singers and volunteers to help a little community south of Claresholm stage the biggest gospel music jamboree in the area.
On the last weekend of July the population in the tiny town of Granum balloons from 445 to more than triple that amount.
Hundreds of music lovers descend on the town for the annual Willow Creek Gospel Jamboree.
“Any time you get a lot of people exposed to your town I think it's good for it you know. We've had different people say, well I came and I saw the park and I enjoyed the weekend and I liked the town and they've settled here,” said Town Councillor, Ron Hanson.
Fran Hanson spent years organizing school concerts and special events so the transition to putting on a community event was natural.
“Just before I retired someone said, wouldn't it be good to have a gospel jamboree here and they mentioned it to me and I said, oh well, it's something I’d like to get into, so we started very small and its grown,” said Hanson.
That little festival has grown a lot since then.
The Willow Creek Jamboree now regularly attracts over a thousand people to each of its main concerts and a Sunday morning inter-denominational church service.
Hanson’s husband Ron says it's all because Fran refused to give up.
“She puts her mind to something and nothing will deter her,” said Ron.
Marilyn Gripping began volunteering with the jamboree soon after she and her family moved to Granum in 1999.
“Fran is very inspiring and really gets people going and she helps us to find the area that we're most excited about and helps to put people into the area that they work best in,” said Gripping.
Hanson and her committee have always encouraged local talent and most of the musicians are from Alberta.
They also source outside talent , like Keepers of The Faith, a quartet of three Samoan brothers from Hawaii and their Canadian bass singer.
For all she does to keep the music alive and bring visitors to her community, Fran Hanson is our Inspiring Albertan this week.
(With files from Darrel Janz)
