The Estevan United Way campaign for 2013 got another $10,299 richer last week when corporate officers of Ensign Canada Drilling appeared with a big cheque in the amount of over $117,000 to be shared among various agencies.
Ensign, with a major field office in Oxbow raised cash for a new swimming pool in that community through a fundraising kickoff barbecue, which, when matched by head office, amounted to $93,750, which will be deducted from the total amount shown for the UW.
Rig hands raised $23,418 in a money-raising competition and of that amount, determined that the nearly $10,300 should be directed toward the Estevan and district UW while another $13,119 was to go to other UW campaigns or other charitable organizations.
The donation lifted the 2013 fundraising total for the local United Way campaign to just over $370,000 said UW volunteer Lynn Trobert.
"It was a community thing, Ensign wanted to jump on board," said Rick Mann, Ensign's operations manager for Saskatchewan who was joined by Darryl Master, vice-president of operations for Ensign Canada Drilling who delivered the cheque to UW president Dawn Schell and UW allocations chairwoman, Elizabeth Pinel.
"We have 21 rigs available in southeast Saskatchewan and when the employees decided they should get involved, they got involved," said Mann with a laugh.
