Trades tournament huge success

Parkland College is grateful to accept a cheque for $25,000 in support of the Trades and Technology Centre in Yorkton. The money was raised at the Parkland Trades Open golf tournament in August. The first annual golf event was created by a group of local business owners and tradespeople.

“We wanted to do something to give back to the Trades and Technology Centre on behalf of the trades,” said Chris Wyatt, a member of the Parkland Trades Open organizing committee. “A golf tournament is always a good way to get people together.”

Wyatt said about 20 teams registered for the inaugural event. Thanks to their generosity and the support of local businesses, the tournament was a success.

The organizing committee included Evan Johnson and Justin Yawney of Yorkton Plumbing & Heating, Marty Sveinbjornson from SveinCo Developments, Dustin Nehring of NL Construction, and Brian Hilderman and Colin Hrywkiw from R H Electric.

“Working together, we had a really good tournament,” Wyatt said. “It’s a good committee to work with. It brought together a lot of people that normally don’t get together. Everyone had a great day and a lot of money was raised.”

The organizers thanked John Bueckert of Mark’s Work Wearhouse in Yorkton for being the naming sponsor for the 2014 event. Wyatt said Bueckert has already committed Mark’s for 2015.

“That’s a huge start for a tournament,” Wyatt noted. “When you get a naming sponsor putting up $10,000, it’s great.”

Wyatt also thanked Good Spirit Air Service, R H Electric, Premier Cabinets, and Wagner’s Flooring for their contributions to the event.

The second annual Parkland Trades Open is tentatively scheduled for August 15, 2015 in Yorkton. Wyatt said organizers are aiming to sign up 36 teams and raise even more money in support of the College’s new facility.

“We are happy that this new golf tournament was such a successful event,” said Parkland College President Dr. Fay Myers. “We’ve been saying during this campaign that colleges build communities and communities build colleges, and this is further proof of that support.”

The Trades and Technology Centre is currently under construction along Highway 9 in Yorkton. The facility will provide the space to train more than 350 skilled graduates per year and upgrade the skills of 2,000 workers annually in a variety of fields that are experiencing a labour shortage throughout the province, such as mechanics, power engineering, and welding.

Backed by a $10 million investment from the Government of Saskatchewan and capital campaign support from dozens of community groups and businesses, Parkland College is moving quickly to build the Trades and Technology Centre. The facility is scheduled to be complete in May 2015 and will open for classes in September 2015.