southeastdistrict

50 Games in 48 Years: Long-time Games Consultant Lorne Lasuita Announces Retirement

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With personal sadness but warm wishes, the Saskatchewan Games Council is announcing the upcoming retirement of Provincial Games Consultant Lorne Lasuita after an impactful and longranging career in multi-sport games, sport, and recreation.

Lorne will officially retire as Provincial Games Consultant on March 31, 2019 and will continue in his role as Games Consultant with the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games Host Society until August 2019.

Lorne has left an indelible contribution to the sport community in Saskatchewan and beyond. He has played a key role in a remarkable 50 multi-sport games — all the way from the Saskatchewan Games to the Olympics, where in Athens 2004 he served as Administration Officer on Team Canada’s Mission Staff.

“I have treated my position as someone who is ‘living the dream,’ providing an opportunity for our province’s young athletes to participate in a multi-sport Games,” says Lasuita. “The smiles, excitement and experiences of competing bring life-long memories that have always made my job very gratifying and rewarding.”

Lorne’s passion throughout his working life has truly been the Saskatchewan Games program. He has been a part of all but one of the 25 staged so far, only missing the first-ever Saskatchewan Games in 1972. His primary role since 1988 has been to provide consulting services to each Host Society as it stages the Games, from initial planning to execution.

At the Canada Games, he has been Team Sask Chef de Mission five times, mission staff nine times, and has attended the Games an additional three times in consulting or organizing capacities. During a secondment from his position with the Ministry of Sport, Culture and Youth, Lorne served as Manager of Sport, Athlete Services and Medical for the 2005 Canada Summer Games Host Society in Regina.

The Western Canada Summer Games have also featured prominently in his career, with four Chef de Mission posts, four mission staff appointments, and a consultancy to the 1999 Games Host Society in Prince Albert. Presently, Lorne is acting as Games Consultant to the Host Society for the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games in Swift Current as well as chairing the Sport Technical Committee.

Though his career accomplishments are many, what Lorne’s peers and colleagues will remember most about working with him are his friendliness and ever-present smile. Lorne’s kind heart and good nature have won him countless lifelong friends across Canada, from coast to coast to coast.

“The impact Lorne has made to sport in this province and this country is immeasurable. He is one of the most respected and knowledgeable individuals I know when it comes to multi-sport games, and his talents will be dearly missed,” says Saskatchewan Games Council Executive Director Mark Bracken.

“I owe a ton of gratitude to Lorne for his mentorship over the years, and I couldn’t have learned from anyone better. Lorne has always been focused on the athletes, and he takes pride in knowing the positive experience and impact games have on our youth. I wish Lorne all the best in his well-deserved retirement and thank him for all he has done for multi-sport games and amateur sport in our country.”

Lorne graduated with a Recreation Technology diploma in 1971, beginning his career in sport and recreation soon after. He served as Recreation and Parks Director in Humboldt from 1971 to 1975. In 1976, he began working for the Government of Saskatchewan as a regional recreation consultant; in 1988, he stepped into the role of Provincial Games Consultant. In 2006, responsibilities for the Saskatchewan Games were transferred from government to the newly-formed Saskatchewan Games Council, where Lorne has worked since.

The 2019 Canada Winter Games and Western Canada Summer Games will mark Lorne’s last as a staff member of the Saskatchewan Games Council — but his days of being involved in sport are surely not over.

Lorne looks forward to spending more time with his wife Denice, four daughters, and eight grandchildren, many of whom are very busy with sports themselves. In fact, at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, Lorne and gymnast granddaughter Tamsyn made history as the first grandfather-granddaughter pair to represent the same contingent at a Canada Games. In addition, various members of his family have participated at nine Saskatchewan Games, from 1988-2018.

Lorne will be dearly missed in our office. Though his retirement marks a big loss to both the Saskatchewan Games Council and the larger sport community across Canada, we wish Lorne all the best on his well-deserved retirement.
Plans for an official retirement reception will be announced in winter 2019.

The job posting for the role of Provincial Games Consultant will be released in November 2018. For questions or inquires about the position, please contact Mark Bracken, Executive Director at (306) 780-9357.
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Contact: Mark Bracken Executive Director Saskatchewan Games Council (306) 780-9357 (office) (306) 536-1592 (cell) mbracken@saskgames.ca

Indian Head Grand Theatre – 2018 Award Recipient

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The Grand Theatre is a community-owned, volunteer-run enterprise and multi-entertainment facility and a gathering place for people of all ages in the community of Indian Head. At the time it was built in 1904, it was the only opera house between Winnipeg and Vancouver. The historic building was later turned into a cinema in the 1930s, and was eventually put up for sale in 2012. The small town of Indian Head called on residents to get involved or risk losing their beloved historic cinema, and soon after community members formed a group of volunteers to save the theatre.
 
