“We believe in the mentorship program, I know from personal experience that such friendships can inspire children and I want to give something of that back,” Smyth says. “We had planned to give 12 children in the Big Brother Big Sister program an hour-and-a-half of flying lessons, the Calgary Flying Club had already scheduled a session for the kids and take them up in the air, but high winds forced us to cancel the flights for another day,” he tells Around Town.

“We remain very much committed to fly the kids one day, we just have to re-schedule,” he added.

The children, ages 9 to 14, were given on-ground lessons in aviation and a fun party with plenty of activities hosted by Excel Homes.