As we consider what the New Year will bring us in terms of opportunities, events or people we'll meet or hear about, looking at where we've come from is often valuable as a way to see where we're going.
I noted last week one of the personal highlights for me was the unveiling of the Tommy Douglas statue, and that whole day of excitement and star-gazing. This wasn't the only highlight of the year for me, in case anyone wondered.
As a Riders fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the city's efforts to be recognized as "Riderville" by the Roughriders as they celebrated their 100th year as a team, and as a photographer it was quite interesting taking in the Rider Roundup event with the many guests attending, such as current Riders, and former players like the legendary George Reed.
The involvement of Rider fans going all out in their costumes and Rider gear, however, was the real treat from that campaign, and they helped ensure Weyburn was at least a top-five finalist for the province.
Covering school events is always fun for me each year, and there were some memorable times this year, such as the 100th-year celebration of Souris School. As this was the elementary school where all four of my children attended, this was special to me personally as well as for the community. Seeing the hard work by people like April Sampson and Murray Hoium and the centennial committee was good to see.
Also, one of my all-time favourite NHL players, Lanny McDonald, visited here, and it was such a pleasure to cover his visit to St. Michael School and see him relate to the kids and do knuckle-crunches with them, and to hear his talk to the students about his hockey career, particularly with the Calgary Flames and with Team Canada.
As a photographer, one thing I enjoyed throughout the year was photographing some of the natural beauty of the Weyburn and surrounding area. As part of the province of the "Living Skies", some of the most fascinating and beautiful photos I've done involved the sun, the sky, or weather, such active lightning storms sending arcs of sizzling lightning bolts over the city.
Of course, the people of Weyburn and area could be considered part of that natural beauty of the region, and some of the best photos are those of people, enjoying themselves at a fun event or taking part in a school activity, or like in one of my favourite shots of the year, riding a bike at sunset at the skateboard park. It's all part of the mosaic that makes covering Weyburn and area so much fun.
