Dauphin and the Parkland figured prominently in the second annual Tourism Awards Winnipeg/Manitoba, last week.

Tourism Dauphin won a Marketing Campaign of the Year Award for rural Manitoba for it’s Adventure From Here On Out initiative, while Assessippi Ski Hill and Resort was named the rural winner of the Business of the Year - Large.

Finally, former Dauphin resident Doug Stephen of WOW Hospitality Concepts received an Award of Distinction for his outstanding contributions to some of Winnipeg’s best culinary institutions and the community at large.

“It feels very rewarding to get recognition for all the work we have done. We’re a small team and we have a small committee with some volunteers and we’re a small community,” said Dauphin Economic Development manager Martijn van Luijn, who accepted the award on behalf of the community.

Get a full rundown of all the awards and more in this week's Dauphin Herald!

Fusion Credit Union has announced a patronage allocation of $525,000 to members, plus $784,000 in cash payouts to select members, for a total of $1.3 million in total returns in 2024, based on 2023 results.

The news came at Fusion’s annual general meeting held Wednesday in Brandon.

Find out more in this week’s Review.

The burning down of the history Gateway Hotel in The Pas back in 2017, is one that everyone remembers, but one person in particular will always remember that fateful night. Dennis Gabriel Charlette was in the Gateway Hotel the night it burned down and played an epic role in getting people out of the building and to safety. He was one of three people who were presented with the insignia of the Governor General’s Commendation for Bravery.
It is a pin created to mark the 50th anniversary of the Decorations for Bravery Program and is bestowed to those who show selflessness in perilous situations. The pin also is an emblem to recognize the significance of such actions and express the gratitude of Canada. It was established in 1993, by His Excellency the Right Honourable Ramon Hnatyshyn, to broaden the Decoration for Bravery Program.
“I got it for what I did at the Gateway Hotel,” said Dennis Gabriel Charlette. “I was on my way to go guiding the day after it happened. I had stayed at my uncle Patrick’s place at the Gateway Hotel the night before and that’s the night it caught fire.

Theatre fans in the community were not disappointed this past weekend as Theatre 53 presented Drinking Habits. Known as a laugh out loud comedy, the cast lived up to the performance billing and more. Under the direction of Barb Shaw-Ings, the eight member cast kept audiences laughing and guessing what twist was coming as the production evolved.
The play is centered around accusations, mistaken identities and romance as two nuns at the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing were secretly making wine to keep the convent's doors open. Plot twists happen right from the beginning as reporters (and former fiancees) Paul and Sally were hot on the nuns trail.

Kelsey School Division not only had their work cut out for them in finalizing the 2024 budget, but also in finding the perfect candidate to hire for the superintendent role. Interviews took place at the beginning of April and the division has announced at their decision to hire Trevor Lane as the new superintendent at their last school division meeting.
Lane has spent much of his education career working in The Pas and that experience led him to being a good candidate for the position.
“I have been in the education field for over 20 years now,” said Lane. “This was my third year as principal for Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute, prior to that I was the vice-principal for four years. Before that I was at the middle school as the assistant principal for eight years.

The 2024 Manitoba Summer Games, powered by Manitoba Hydro, are less than four months away, but they are in dire need of volunteers.

Games co-chair Carla Wolfenden said they really need people to start signing up.

“We are getting to be in the time where we’re getting a little worried. I know we’re a last-minute town, but with an event this size and with the sheer number of volunteers that we need, people have to sign up early,” she said. “All of our committees need to have their volunteers, their work force scheduled by the middle of May and as of right now, we are very, very short for volunteers.”

Wolfenden is not surprised people are waiting until the last minute and is confident they will meet the required number needed come August.

“But we need them all to sign up now. We really need to get people signed up. A lot of people say, ‘yeah, I’m going to volunteer.’ But we actually need them to register online, so that our committees can get them scheduled,” she said.

To register, visit the Sport Manitoba website and click on the Manitoba games link under the programs tab at the top of the page. Then simply scroll down and click on the link and fill in the form to register as a volunteer.

Or Google Manitoba Summer Games and it will take you to the summer games page.

“If people aren’t comfortable with doing it on their own, they can go to our games co-ordinator who works at city hall, as they can sign up there,” Wolfenden said, adding they will also have a booth at the Business Expo this weekend.

Other than a need for volunteers, planning for the games is going well.

We have an amazing crew of committee chairs that are paving the way for all the volunteers out there to put on a really good event. Everything is proceeding. We’re now into the really nitty gritty details of planning,” she said.

