TISDALE — Four communities around Tisdale are partnering together to hire a full-time regional recreation staff member.
The Town of Tisdale, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation, RM of Tisdale and RM of Connaught was one of two applicants selected in the province as part of the initial intake for the Regional Recreation Practitioner Pilot Program offered by the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association (SPRA).
Lesley Thibault, Director of Recreation and Parks for the Town of Tisdale, said that this new position will be able to put more emphasis on revitalizing the scope of recreation by creating inclusive opportunities while engaging citizens from all demographics to participate in programs and activities for the betterment of one’s intellectual, physical and social well-being.
“The hired individual will also be available to serve as a liaison to our community groups and organizations within our partnership area. Even though this individual’s focus would be on components of recreation, they will also have involvement in duties related to facility operations and management,” she said.
“The Town of Tisdale currently employs a Recreation and Parks Director, however this position’s primary role is focused on managing the operation of facilities and green space even though they also implement and deliver an array of recreation-oriented programs and activities in our community.”
Clint McConnell, field consultant for SPRA, said regional collaboration was a key component for this program. The application had to come from a partnership that included at least one rural municipality, urban municipality or First Nation. The other two (minimum) partners could be one of the organizations listed or another stakeholder that was a part of the regional recreation delivery system.
Thibault said creating a position for a Recreation Practitioner Programmer that represents the Town of Tisdale and its three partnering areas (RM of Tisdale, RM of Connaught and Kinistin Saulteaux Nation) would give them a leveraged ability to deliver new programs and activities and strengthen our current recreation opportunities within the region.
“A goal-orientated and creative recreation practitioner focusing predominantly on promoting community involvement would assist in filling the void in the recreation activity areas we are lacking in,” she said.
The deadline to apply for this position is May 19. Those interested can contact Thibault for more information. This position would have an office in the Town of Tisdale and would work closely with the parks and recreation staff.
SPRA said is excited to have the Service Area that includes the Town of Tisdale, Kinistin First Nation and the RMs of Tisdale and Connaught in this program.
“Through the application, it was clear that this position was going to be a new position and be responsible for some aspects of the recreation delivery system within the Service Area that have not been addressed within the staff structure before, bringing in new programming and offering support to volunteers in the area.”
McConnell said the model proposed in the application is a model that other larger Saskatchewan towns or smaller Saskatchewan cities will be able to learn from if they are looking to complement their existing staff structure. SPRA will be using the experiences that Tisdale gains to document best practices and share those in the province.
The other service area that received the Regional Recreation Practitioner Pilot Program funding was the Town of Ogema, Ogema Regional Park Authority and the RM of Key West in southern Saskatchewan.
The data and best practices learned from this Service Area will give SPRA two diverse situations to learn from when looking at the size, population and partners involved in these two applications. The SPRA funding provides $25,000 per year for two years.
