麻豆视频

It was a quiet Thursday afternoon at my parents鈥� new place in Aldergrove, B.C. I was waiting for a pal from university to meet me so we could enjoy a couple of pints of one of Aldergrove鈥檚 fine establishments.

That鈥檚 when the text message came in from my boss at the Mercury, Deanna Tarnes, about wanting to do a FaceTime chat. Considering I鈥檝e done three Facetime conversations, and they all stemmed from being pocket-dialled (never by Deanna), I thought it was strange. Against my better judgement, I proceeded with the FaceTime call.

A 鈥渄ifferent person鈥� (Deanna鈥檚 words, not mine) was at the office to talk to me about a recent editorial I wrote.

It turned out that this person was the new provincial travelling tourism ambassador, Leah Mertz, a.k.a. the Saskatchewanderer, and she was in our office. And not only was she there, she was making Estevan her first stop for the 2020 tour, and the Mercury 鈥� Estevan鈥檚 oldest business 鈥� was her first official stop.

Not many businesses can say that. In fact, given there have only been 10 Saskatchewanderers, there would be just 10 businesses that could make that claim.

Before I went on holidays earlier this month, I wrote an editorial for 麻豆视频east Lifestyles, explaining my support for the Saskatchewanderer program, but also inviting her to Estevan. After all, this area has some great events and attractions that deserve provincial attention and recognition. So I hoped that she might see the editorial, take note of the events and come down for a visit during the spring or summer, at which time she鈥檇 promote our community, get to know some of the great attractions and people here, and discuss it all for a story.

As it turns out, she did see the editorial, and decided that Estevan would be a great first stop for 2020. Chalk one up for the power of the press, and our website, www.estevanmercury.ca.

But I never expected there would be such immediate dividends.

Ms. Mertz visited some of Estevan鈥檚 great businesses and restaurants. She saw such attractions as the Estevan Soldier鈥檚 Tree monument, carved by the talented Darren Jones, which should be a tremendous source of pride for all of us. She went cross-country skiing on the Souris River. And she visited the pierced rock formations near Roche Percee.

It just goes to show there鈥檚 a lot to do around here during the winter months, even when we don鈥檛 have enough snow for snowmobiles. You can do something besides going to the local rinks for curling and hockey games, and we do have better things to do than just sit inside and wait for spring.

Her visit was great for us, in part, because the Saskatchewanderer has a pretty large reach through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on social media. Nearly 8,000 people saw the video of the ambush that she pulled on me (with help from Deanna and Mercury reporter Anastasiia Bykhovskaia). A lot watched her video as she enjoyed pizza from the Tower Caf茅.

I don鈥檛 know if people from outside the southeast area will stop in at a couple of the places she visited while passing through Estevan, or if they鈥檒l make a quick visit to the Soldier鈥檚 Tree to see this truly remarkable monument. If we do get some form of added spinoff, then my editorial inviting her here is the best editorial I鈥檒l write in 2020.

If nothing else, that editorial helped bring a talented person to the community to promote our region and people. So it's still the best editorial I'll write this year.

Truth be told, I wrote a similar editorial more than a year earlier, but we never got a visit from the 2019 鈥榃anderer. Truth be told part 2: the editorial was somewhat self-serving, as the 2020 Estevan Visitor鈥檚 Guide was in that week鈥檚 Lifestyles for our rural readers. Yes, the Saskatchewanderer did grab a copy of the guide.

I said it two weeks ago, and I鈥檒l say it again: the Saskatchewanderer program is a great initiative for this province. Obviously, it鈥檚 not for everyone: you have to be outgoing, hard-working, and willing to travel constantly. You also have to have a strong grasp of social media and promotion.

It might seem like a lot of fun, and I鈥檓 sure it is. If I was (a lot) younger, I might have applied for it. But I鈥檓 sure each 鈥榃anderer has had those days in which that person would much rather relax in peaceful isolation, than go to another community event and smile and shake hands with the public.

But it鈥檚 still a great program that shows off so much of what this province has to offer. I鈥檝e learned about attractions that I didn鈥檛 know about before, I鈥檝e learned more about other sites I knew previously, and there have been times in which I鈥檝e said 鈥測eah, I鈥檝e been there, and it鈥檚 great.鈥�

This year鈥檚 Saskatchewanderer hopes to make it back to Estevan this summer, when it will be warmer, nicer and there will be all sorts of fun activities for her to enjoy.

Just hopefully when the 鈥榃anderer makes it back, I鈥檓 not on vacation.

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