“Not so much big picture stuff. But now the small details that are going to make or break an event. But it’s going really, really well from that point of view.”

The resurfacing of the track at the high school is expected to begin soon. Other than that, the rest of the facilities just need some fine tuning.

“Just cleaning things up a little. Adding a few things here and there. Polishing. Making sure the soccer and rugby fields are weed free,” Wolfenden said. “We want to put on a good show and make our town look nice and our facilities are the main focus. So we’re looking forward to how they look come August.”

Some sports have already started their qualifying process, while others will take place in the coming months.

“Teams will start being finalized starting in May, again, depending on the sport. But some may not be in until mid-July,” Wolfenden said. “Hopefully, we have some local athletes representing. I know we have some local coaches and officials, but we really are excited to see some local athletes on those teams.”

The host committee will hold its last meeting with all of the provincial sport organizations represented, Apr. 26 and 27.

“Each committee is giving their, not quite final, but progress report on what’s going on and what still has to be done and what the plans are for each of their areas. So there will be 100 people here to hear some presentations,” Wolfenden said.

The Manitoba Summer Games will take place, Aug. 11 to 17.

The newly-formed Parkland Minor Football Association is getting underway in Dauphin.

Last year, there was a group of players playing in an unofficial capacity, leading parents to start a formal minor football program.

“We wanted to improve the football here in Dauphin and get the kids started before high school, teaching them the fundamentals and basics of football. So that when they’re in Grade 9 and entering high school, they know the jist of it and can become better and stronger players,” said program co-ordinator Shannon Genaille.

The program is for students in Grades 5 to 8. Although there is a registration deadline of Apr. 17, Genaille said they will accept students beyond that date.

“It’s going to be a short season, because we’re done at the end of May. We play against teams from Saskatchewan right now. So we’ll take kids as long as anybody enters. And then we would adjust the registration fees, this year only,” she said. “Just trying to get more kids interested and involved. Boys and girls.”

Practices will be held, Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Kin Field at the Vermillion Park Sportsplex.

“They’re going to be at the rugby field this year because of the Manitoba Summer Games,” Genaille said.

Read more in this week's Dauphin Herald!

The Swan Valley Animal Protection League held their annual spring banquet this past weekend (April. 13) inside the Veteran’s Community Hall where they had many games and draws that people got into, along with having a great supper, courtesy of Johnny and Jenna Catering.

Dauphin Regonal Health Centre (DRHC) is set to get a bit of a facelift thanks to Tim Hortons Westman and the Smilezone Foundation.

Through their Smile Cookie campaign, Tim Hortons Westman franchisees Rhonda Pardy and Greg Crisanti are looking forward to helping provide a more welcoming atmosphere at the region’s largest health facility. The initiative aims to enhance the healing environment and the comfort of patients and their families within the health centre.

“I was introduced to Smilezone and their team after seeing the completion of a Smilezone project at the Brandon Regional Hospital,” Crisanti said.

“Witnessing the transformation to the hospital as well as the impact on both patients and staff, we knew we wanted to bring this opportunity to Dauphin.”

Smilezone Foundation is a registered children’s charity founded by Scott Bachly and Adam Graves in 2012.

The foundation’s mission is to “make tough days a little brighter” for children receiving medical treatment in hospitals and health centres across Canada.

That is accomplished by renovating existing health care spaces (such as waiting rooms, playrooms and patient rooms), over a single weekend into fun and engaging “Smilezones” to harness the uplifting power of a smile and creating a safe space where children and their families can find comfort and distraction during challenging times.

“On behalf of our foundation’s board of directors, we extend our heartfelt thanks to Tim Hortons Westman for generously sponsoring the 2024 Smilezone project at Dauphin Regional Health Centre, a partnership made possible through their Smile Cookie campaign,” Bachly said, adding medical professionals have been consulted to uniquely design Smilezones for each facility.

Find the full in depth story in this week's Dauphin Herald!

An informal workshop was held last week as a preliminary step to reimagining the first block of Second Avenue as a “creative corridor.”

Dauphin Economic Development manager Martijn van Luijn has been tasked with creating a new vision for area.

“Council has desire to assist with reviving downtown and this would be considered sort of a pilot program, how can we reimagine this street by introducing some enhancements,” van Luijn said.

A consultant from Urban Systems has been contracted to help develop a plan and used the workshop as an opportunity to present examples from other communities as a means of stimulating conversation about what might be possible in Dauphin.

Check this week's Dauphin Herald for the full story!