The Weyburn Wor-Kin Shop held their annual general meeting on Monday evening, with a general theme of growth and progress forward.
The meeting opened with the chairperson's report from Lloyd Montgomery, who says their organization’s focus is on providing the best life possible for those that they serve, which is improved through their partnerships with the Group Home Society, and the Ministry of Social Services, both of which had representatives present.
This focus is also centered on their person-centered approach.
“Our person-centered approach, which I didn't know if it was going to work when I first heard of it many years ago, but it has worked very, very well, and now we're going more towards a model where the people working in our vocational center and so forth are getting real pay for real work. This is, I think, a giant leap forward in what we're doing as an organization.”
He expressed his confidence in another exceptional year for the organization, before turning the meeting over to Executive Director Jeff Richards, who began by sharing the comeback of the Harvest Pie Company, after experiencing a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It seems to be back on track, and that's an important thing. It stalled out a little bit during COVID, like a lot of businesses did, but it didn't pick up coming out of COVID. We hoped it would, but it seems like it is picking up now. So that's really good news to see it kind of back on track.”
Richards moved on to discuss an important investment in their Vocational Training Centre (VTC), the purchase of a new truck. He describes the importance of keeping up to date in prioritizing this important branch of their operation.
He then goes on to note the tangible growth the Wor-Kin Shop has documented in the past fiscal year. Beginning with their lunch program, which saw an increase of 400 participant lunches, bringing the total number of lunches served in the year to 6,728.
A new addition to the Harvest Pie Company also saw some traction, over 500 jars of their new haskap berry spread were sold in the past year.
They also saw an increase in pallet sales, with 1000 more pallets sold than the previous year.
Richards also touches on their partnership with the Group Home Society, saying it’s an important part of their focus on keeping families together.
“Some of these individuals wouldn't be able to stay in the same town as their mom and dad... so that is a valuable, valuable partnership that we have.”
He concludes by acknowledging three things he attributes to the strength of the organization, the support of their funders, the direction provided by the board, and the diligence of the staff.
After an overview of financial reports for the year, the meeting progressed to the presentation of a service award to Ryan Rawn for ten years of service.
Richards presented the award saying “Ryan's dedication to people we serve is a model that we use. We talk about it all the time. He has got a way with participants that is hard to describe, and we're lucky to have him here.”
Two individuals with the Wor-Kin Shop were also presented with certifications for completing STRIVE training through Sask Polytechnic. This program provides skills to direct support professionals in promoting choice, independence, and quality of life for the people they support. Stephen White and Melissa Toporowski completed this training in March of this year.
The meeting concluded with the presentation of a donation from the Rotary Club.