The metal silhouettes of Melville, Saskatchewan

As publishers of Prairie books, we've visited many communities in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba. This weekend, we were in Melville, Saskatchewan at a trade show hosted by the Melville Chamber of Commerce.

Melville is a 90-minute drive northwest of Regina and about half an hour south of Yorkton. We enjoyed the small-town feel of this city and the friendly people here.

One of the unique features of Melville is its metal silhouettes, produced by local welders. 

There are more than 30 metal statues placed throughout the city. We took photos of a few of them.

This silhouette stands in front of St. Henry's Church. I spoke to students at St. Henry's Jr. Elementary School on Friday afternoon, before the trade show started. The students were attentive and had many questions about my writing, our publishing company and specific books we've published.

This silhouette announces the Kung Fu studio.

This one stands at attention in front of the RCMP building.

This silhouette commemorates E.J. Motter, the first tradesman to set up shop in Melville. His plumbing firm was owned by the family from 1980 to 1978. 

You can't have statues - or silhouettes in this case - in a Prairie town without giving a nod to farming. This farmer is looking up to the sky for weather signs, for a better future. The silhouette is surrounded by historic wagon wheels, a walking plow, rock and native plants.

Our trade show was held at the Merv Moore Sportsplex. These skaters hold their places outside the building. 

Here are some friendly folks from the Melville Chamber of Commerce.

We had a great weekend in Melville. If you're ever in east central Saskatchewan, we highly recommend that you stop in this friendly city.

Celebrating Saskatchewan's 10-time Paralympian Colette Bourgonje

One of the most amazing events I've ever experienced was the 2010 Paralympic Games in Whistler, British Columbia. I was privileged to be there with Saskatoon author Mary Harelkin Bishop and some of her family as we cheered for Saskatchewan cross country sit-skier Colette Bourgonje, who was competing in her ninth Paralympic Games... AND... we launched Mary's book Moving Forward: The Journey of Paralympian Colette Bourgonje at the Saskatchewan Pavilion during the Games! What an exceptionally wonderful weekend!

Colette won two medals at those Games and was awarded the gold medal for the woman who most personifies the spirit of the Paralympic Games. What we didn't know then was that Colette was not yet done competing at the Olympic level. She is in Russia right now - to compete in her tenth Paralympic Games at Sochi 2014! We couldn't be more excited for her - but more about that later.

Colette was born in Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan, and was an accomplished athlete in several sports as a teenager. In 1980, just before her graduation from high school, Colette lost the use of her legs in a car accident. She quickly had to rethink her desire to become a phys ed teacher and athlete. The accident slowed her down for only a few days. She went on to become the first disabled student to graduate from the University of Saskatchewan and the first female student in a wheelchair to graduate in Physical Education from a Canadian university. She began competing internationally within 10 years and competed in her first Paralympic Games in 1992.

Paralympians are remarkable. They're talented, amazing, inspiring athletes who have overcome much - including their various disabilities. Here are some photos of my trip to the 2010 Paralympic Games. I hope you can catch some of the spirit that fills the Games.

The inukshuk welcomed us to Whistler, north of Vancouver, B.C., where the skiing events were held.

This plaque below the International Paralympic Committee symbol explains that the three symbols mean 'I move', with the centre point representing the IPC's role in bringing athletes together from across the world. 

Author Mary Harelkin Bishop (right) and I posed with the sign leading to the cross country ski venue. We were slightly disappointed to see 'Vancouver 2010' and 'Olympic' signs at the Whistler venue for the Paralympics, but we understood the costs involved in changing it all for the Paralympic Games. More than 2,500 athletes competed in the 2010 Olympics while about 600 athletes competed in the 2010 Paralympics.

The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome, Italy in 1960 and featured 400 athletes from 23 countries. In 1976, Örnsköldsvik, Sweden staged the first Paralympic Winter Games. The Games are now the second biggest sporting event in the world. 

                                                                            - History of the Paralympic Movement

Shortly before we arrived in Whistler, Colette's name went into the history books as the first-ever Canadian to win a Paralympic medal on home snow after she won the silver medal in the women's 10-kilometre sit-ski race. We were very excited for her and pleased that we would soon be watching her compete in a 5-kilometre event and a relay.

When we arrived at the cross country site, Mary and I happily noticed the flags of all the different countries.

We did our best to 'represent' our country. Go, Canada!

Go, Colette! (Which is what our shirts said.)

