ROCANVILLE — Rocanville Economic Development is preparing for its second annual community meeting on Feb. 3 at the Rocanville Nutrien Community Hall. With doors opening at 5:30 pm, the evening will feature an update from a panel of local representatives with the chance for residents to ask questions.
Darren Lang, a Regina-based motivational speaker and author of Staying Up in an Upside-Down World, will be speaking at the meeting.
“We’re hoping he can come and spread a positive message,” said Kelsey Selby from the Rocanville Economic Development Organization. “Then we’ll do our head table talks with our representatives from the town and the different groups, and then we’ll have a question and answer period.”
The idea to hold a community meeting began last year when the REDO committee was looking for outside perspectives and ideas.
“We were trying to encourage people to come to our REDO meetings, but it just wasn’t really happening,” Selby says.
Deciding to try something new, REDO planned to host the first town-wide meeting, which drew 50 residents on a blustery cold evening.
“Our main hot topic last year was housing—especially housing for our seniors who are ready to leave their homes for something that’s a little more accessible,” Selby said. “We wanted to bring that topic to the forefront so that we could get the input of other people that knew more what was going on in that world.”
The attendance at that first meeting exceeded expectations, convincing REDO to make it an annual event.
“We ended up having to put out more chairs!” Selby said with a chuckle. The bonus was also more people around the REDO table, as usually 10 people on average now attend their regular meetings.
“Our REDO committee has actually grown since we had that meeting,” confirmed Selby. “We want people that also want to see our communities grow and how we can make it better, and of course, always attract more families to our area. We do have such a nice area of the province to live in. We’re very lucky!”
The community meeting is free to attend and refreshments will be available.
