Soul Sisters Memorial Foundation founder Christine Vachon is hoping to turn last Monday’s inaugural Farmer’s Appreciation Night into an annual event.
Around 250 people packed the Westlock and District Community Hall Jan. 21 to hear a series of guest speakers and receive a pat on the back for all the support they’ve given to the Soul Sisters over the last five years.
Vachon reflected back on her days growing up on the Dul farm near Fawcett and the hard work of her grandparents, parents, and her siblings.
“Both sets of grandparents were hard-working, modest, and lived a relatively simple life. One thing stands out in my mind, and that’s how they were always ready and willing to help their neighbours with clearing land, harvesting, constructing homes and barns. And more often than not, it was done with no expectation of being paid, although perhaps some trading took place,” she said.
“I want that feeling of good will to take precedence tonight and remind you that you are the neighbours that have helped the Soul Sisters Memorial Foundation for the last five years. Your financial and auction donations have set the pace for our growth and sustainability and for that, we are very grateful.”
Vachon notes that Soul Sisters offers grief counselling, crisis intervention, and have hosted over 40 free workshops since 2014 relative to mental health and suicide prevention. They’ve also been able to make some very large donations to very worthy charities and could not have done that without the support of the community.
“We realize the last three years have been challenging for our farming community. Beside the uncertainty of the economy, Mother Nature’s been extremely unpredictable, and a lot of last year’s crops are spending the winter covered in snow. We want to show our support and appreciation to each of you by making sure you have an enjoyable evening with your family, friends, and neighbours tonight.”
The night’s first speaker for the evening was Shawn Brook, president of Issues Inc., which is the publisher of Seed World, Germination and Alberta Seed Guide.
Brook, who grew up on a farm east of Winnipeg, has utilized his 20-plus years of management experience across multiple private and public sector industries to help share the ag communications landscape.
His topic for the evening was leadership. Some of the concepts he felt were important to being a leader focused on clarity, attitude and consistency.
“I am not here to tell you folks how to be leaders,” he noted, because those in attendance were obviously leaders in the community.
The night’s second speaker of the evening was Gerry Friesen, a stress expert and motivational speaker. Friesen grew up on a farm near Wawanesa in southwest Manitoba, where he farmed for a time with his brother, raising hogs.
Friesen took the audience on his journey of stress, depression and anxiety, and how he still has to manage those issues in his life today.
Towards the end of his presentation, he said we should become familiar with support systems in our area – stress lines, mental health professionals, support groups crisis and/or suicide lines, and clergy/church groups.
MC for the evening was Jackie Rae Greening, program director for CFCW, where she has worked for the past 30 years.
In the time between the two speakers, Rose Bibby shared some of her cowboy poetry. She is well known locally for her roles both on and off stage in theatre productions in Westlock and area for many years, as well as her poetry.
The next Soul Sisters event will be held Feb. 22 at the Westlock and District Community Hall. The topic is “Tackling Mental Health” with former Edmonton Eskimo player Gizmo Williams and special guests.
This is a mature theme event, age 15 and up. There will be a cash bar and pizza, and all attending are invited to wear their favorite football jersey.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $40 and available online at Eventbrite, or at The Flower Shoppe on Main Street or call Christine at 780-349-1178 for more information.