Known today as the Indian Head Theatre & Community Arts Inc (IHTCA), IHTCA ran a fundraising campaign that obtained pledges totaling over $100,000 and negotiated a purchase price with the owners. In February 2014, IHTCA became the owner and operators of what the community renamed the “Grand Theatre.”
 
However, after snow from the winter season melted later that year, there were obvious issues with the building’s roof, causing water to leak inside and risk damaging expensive new movie equipment. The IHTCA strong links with the community proved to be invaluable: the local company Roof Management Inspection Services (RMIS) announced the Grand Theatre was chosen as their “charity of choice” in their “Giving Back” initiative.
 
From 2015 to 2017, RMIS provided all engineering assistance on roof design and also repaired several portions of the roof. RMIS designed new roof trusses so as to maintain the historic exterior profile and to retain the original tin-tile ceiling structure. IHTCA made a series of grant applications to the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation (SHF) using the RMIS engineering reports, drawings and cost estimates and received almost $100,000 in matching grants. The 6,000 sq. ft. roof was completely replaced or repaired to meet modern codes while respecting heritage standards. Assistance by RMIS and SHF, along with countless hours by volunteers, were key factors in the success of the roof project. The historic building is now saved and incurred no additional debt.

With the roof now secure, the Grand Theatre has become an active and valued community space, housing a local amateur adult drama group as well as the elementary and high school drama clubs, and has become a regional tourist attraction and economic driver. And the engagement with the community continues, as a local architect is providing pro-bono services to develop a conceptual plan for interior renovations based on a 3D digital mapping that was completed last year, and that will be used for presentations to the community and funding agencies.
 
The project’s greatest success has been in galvanizing the community’s deep attachment for the Grant Theatre – the site of many first dates and first kisses – and translating that into action to save and revitalize the building.

Read the full list of 2018 Award Recipients

Article Credit: The National Trust for Canada

Municipalities and Culture Days

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Municipalities—urban, suburban and rural—have already played an important role in the growth of Culture Days which can be operated, in many respects, as a turn-key, customizable festival “template” to showcase and mobilize your local arts community.

Here are a few things that you can do to spearhead the movement in your own community:

Get the word out about Culture Days to your local arts and cultural sector. Encourage local artists, artisans, arts organizations, festivals, galleries, museums, heritage sites, community arts groups, choirs, libraries, community centres, universities, colleges, schools and cultural groups of all stripes to join the movement by registering an activity at culturedays.ca.

Contact your provincial Task Force about hosting and organizing an info session in your community about Culture Days. Invite representatives from your local arts sector as well as business improvement associations, local media and politicians to work together to create an amazing Culture Days weekend.

Provide space in civic facilities to artists and cultural groups that want to offer Culture Days activities. Parks, community centres, libraries, town/city hall, town squares, empty storefronts, heritage sites and museums are all great locations for activities. Be creative: consider opening up a space that is not usually open to the public as this tends to draw curious crowds.

Help to group activities within walking distance of each other into “hubs.” You are likely to draw bigger crowds to Culture Days activities if people are able to browse and sample a variety of drop-in activities all in one easily accessible area. It’s also a great way to revitalize a main street, downtown core or an under-appreciated area of your community.

Discuss Culture Days with your local business improvement association (BIA) regarding how the arts and culture strengthen your community and economy. Encourage businesses to sponsor local Culture Days activities by providing in-kind donations of space, materials or promotion. The Creative City Network of Canada and Ontario Municipal Cultural Planning Inc. offer some valuable resources that can help you describe the social-economic impacts of supporting cultural development to business owners.

Develop partnerships with local media including community newspapers, regional radio stations and local bloggers. The main components of the Culture Days national media campaign will start rolling out in August but it is the local on-the-ground coverage that will be key to ensuring that the residents of your community hear about the activities happening in their own backyard.

To attract audiences to activities, develop a marketing and public relations campaign to package your local Culture Days events together collaborating with other stakeholders such as your local Tourism office, Chamber of Commerce and media partners.

When recruiting activity organizers, tell them about your promotional plans. Public profile is a significant enticement to participate. Print advertisements in your local paper that list all the registered events with dates, times and locations are an important incentive. If you can provide Culture Days-branded handbills that list local events and/or posters (including some with a blank space to customize) to activity organizers, they can distribute them as part of their individual promotional efforts and play a vital role in your overall campaign. As well, by announcing the print deadline to be included in these marketing pieces, you create a great “carrot” for activity organizers to register early!

In September, be sure to invite your municipal councillors and Mayor or other elected officials to attend Culture Days events in your community. Culture Days events make for fun photo-ops and give politicians a chance to demonstrate active support and participation in the local arts and cultural life of their communities.

