OUTLOOK - It's been a year of exposure and discovery for the Outlook-Rudy FireFlies.
The support and awareness group, comprised of spouses of local firefighters from Outlook-Rudy Fire & Rescue, formed in the summer of 2023 and have been working in the community to accomplish a number of things, whether it's spreading the word about upcoming fundraising events for supporting the new fire hall, visiting local schools to talk to kids about what both they and firefighters do, or creating cool projects like their newest calendar, which is in the midst of being launched and can be purchased from any of the FireFlies.
The group, consisting of Rachel Sillers, Wendy Ball, Judy King, Sara King, Laura Jones, Destiny Lockhart, Sonya Bowey, Cassie Bowey, Debbie Ferguson, and Jenna Hope, wants to do all they can to be there for local firefighters and provide that vital support that has never been more needed in this day and age.
Sitting down to talk about the group's first year and what's coming up next on the horizon were Rachel, Wendy and Judy, who met with this reporter on Friday, December 6 at the current Outlook fire hall to talk about the new calendar and what's been an interesting time as the spouses of local firemen.
Not only was the formation of the FireFlies a result of the desire to help out their spouses with support and contributions, it was also because of the community's need for a new fire hall.
"I think we started talking and discussing, and we knew that the department needed a new hall," said Rachel. "It seemed like the perfect time to organize to demonstrate what they do within the community, and not just the financial side but also the community engagement side."
The creation of such a group was a welcome one from the side of local firefighters, as the idea of the FireFlies was perceived quite well.
"We could take some of the organizing off their hands and they could enjoy doing the things they enjoy doing, which isn't necessarily the organizing, but the showing up," said Rachel.
"I think we all understood the need for a new hall and that it was going to be a lot of work to accomplish, and we all sort of saw our roles to help make that a reality for them," said Wendy.
"I think it was about filling in that gap for them and showing that we could help," said Judy.
"And giving it a name and making it more formal gave us a lot more opportunity because now we had a name and we had a group, so then there were avenues to explore partnerships in a more formal way, which has been great," Rachel added.
Formed in the summer of 2023, the past year has really flown by for the group. Keeping busy has made the time pass quickly, especially when their calendar became full with all sorts of events and activities. Trade shows, school appearances, quilt raffles, suppers at the Heritage Centre, the Co-op's Fuel Good Day, the Prairie Festival weekend in town, events at the Kinsmen Park, and the Canada Day Kids Carnival; these are just a sturdy handful of the things that the FireFlies undertook over the past twelve months and change.
To the ladies, it doesn't feel like a full calendar year and then some has come to pass.
"No, because it's just been a lot of fun," said Judy. "It's just been great community support."
"The year has gone by so fast," said Rachel. "We've been to so many places and we've had a lot of opportunity to partner with different groups and different businesses, and we've made a lot of connections."
"We wouldn't be able to accomplish all of our endeavors without friends of the FireFlies," said Wendy. "We have a dedicated group of people who, if we need them to show up, they will."
"I think it's fair to say that we knew those people were there before, but now that we've formalized over this last year, maybe we didn't know how many supporters were out there," said Rachel. "Now that we're working towards this big goal of a new fire hall, there's even more than we thought, which is awesome."
With such a substantial list of events and activities undertaken in the past year, there were many things that proved memorable for the FireFlies group. Getting out in the community and being with the people who are already friends and neighbours, but doing it as a group with a common goal has been a blast for all of the ladies.
"I would say definitely our Canada Day kids carnival," said Wendy, on what stood out to her in the past year. "We had a ton of great feedback from the community on that."
"We had a lot of fun doing it and it was a great day for everybody," added Rachel.
"I loved when we delivered meals from our annual barbecue in September," said Judy. "We rallied the troops and we delivered meals to people, and it was awesome!"
The formation of the FireFlies has brought a number of the ladies closer together, seeing how the mindset of the group - supporting firefighters and raising funds for a new hall - was a shared one among all of them.
"I feel like I didn't know all of them, but I know them better than I did a year ago," said Rachel. "And now, it's just a better group of friends that we all have with a common interest. It's just great."
Such a group comprised of firefighter spouses is an interesting premise; one that's really only being done in Outlook, at least from an official standpoint. Still, the ladies know that spouses in other communities are still working hard behind the scenes to help make day-to-day operations a little smoother for local firefighters elsewhere. In that sense, it's a shared commonality among all that binds them all together.
"No one has really approached us officially about anything," said Wendy. "When Randy and I lived in Langham, we did have a Ladies Auxiliary group and it was our jobs as wives to make sure their trucks had snacks and water and things like that in case they had to go to a call with children. That group wasn't so much about the fundraising aspect, it was more about supporting them in the things they couldn't accomplish in their day-to-day routines. I definitely think it's a great idea for us to reach out to some other communities and let them know about how our efforts, by creating a ladies group, has helped our fire department. To be able to show them that a little bit of work goes a long way in terms of monetary value and public awareness, that's our main goal. We're here if they need us."
Excitement is building week to week for Outlook's new fire hall, which continues to raise impressive funds and has already eclipsed the 75% mark for fundraising. The ladies are just as excited and say that building it with community donations makes the project all the more special.
"We're getting closer every day to the goal, and we're seeing the ground being broken in the spring," said Wendy. "It'll be great for it to be out there and for people to see it and go, 'Oh, this is really happening!'"
"People are excited that the community is building it with donations, too," said Rachel. "It's not just a way to build a debt-free fire hall, but it creates ownership and lifts the department up to say that the community has their back."
The FireFlies have actually been able to make their first official donation to the new fire hall campaign this month.
"We gave a $5,000 donation; the first of many, we hope," said Wendy. "We had a very successful year, and that hall is the whole reason why we're doing this. We couldn't have done this without the community, for sure."
With a sizable donation of their own, the campaign to raise funds for Outlook's new fire hall continues, and the FireFlies have a new 2025 firefighter calendar for sale of which all the proceeds will benefit the new hall. Sponsored by Strike Group, the ladies say the calendar is all about brotherhood and community, and they're available for $25.00 from any of the FireFlies or local firefighters. Last year's print run of 220 calendars sold out, and 50 have already been spoken for in this year's edition, so people better make a run for them if they hope to snag one for the holidays.
Also in the works for the new year is a revival of the annual fire department golf tournament, which is currently scheduled for August, and the FireFlies are also partnering with Living Sky Refrigeration and SaskEnergy to do a raffle for a natural gas grill, including installation.
Judy says it's the reaching out to people that has stayed with her over the past year. By appearing at local schools, over 800 youth were educated on what the FireFlies do in the community during Fire Prevention Week. If they've managed to reach just one person, no matter the age, then the group has accomplished its goal.
"It's very interesting to hear the feedback from the kids and the parents how it's discussed at home," said Judy. "If we've helped one person, we've done our job!"
