Conversations with former board chairs
2016 marks Ranch Ehrlo Society’s 50th anniversary. In that time, we’ve had over 15 people fill the position of chair of the Ranch board of directors. As we gear up for our 50th anniversary celebrations in September, we caught up with a few of those people to get their perspective on the Ranch’s past and some of the organization’s biggest accomplishments.
We asked three past chairs - What is one of your proudest accomplishments from your time as chair of Ranch Ehrlo Society board of directors?
Frank Flegel, board chair 1993 – 95
A: Probably when we created Ehrlo Community Services. I don’t know whether Geoff (Pawson) brought it to the board or whether it was a board initiative but I remember the meeting. It was at the Centre of the Arts, and the proposal was to name this new body “Ranch Ehrlo Services.” The short form, or the acronym, would be RES. One of the board members was First Nations and he objected quite strenuously to the term. And there was a little bit of discussion about it and I remember standing up and saying, ‘I can appreciate why he doesn’t want it because “res” is short for “reservation”. So we changed the suggested name to Ehrlo Community Services. The motion was passed to create it, and that was what it was called – Ehrlo Community Services.
Donna Welke, chairperson 2008 – 2009
A: Being a part of of the strategic planning sessions that the management and Geoff (Pawson) held with the youth care workers in Buckland, Corman Park, and Regina campuses. They held about thirteen of these, over a period of a year, and I was able to attend all of them. I had an opportunity to get to know an in-depth working of the Ranch in a way that a lot of other past chairs didn’t get the opportunity to do; and to get to know the staff and the way in which they worked.
The meetings were regarding the role of the youth care workers; they were working on areas that they would like to see done differently and on goals; these meetings were an integral part of the decision making and planning of the Ranch in a “go forward” way. Geoff and the management had made a commitment that when this process was through, they would implement the changes – it wasn’t just a keep busy exercise, it was a genuine strategic planning for the next five years of the Ranch. It was very significant so I was proud to be a part of that.
Cyril Keston, chairperson 2013 – 2015
A: Finding Andrea (Brittin). We were in a period of transition after Geoff died. It was fabulous working with Marion MacIver and with Linda Meyer, but we knew that we needed someone permanent and established. There was a fabulous field of people that applied for that job, and Andrea was offered the job, took the job, and in the last year or so has proven that she was a very good selection. So I’m kind of proud of that. That was ensuring that there was stability in the agency, that there would be continuity, and that we would keep on doing the excellent work that we do.
We will be celebrating Ranch Ehrlo Society’s 50th anniversary on September 29th at the Queensbury Convention Centre in Regina. Guest speaker, renowned author Jeannette Walls, is sure to enthrall listeners with her captivating story of resilience. You won’t want to miss out! Tickets are on-sale soon. More details about the event can be found here.
