“We were a little concerned about the volunteer pick up numbers about four months ago, but that was quickly addressed by the community.
“I believe a lot of people around Saskatchewan will have a different perspective of Estevan now, especially those who had never visited here before. Estevan is much more than a steel-toed boot and hard hat city. This is a very impressive and beautiful community and there was no problem that Estevan couldn’t handle with regards to the Games.
“On an overall assessment, I would say Estevan has put on one of the more impressive provincial Games ever and I’ve been to every one of them since 1976. I guess I was just too young for the first Games in 1972. I’ve been involved in some administrative role at every one and I have to say in all honesty, this is one of the most impressive Games I have attended. The hospitality was immense.”
Lorne Lasuita, Provincial Games Consultant for the Saskatchewan Games Council, speaking with the Mercury at the volleyball gold medal games, the last athletic events scheduled for the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games.
“We managed to fill in where things or people were needed. I believe we will provide an even better template and workbook for the next host community, than what was given to us. That’s not being critical of the previous Games organizers in Meadow Lake or Prince Albert, it’s just that our team has included a lot more detail. We’ll be able to give the next community a pretty accurate budget assessment as well as a good volunteer and scheduling plan. I think we can hand off a pretty decent book,”
Brian Senchuk, co-chairman Saskatchewan Summer Games in Estevan.
“How many people do we need to thank?
“I was happy to see how smoothly things went.
“I don’t think Brian and I ever got really frustrated or angry. Except maybe for those continual arguments we always had. And, of course, I’m joking. I don’t think we ever had a big disagreement over anything. Our thanks to everyone for making the Games so successful,”
Brian Smith, co-chairman Saskatchewan Summer Games in Estevan.
Those comments were obviously welcomed by the community of Estevan. There were hundreds of volunteers spread throughout the city for six to seven days straight, doing their best to make the Estevan and the Summer Games experience the best for visitors and for local spectators alike. It was more than a team effort … it was a community effort.
There will be some considerations to be made regarding the use of any “legacy dollars” left over from the Games. At first there was the suggestion that besides the upgraded facilities and fields, the Energy City might be able to claim about $60,000 from the total $3.4 million Games. That discussion will be held in good time.
The template is there to hand over to the next host city. That’s another positive.
There was a renewing of our city’s volunteer and leadership base. That’s a good thing.
We have hundreds of volunteers in our midst who are happy to serve as unsung contributors to the common cause. We found them at the gates, dormitories, kitchens, fields and security gates all over the city. That’s a positive thing we can lodge in our memory banks.
We have coaches and officials, locally and provincially who can be thanked and who probably won’t hesitate to return when needed because they were treated fairly and decently while in our city.
In other words, we have rebuilt our base for the city thanks to the Saskatchewan Summer Games. That’s a really good thing.
