The Town of Preeceville was represented by councillors Johnny Petryshyn, Welma Bartel and Sheldon Luciw at the SUMA (Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association) convention held in Saskatoon on February 4 to 8.
"My take on attending the SUMA convention was that of a positive note," said Petrysyhn.
"On Sunday, we were fortunateto have the opportunity to attend two different education sessions," he said. “These sessions included managingyour assets and unlocking new revenue sources.
“And then on Monday we had the opportunity of viewing a trade show, attending the official opening ceremony, hearing the Premier’s address and participating in other presentations including one dealing with the important role of watersheds.
“On Tuesday we had time to attend the trade show again, attend sector meetings and to take in the address by Joan McCusker, the keynote speaker, who was a member of the renowned Sandra Schmirlercurling team,” said Petryshyn.
The address focused on shaping Saskatchewan with attitudes for leadership excellence. It was followed by an address by Donna Harpauer, minister of Government Relations.
He also attended a breakout session on promotional profiles for economic growth.
Wednesday had councillors having the opportunity to listen to the different sector reports from the cities, towns, villages and northern regions, he said. “We also had the opportunity for dialogue with the ministers of government relations; environment;
health and rural and remote health; parks, culture and sport; justice and RCMP, and highways and infrastructure.”
Also part of the convention was the popular bear pit session with cabinet members.
“I feel that attending the SUMA convention is a great opportunity for councillors and mayors to network with the various communities within our great province,” Petryshyn said. “This has helped to unlock new ideas and form possible future partnerships.”
Bartel and Luciw, both new councillors, also said that they enjoyed the opportunity to learn and build partnerships with other town representatives.
Bartel attended workshops on human resources, watershed, health, economic development and information security in the digital age.
"The Town of Preeceville has important resources at its disposal," she said. "Town administration, maintenance staff and community support. Add the knowledge and experience available through SUMA, and we have a thriving community.”
"As a new councillor, I found SUMA very interesting," said Luciw. "It was almost overwhelming. Every town is faced with some of the same issues and it was very interesting to see how each town was handling the situation.”
Luciw attended workshops dealing with justice and watershed management.
"I came away from the convention with good ideas from neighbouring towns," he concluded.