Between the members of Colette's family (on the left standing below me and Mary) and Mary's family (everybody else in the photo), there was no confusion as to who these Canadians were supporting.

I will never forget being in those stands and seeing people from so many other countries. To our right and directly behind us, we met people from Japan, China, Italy and the United States. 

In front of us and to our left, we could reach out and touch people from Germany, Finland, Russia and more. It was quite overwhelming.

The skiers began their races in front of us, then went up the track to our right, turned and continued over the hills in front of us, then proceeded along the track into the trees to our left. Their progress was shown periodically on the giant screen, then finished their races in front of us again.

Colette is in the forefront here, heading to the right while warming up for a race.

I will never forget the feeling of joy and celebration that went through the stands every single time an athlete came to the finish line. The entire crowd stood up and cheered for every athlete - no matter whether they were the winner of the race or so far behind that everyone had to wait an few extra minutes for them to finish the race. The cheers and clapping were equally loud.

I watched in awe as athletes with only one leg crossed the finish line. Some had artificial legs. Some had no arms or only one arm. The big screen showed our hero Colette fall over on her sit-ski partway through the race. Somehow, this strong, courageous woman righted herself and, at age 48, still came in third in the 5-kilometre race - competing with athletes who were half her age. We couldn't believe our eyes.

I can barely stand up on cross country skis, and these Paralympians were defying the odds and working past so many barriers - perceived and real - to achieve such greatness. Talk about inspiring.

Colette and the other two medallists for the 5-km race received flowers and recognition at the site, then were given their medals at an evening ceremony (below).

The medals were presented, then we turned around to see the flags being raised.

A big screen captured the 5-km medallists for all to see. What a great image of Colette - on the left.

The next day, Mary Harelkin Bishop signed Moving Forward books at a Whistler bookstore.

Then we headed to the Saskatchewan Pavilion for an evening launch.

We were pretty excited to not only have two real-life Royal Canadian Mounted Police pose with us, but their stoic (wooden) counterpart as well. Many jokes were made about this stiff recruit, but none are appropriate to mention here. Seriously, though - did you know that every RCMP officer takes his or her training at the RCMP training centre in Regina, Saskatchewan? Yes, we're very proud of that fact.

The gracious RCMP officers also posed with Mary and Colette.

Colette and Mary then signed Moving Forward books, including this one for Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan's then-minister of Minister of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport.

 Mary (centre) and members of Colette's family listened as it was announced that Colette had just been named the female recipient of the 2010 Dr. Whang Youn Dai Award for the female who best embodies the spirit of the Paralympic Games.

Colette Bourgonje believes in sharing her love of sport, her desire to help others get physically active, and her rewards for doing so herself - including her Paralympic medals. Here, I was privileged to wear her bronze medal for a few moments while Mary Harelkin Bishop enjoyed wearing Colette's silver medal. Colette thought she'd be funny with a 'they took my medals' pose. 

As I mentioned earlier, Colette is in Sochi right now to compete in the 2014 Paralympic Games. We wish her well and we'll keep on cheering for her as she and fellow athletes compete for the love of sport and to encourage physical activity for all ages and abilities. Colette says it best herself in this wonderful Canadian Tire video that shares her journey to the 2014 Games.

Here's a great Vancouver Sun interview with Colette. You can also check Colette's Canadian Paralympic Committee bio here.

Go, Colette!

Way to go, Prairie Women On Snowmobiles!

On February 4, Al and I were honoured to once again hang out with the inspiring eight-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner and her wingman/husband Graham. This time, we were at a fundraising event in Regina, Saskatchewan for Prairie Women On Snowmobiles. These 10 warm-hearted Saskatchewan women were in the midst of their eight-day journey through Saskatchewan to raise money for breast cancer research.

We were pleased to attend the fundraiser and support these women on their quest. We were also pleased they had invited our favourite multiple-cancer survivor to be the guest speaker for their event in Regina. Dionne is the subject of our award-winning best-selling book Never Leave Your Wingman, by the way.

Here is a photo essay of that evening. Enjoy!

The women who participate in this ride come from different communities in Saskatchewan. Some have joined for the first time this year and others have participated in the ride in other years as well. The 2014 trek had riders from eight different communities. They met in Prince Albert, then took the zig-zag route down south and were heading back up north again, ending their ride in Nipawin.

Eight-time cancer survivor had a visit with Gerri Moeller of Meadow Lake, SK, the lead rider for the 2014 trek.

