ESTEVAN - Helen Fornwald has been at the helm of a number of milestones for the City of Estevan, from the construction of the Estevan Leisure Centre and Affinity Place, to responding to disasters.
After a career with the city that spanned nearly 34 years, and a few more years with other municipalities, Fornwald – who is currently the city's safety co-ordinator – has announced her retirement. Dec. 13 will be her final day.
"It's always good to retire and have your health, which I do," Fornwald said in an interview with the Mercury and SaskToday.
After working in Rocanville and Maple Creek, Fornwald came to Estevan in 1991 as a facilities manager for the construction of the leisure centre. She held that role for 10 years, until December 2001, when she was promoted to the role of leisure services manager, which she held until 2010. Among the highlights from her time as leisure services manager was the planning and the start of construction of Affinity Place, as well as other projects such as the skate park.
"When I first started, we were upgrading all of the playpark equipment … and the city would purchase the equipment and we would have community volunteers to install it. Nowadays, that's absolutely not the standard," said Fornwald.
In 2010, she shifted to her present role as the city's safety co-ordinator. Fornwald keeps busy training staff, keeping records, and visiting construction sites and projects to ensure that Occupational Health and Safety Act regulations are followed.
"I work with a lot of staff to make sure they're trained, that they do their jobs, and follow safe work practices and procedures, making sure our facilities are safe," she said.
Also, in 1996, Fornwald became involved with the city's emergency measures organization (EMO), and she has been its co-ordinator since 2010. She'll never forget the flood of 2011, which she described as "an intense three weeks" of work around the clock. There also was flooding in 2016 and 2018, and some powerful snowstorms in which roads had to be shut down.
She also remembers the response to the Sixth Street grain elevator fire in 2002 and a train derailment near the 13th Avenue rail crossing in 2004, when anhydrous ammonia leaked and homes had to be evacuated for a couple of days.
"I've worked closely with police, fire … and EMS, and developed a really great relationship over the years with them. They're first-class staff members and can do a really great job. I believe in the safety of what we do for the community," she said.
The opportunity to be part of big projects like the leisure centre and Affinity Place played a role in her decision to stay. She looks at those two facilities and knows she played a role. There were a lot of organizations to work with and significant fundraising, and they had to work with engineers and architects.
She also worked with city staff, management, council and mayors during her time.
"There's been a lot of great people to work with over the years. It's kind of like family."
She also met her husband here and they raised their family in Estevan.
"It was just a great community to live, work and play. Once our kids graduated and went to university, I just continued [to stay here] because I love the community, I'm actively involved as a volunteer in other organizations in the city, and I just found it was a great community."
She said she will miss the people at the city, but she will still use the walking track at Affinity Place and the Access Communications Aquatic Centre on a regular basis.
Fornwald will remain busy with a couple of roles. She is in the midst of the second year of her term as the president of CurlSask's board, and she believes she'll now be able to dedicate more time to that position until it wraps up in June 2025. She also has a year left on her term with the Saskatchewan Emergency Planners' Association.
Fornwald also hopes to be involved with the planning of a national curling event as well, as the Estevan Curling Club has submitted a bid to host the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts national women's curling championship. An announcement is expected to occur in the winter.
She'll still be busy curling competitively and enjoying other interests, and she expects she'll be in the community for a while yet, as her husband plans to continue working.
