ESTEVAN - Geoff Thiessen says his family has been calling Estevan home for over 10 years, and ever since they left the community a couple of years ago, they were hoping to eventually come back to the Energy City. The opportunity didn't make them wait too long.
Const. Thiessen was sworn in as the Estevan Police Service's newest member on May 1, taking over for the EPS' soon-retiring Const. Lana Gropp. While this is a new page in Thiessen's life and career, neither the role of a first responder in general, nor policing in particular, are new to him.
"Policing has always been a passion of mine ever since I can remember as a small kid, and I joined the military when I was old enough to go," Thiessen shared in an interview with the Mercury. "I served 11 years in the military, and during my career in the military, I remastered into military police, because policing has always been a passion. I've always had a real desire to serve the community, liked to be with people and serve in that manner. So, it was a natural transition when I was in the army to remaster into military police."
After retiring from the military, he moved to Estevan at the beginning of 2012 and joined the Estevan Church of God as their new pastor – the role he maintained for almost 10 years. At some point, Thiessen also joined the Estevan Fire Rescue Service and was a part of the department for over three years, until his family moved to Manitoba for a new career opportunity.
"Policing was still a passion and a desire. And I felt that I was young enough yet that I could still probably pursue that at some point. And then the circumstances worked together, and I was able to get back into policing again, that took us to Manitoba, where we spent two years," Thiessen said. "I was policing in Manitoba, and then an opportunity came up and that was a natural progression to see if that was a possibility for me to come back. So, we're very delighted and happy with that opportunity to be able to come back here and serve on the EPS."
Theissen grew up in Warman. While in the Canadian Armed Forces, he graduated from their Military Police Academy. His military police background qualified him to get employed in Saskatchewan’s neighbouring province and then, once an opportunity came up, transition back to Saskatchewan. He said it took them several months to transfer and get ready, but it definitely was something his family was looking forward to.
"My desire was always to come back to Estevan if an opportunity would arise. We've always felt that Estevan was home. Our kids are here, and grandkids. We love the community and were always involved in the community since 2012 … So, if there was going to be a move in the future, I definitely was hoping I could end up coming back to Estevan at some point. And I'm so glad how it worked out," Thiessen shared.
"It was pretty much a transition [from one province to another]. I was fresh from Manitoba, I've been policing for two years there. There's a little bit of transition to some differences in the Highway Traffic Act and stuff like that. Criminal Code is all the same across the board. So, there's some getting used to how Saskatchewan does things as opposed to Manitoba. But I think it's a pretty good and natural progression."
The public will see the new constable out in the community and on patrols and serving the people of Estevan. He said he will continue learning, developing, improving and growing through his career, and hopes to keep being involved with the community.
"It's great to be back. It feels like we are coming home, and it's great to be a part of our families here. Not only that, but we've had a lot of roots in the community over the years. We're really privileged to be back and looking forward to the road ahead."