Although a little fuzzy, this photo shows the Prairie Women on Snowmobiles crest, which the riders, pit crew and executive proudly wear on their vests.

We were all touched when the Prairie Women On Snowmobiles asked breast cancer survivors to come forward to receive one of their pins. Here, eight-time survivor Dionne Warner receives her pin. Standing behind Dionne is Linda Rattray, who is another strong, breast cancer survivor from Regina.

What a nice moment for these courageous survivors!

Shortly after arriving at the event, PWOS rider Sancia Diebel of North Battleford came up to us and asked, "What is DriverWorks Ink? It sounds familiar to me and it's driving me crazy!" We laughed and recalled that we met each other at the North Battleford Agri-Mex Home, Trade and Farm Show last year, where we had a booth to sell our books (and we'll be there again from April 3-5 this year).

What makes Sancia special - aside from the facts that she put her life on hold for 10 days to participate in this ride and that she remembered meeting us somewhere before? Sancia is from England and came to Saskatchewan nine years ago, following a 'cowboy' and making her new home in North Battleford. England's loss is definitely our gain.

All of the riders introduced themselves and told us why they were participating in the Prairie Women On Snowmobiles 2014 ride. They've lost moms, grandmas, godmoms, sisters, and friends to this disease. It's a cause near to their hearts, and to ours.

It was time for Dionne Warner to share her story of being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30, and overcoming not only that but seven diagnoses of other cancers since. 

You could have heard a pin drop as Dionne shared her story of courage, love and hope.

"I'm never gonna give in. I'm never gonna give up, and I will fight back with every breath I have," Dionne said.

Prairie Women On Snowmobiles' treasurer Shannon Scott thanked Dionne for her words of strength and encouragement.

Prairie Women On Snowmobiles' president Carol Lueken shared statistics about the ride, which began in 2000 and has raised more than $2 million for breast cancer research to date! Way to go, ladies!

Here are the riders for this year, joined by Dionne and Graham Warner. Graham is the tall guy in the back row. Bet you don't hear that too often, do you, Graham?

Al and I posed with Dionne and Graham, surrounding the executive of this wonderful organization. (They're holding our Never Leave Your Wingman book. Nice, huh?)

From left to right: Al and I, Wanda Kiefer, Carol Lueken, Shannon Scott, Dionne and Graham Warner.

Thank you for the invitation to this great fundraiser, Prairie Women On Snowmobiles.

Ride on, ladies!

Time to Do Something About Cancer, World!

It's World Cancer Day and, frankly, I wish this day didn't exist.

I wish there was no such thing as cancer and that we didn't all have to even think about it. 

But wishes are wishes and this is reality. Cancer exists and we have to join together in this battle to raise awareness, to work on prevention, and to raise funds to beat this evil disease.

People are being diagnosed all the time. Canadian Cancer statistics note that:

• An estimated 187,600 new cases of cancer (excluding about 81,700 non-melanoma skin cancers) and 75,500 deaths will occur in Canada in 2013. 

• More than half (about 52%) of all new cases will be lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancers. 

• Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and is responsible for about 30% of all deaths.

• About 2 in 5 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetimes and 1 in 4 will die of the disease. 

Frankly, that sucks.

But here's some good news:

• 63% of Canadians diagnosed with cancer will survive at least 5 years after their diagnosis. 

• At the beginning of 2009, there were about 838,724 Canadians living with a cancer that had been diagnosed in the previous 10 years.


And we're making more strides all the time to eradicate this disease or at least reduce it to the level of a disease that isn't so devastating or so deadly.

I enjoyed this article listing 10 Things We Can Do About Cancer, including how to live well, take care of ourselves, take care of others, and support the cause. 

My mother died of pancreatic cancer in 2011. We have also lost numerous other family members and friends to this horrid disease. Enough, I say.


Tonight, we're going to a fundraising event to support the Prairie Women on Snowmobiles as they ride through Saskatchewan and raise money for breast cancer research.  Eight-time cancer survivor Dionne Warner, the inspiring subject of my book Never Leave Your Wingman, is speaking at the event. My husband (and book publishing partner) Al and I will be there with Dionne her wingman, her husband Graham, and we will keep on spreading her story of hope and courage in this journey.

Let's keep on spreading hope and fighting cancer, world. Enough, I say.

The inspiring Dionne Warner, subject of the Never Leave Your Wingman book.