EMERGENCY SERVICES GALA
Honours those serving and volunteering within our emergency services sector
SUBMITTED BY BAILEY KEMERY
This year was the first year the West Central area hosted an emergency services gala to represent the Kerrobert, Luseland, Major, Plenty, and Dodsland fire departments and emergency service areas. The gala was held on February 8th at the Kerrobert PCC.
The gala was spearheaded by a local emergency management committee representing some local RMs and Fire Departments. The committee decided to expand the gala opportunity to all of the area south of Unity and north of Kindersley. It only made sense since the areas often work together in mutual aid when responding to emergencies. Bailey Kemery and Chelsea Kissick were the main event coordinators.
This evening was a great opportunity to join and honour those serving and volunteering within our emergency services sector. Not only did we have awards for active members, but we were also able to honour those who are no longer active and finally receive the recognition that has most definitely been earned.
This formal event offered professional pictures with your friends and loved ones (it's not every day you get dressed up!), a lovely catered meal by Jan Taylor, a bar, and light music entertainment from Time of Your Life Entertainment.
There were 50/50s and a Silent auction. The committee decided to reinvest the funds into the emergency services by paying for recruiting and retaining local first responders and offering local training for the fire departments, as there aren't many local training opportunities. Now that we had our organization meeting on April 13th, we were able to decide where how our funds were being distributed officially. We had discussions with future funds and supporting AED purchased in communities and other equipment and opportunities.
The evening also offered a great networking opportunity for the members to meet, exchange information, and share opportunities. MLA Kim Gartner, our Sask Public Safety Agency Vice President, West Central Crisis, and many town and village mayors and councillors attended the event. Not to mention the incredible support various community members who either attended or volunteered. We also received exceptional support from other areas, such as the Kindersley Fire Department, as Chief Jeff Soveran brought an entire table.
Kerrobert's Mayor, Mike Mitchell, read the fireman's prayer, and the Town of Luseland Mayor, Kathy Wurz, paid tribute to first responders. The West Central Crisis offered a community spotlight on their services.
The gala hit a bit of a rocky start as the date competed with hockey playoffs. However, it was ultimately well attended, with 160 tickets being sold. Everyone who attended had a fabulous time and looked just as fabulous. We had many event donors and had a few people 'sponsor' tables for our honoured guests. We hope to expand on this idea next time.
Although it was a tumultuous experience, it was an incredible learning curve, and we are extremely excited to do this again. We hope that next time, we have even more attendance! But next time, we will definitely advertise as formal instead of black tie, as that seemed to scare a few people off.
I was grateful to those who helped when I needed it, as it was a big undertaking, but I know exactly what to improve upon next time. We also have such valuable people in our communities outside of the emergency services area.
The night's greatest success was the opportunity to award and recognize our members. Many people were unaware of their awards, so watching them be surprised was truly heartwarming. SSgt. Andrews was so fantastic to work with (giving awards to our officers as well), and we loved having our EMS services present as well. Following is the list of those who were recognized:
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Eight lifetime achievement awards were given out at the gala. These awards are given to members who have served for over 30 years and have demonstrated exceptional leadership and representation for their communities. These winners were all honoured as they played such a vital role in the development of their respective areas.
Major Volunteer Fire Department; Jan Edmonds
Kerrobert Volunteer Fire Department; Greg Bahm
Dodsland Volunteer Fire Department; Randy Neumeier, Tom Joyce, Don Rechemacher, Tony Greschner
Kerrobert Emergency Medical Services; Jo-Anne Dupius
Kerrobert/Kindersley Emergency Medical Services; Steve Couples
Jr Member Awards
This is an award to a junior member who shows exceptional initiative and ambition in their service.
Major Volunteer Fire Department; Brady Cairns
Luseland Volunteer Fire Department; Olivia Gardeski
Rookie of the Year Awards
This is given to a member of their service who has accepted criticism, showed initiative, demonstrated leadership, and worked to improve their service area overall. This Member has proven to be a vital asset to their service and community.
Major Volunteer Fire Department; Miranda Bardick
Luseland Police Service; CST. Ty Kohlman
Service Member of the Year
This award is given to a member who dedicates their time to improving the department's overall performance. Whether on the front line or behind the scenes, these members have proven that their commitment, leadership, and presence are invaluable to their respective services.
Major Volunteer Fire Department; Ben Cairns
Plenty Volunteer Fire Department; Dan Calder
Kerrobert Emergency Medical Services; Olivia Babichuk
Kerrobert/Kindersley RCMP; Corporal Marc Durocher
Kerrobert/Kindersley RCMP; Corporal Conroy Fillion