Your Mayor can make an official Proclamation for Culture Days. In Québec, where the inspiration for Culture Days originated, 536 municipalities have signed the official Declaration of Journées de la culture. And since Culture Days’ inception in 2010, many cities and towns across Canada have affirmed their commitment to arts and culture through officially proclaiming Culture Days. Download this proclamation template as a guide for your community’s official document. Municipal proclamations are a great way to engage your city councillors, raise the profile of arts and culture in your community and attract local media attention.

Fernie Memorial Arena Incident Report

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On Thursday, October 19, 2017 in Fernie, BC, several of our colleagues in recreation lost their lives due to an ammonia leak in the Fernie Memorial Arena. SPRA has continued to monitor this serious incident, and is committed to forwarding important information to the arena sector for their review and action. 

On July 25, 2018, Technical Safety BC released their report on the ammonia release at the Fenie Memorial Arena. This Report contains 18 recommendations. It is important that all municipalities, owners and operators review this report and pay special attention to the causes and recommendations.

According to the Report, “These recommendations seek improvements to:

Owner maintenance programs and organizational design;
Identification of leak hazards and professional disclosure of such hazards;
Training of owners representatives, operators and mechanics;
Secondary coolant system configuration and construction in anticipation of refrigerant leaks; and
Public transparency and a culture of openness around technical systems.”

The Report speaks to a number of “cascading failures” that contributed to this terrible incident. It is a call for prudent action. 

More information surrounding this Report can be found at https://www.technicalsafetybc.ca/fernieincident

SPRA will continue to monitor future developments and will share them with the membership.

Article retrieved from Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association. See original article here.

Agreements to Operate Recreation Facilities: Who Owns the Building?

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At the 2018 Convention of the Urban Municipal Administrators Association of Saskatchewan (UMAAS), the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association (SPRA) was invited to speak on the topic of municipal responsibility in the op­eration of recreation facilities. The biggest question to answer is ‘who owns this facility or property?’
 
From a historical perspective, recreation in ‘Small Town Sas­katchewan’ has been run by volunteers. Recreation Boards were formed, and the responsibility for the operation of recre­ation facilities remained with the volunteers. But is there a disconnect between Council, administration and volunteers? Not every municipality is fortunate to have a Recreation Director or Facility Manager. The Municipal Administrator or CAO has other responsibilities. Systems that functioned 30 years ago may not be the most effective means of operation today. Often the recreation volunteers are left on their own.
 
Today’s reality has changes in legislation that have lead to a focus on risk management with employee and volunteer safety becoming a high priority. There is an increased em­phasis on insurance and liability. Training and competence must be proven for employees and volunteers. Log books and documentation have become best practice. The Saskatch­ewan Health Authority requires a pool safety plan be approved before allowing a Municipality to operate a swimming pool. The Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan has stan­dards for the operation of artificial ice plants in skating arenas and curling rinks.
 
With the volunteer Board, it is important that Council approve a Bylaw that outlines the purpose and powers of this Board. Are there any partnering Municipalities or other organiza­tions? Council must also pass a motion regarding committee appointments that will provide these volunteers with the status of ‘agents of the municipality’. While acting on behalf of the Municipality, appointed volunteers will have the protection of municipal insurance. It is important that these volunteers are protected and know their role in the operation of a Municipal asset.
 
There is another scenario where the Municipality would enter into an agreement with a non profit group that may not be a committee of Council. Please be aware of the difference. In working with a registered non profit corporation, it is important that the Municipality enter in to a formal lease agreement. This lease agreement will outline the responsibilities of both the owner and operator of the facility. As owner of the facility, the Municipality cannot absolve themselves of all legal responsi­bilities by transferring operating responsibility to another entity.
 
The local service club that installs a playground in a Municipal Park does not own that equipment, nor has responsibility for ongoing maintenance. This land is owned by the Municipality and the asset also becomes property of the Municipality. Best practice is to work with this service club in advance to ensure that all legislative requirements for playground installation and fall protection are followed.
 
Another model for facility operation is the staff supervision model, where you have an Administrator or Recreation Direc­tor that will hire and supervise facility staff. There are benefits to this approach as you have trained professionals respon­sible for staff supervision and monitoring. These professionals are expected to be current and aware of changes in legisla­tion.
 
There are other more complicated land arrangements that could involve School Divisions, Regional Parks or Exhibition Associations. In order to proceed with an agreement, it is essential to know who owns the property and who owns the building or facility.
 
SPRA Field Consultants are available to meet with your Mu­nicipality and discuss options and best practices that will meet your community’s needs.
 
Rob Boulding
SPRA Field Consultant
 
This article was originally published in the Summer 2018 issue of DIRECTION magazine and has been republished with permission from the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association.