RANKIN INLET - Hundreds of students and staff members from all three schools in Rankin Inlet were treated to an early Christmas dinner earlier this month, thanks to the efforts of Calm Air.

Steady lines of hungry, smiling faces were the norm at Calm Air's annual Christmas dinner at Maani Ulujuk high school in Rankin Inlet earlier this month. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

The airline puts on a holiday meal for students in one Kivalliq community each year.

The 2008 Christmas dinner marked the end of the first full rotation across the region, which started in Chesterfield Inlet in 2002.

The idea of the Christmas dinner arose during a Calm Air marketing meeting.

It was viewed as a way for the airline to provide a turkey dinner to students, especially those who may not have one otherwise, while at the same time giving thanks to the communities for their continued support.

The annual Calm Air Christmas dinner will return to Chester in 2009.

Calm Air marketing assistant Tanya Dnistransky of Thompson, Man., said the annual Christmas dinner is a large endeavour, especially in the bigger communities.

She said the airline would not be able to pull it off without the support of many people in the communities.

"This year, in a community the size of Rankin, we had 50 turkeys cooked for the Christmas dinner," said Dnistransky.

"A number of teachers in the community, which is often the case, were good enough to cook a turkey to help us out, and we did the rest the morning of the dinner."

Dnistransky said it's a lot of fun for Calm Air employees to take part in the annual Christmas dinner.

She said you can't help but get a warm feeling in your heart when you see so many children having a great time together while enjoying a holiday meal.

"Calm Air is proud to be able to do something like this to show our appreciation for the support we receive from the communities we serve," said Dnistransky.

"Everybody in each community does something a little different for us each year in support of the dinner, and we appreciate all their efforts in making it such a success.

"It's a blast going to the dinners and I have such a good time meeting everyone in the different communities.

* "As busy as we are, and as hectic as the dinner can sometimes be, it's always a lot of fun and that's just the way we like it."