Moment with the Mayor: Sask Business Magazine

Hi Everyone:

Kindersley is featured on the cover of the province-wide magazine Sask Business. The Town was profiled at length, as was Jem-Creative Web Solutions. A number of local businesses were also featured, highlighting Kindersley’s strong family values and entrepreneurial ethic. Among them:

·         Staples Apparel,

·         Lela's Music Centre

·         The Bean,

·         Saskatchewan Pension Plan, and

·         Kraz-E Threads

Through research and discussion of the many projects underway in Kindersley, the Sask Business feature provides a positive impression of our community as we grow and face the expected challenges that come with growth. As readers of the magazine will see, much has been accomplished, and we are continuing to move forward.

We have a lot to be proud of, and yet there are times when we can be quite critical of our community. Why is that?

Have you seen the Dove video in which a forensic artist draws portraits of women as they describe themselves and then does another portrait based on a description provided by someone who the woman just met? The result was astounding: the women's self-perception was much worse than the way others saw her. We often don’t see the beauty in ourselves, and that is unfortunate; we all need to look at ourselves and recognize the good and the bad – sober self-judgment.

Communities are the same. We can have a tendency to be very self-critical, often only seeing the barriers and challenges in our community, rather than what we are doing well. Our self-perception is much worse than the way others see us. Yes, we have challenges but, you know, there is a lot of good stuff going on in Kindersley, and it is good for us to see the good others see in us.

When I look at Kindersley and reflect upon her, I see challenges such as health and infrastructure. But I also see a Kindersley that is a good community, filled with good people, good organizations, good businesses, and a will to succeed. That is what I see and it is very good that Sask Business Magazine sees it as well. It has helped me get a more sober understanding of who we are as a community.

On another note: the Kindersley Health Services Needs Assessment started and regular updates will be provided. The first meeting of the Steering Committee gives me optimism.

Please write or phone if you would like me to discuss a particular topic. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at the town office or email me at mayorenns-wind@kindersley.ca. You can also check out my blog at http://mayorjohn.blogspot.ca/. I appreciate your feedback.