Not about the family reunion, but about youth voice.

 

This post isn’t about the family reunion.

It’s not about the marathon of laughing, games, trivia, honoring those no longer with us, and endless eating (we are Ukrainian, after all!).

No, this post is about the 18 hours of road-tripping—there and back—with a self-assured, highly motivated, slightly sassy 18-year-old whom I’ve had the absolute privilege of watching grow up.

Over nearly 1,000 minutes in an enclosed vehicle, we covered serious ground, both on the highway and in conversation: music, current events, social media, family lore, and big life opinions. We both have firm convictions. Some align, some don't, so the light debate was frequent and the perspectives offered were plenty.

At one point we landed on the October city council and school board election, her first opportunity to vote.  We talked about the role of city council, the work of school boards, how wards are defined, and the value of councilors and trustees in planning, future-proofing, and bringing community voices to decision-making. I talked about the vital importance of the youth vote and shared a piece of my message to the graduating classes of 2025 and 2026:

"Marking a ballot is a privilege that not everyone your age has in this world, and it is a way to send a message and compel change—to have a say in the direction your community, city, province, and country are going.

In the 2023 provincial election, only 8% of those age 18–29 eligible to vote voted, while 38% of those over age 65 eligible to vote did so. Your demographic consistently has the lowest voter turnout, and yet elections have been won and lost by the number of votes equal to the number of you graduating today. 

Politics is not complicated. Yes, it takes some work to learn about parties, candidates, and their platforms, and you need to know what you want for the future based on what you believe and value. But think of the message sent and what might change if that 8% became 38% or more. The class of 2026 has power and influence, and collectively, you can sway outcomes and affect change if you show up at the polls."

I stopped there with an offer for further conversation—before her eyes could completely roll into the back of her head (of course I could have gone on and on... have you met me?!). I reiterated how deeply valuable my engagement with young people has been in my work as a school trustee. They continue to be some of my greatest teachers.

"We all have to vote like our lives and the world depend on it, because they do. The only way to be certain of the future is to make it ourselves."

— Billie Eilish

A bit about me

Although I was born in Saskatoon, Winnipeg has been home for most of my life.  My K–12 education was in what is now the Pembina Trails School Division, graduating from Fort Richmond Collegiate, and my kids went on to graduate from Collège Jeanne-Sauvé in LRSD. We've lived in River Park South for over 30 years.

It was during my kids' time at École St. Germain that I met some kindred spirits on the Parent Advisory Council. Whether they like it or not, 'the ÉSG PAC' at that time sparked my interest in running for the school board—along with a few folks who regularly pointed to 'the board' as being behind certain procedures and processes I was trying to understand. 

I graduated from UManitoba and have worked on campus for over 35 years.  In May of 2019, up until it ceased to publish this month,  I wrote a regular column in the Community Review East as a community correspondent for River Park South.  I am also a member of the Dakota Community Centre Board of Directors.

Over my time on the Louis Riel School Division Board, I've had the privilege of serving as Board Chair for 4 separate terms, chairing all board committees at various points (including the Riel-Evate Endowment Fund Committee), and serving on the Manitoba School Boards Association (MSBA) Executive since 2015, where I currently hold the role of Past President.  I represent MSBA as a board member of the Canadian School Boards Association. 

Exercise takes the form of walking and biking.  Last movie watched was The Odyssey (it was excellent!), and Netflix is a very good friend.  I read to learn and be entertained; currently  it's  Wînipêk, the fully updatedWealthy Barber, and My Friends (Fredrik Backman). I've never met a bag of chips I didn't like (plain Lay's always hits the spot), red over white, pizza and pasta, a hot caramel sundae any time of year, I'll never say no to an invite to head to The Forks, and I have too many plants.  

"We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious—and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Walt Disney

It's been four years already?!

If you look at the date of my last post, you’ll see it was written just over two months after the 2022 school board election. Pausing the blog back then was a deliberate move. Post-election, my readership took a nosedive, so I migrated to Twitter and Facebook to meet people where they were. I used Instagram sparingly. 

Fast forward to today. Twitter rebranded to X, and let’s just say it successfully pivoted to attracting the absolute opposite of healthy, constructive dialogue about public education. It became less of a town hall and more of a digital shouting match. So, bye-bye X; my peace of mind thanks me. Facebook isn't always a whole lot better these days, either. But telling my school trustee journey in pictures? That actually appealed to me. So, I’ve officially leaned into Instagram .

Then, just this week, a second thing happened. We got the news that local flyer delivery is wrapping up at the end of this month—which also marks the sad demise of the Community Review East. For several years, I’ve loved writing a monthly-ish column as the community correspondent for River Park South. It was the perfect excuse to wander around RPS, meet people, and tell local stories. Plus, as school trustees, it gave us a dedicated space to highlight what was happening through regular ward reports.

With the Review printing its final run, that local outlet vanishes. It took me about one minute to realize how much I was going to miss the writing— sharing, celebrating, and offering a few thoughts—all in the name of building and connecting our community.

So, exactly 1,293 days later... I’m baaaaacccckkkk! (Did you miss me? Did you even know I was gone?)

For now, this is a re-election blog. We’ll see where the dust settles after October 28. It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since my last post, but this blog actually started all the way back in early 2010 when I was preparing for my very first run. Sixteen years of local school board stories... honestly, there’s a book in here somewhere. But for now, let's start with a blog post.

  

Happy New Year!

In some ways it seems like school board elections were last week, when in reality almost 10 weeks have gone by.  The random and spur-of-the-moment conversations that walking in community during a campaign brings have been layered on to while at school and community events- always a welcome opportunity to hear what is on the mind of the folks we serve.  

I continue to appreciate the students, parents, teachers, staff and administrators in Louis Riel School Division who make time to chat, offer valued insight and perspective, and ask good and important questions about our governance work.  I value our conversations- even (and maybe especially) the tough ones. 

The new year will see us continue to grapple with the effects of a global pandemic even while we look ahead to the many opportunities that are before us.  The bright future we want for everyone in our community will be articulated in a new multi-year strategic plan, our budget conversations, and the vision we have for everyone to excel as caring, confident, capable, and resilient life-long learners who contribute to a democratic and sustainable work. 

Be well. Please make time for the people and experiences that fill your heart and bring joy to your life. 

I wish you and yours a healthy, happy and prosperous 2023.  Happy New Year!
 

 “The future depends on what we do in the present.” – Mahatma Gandhi

'Twas the night before the election, and time to say thanks.

 

• to everyone who assisted by walking (and walking) up driveways and stairs, in wind, rain, cold and heat to ensure information about who I am and what I'm about made it into mailboxes. 
• to the folks who provided feedback on my flyer, and to Albert and Carol at Dycom for their patience and expertise.
• to everyone who asked for a sign. 
• to Bev for a very long walk on a beautiful Sunday morning!! and for moral support and encouragement when needed the most- and not just during elections.
• to Nikolas for encouragement and support (from across town this time), and for all of the conversations we've had and continue to have about local politics and the future of Winnipeg.
• to Pam and the 'minis' for their smiles as we walked the far corner of the ward (especially so early in the day!!) and to Paige for doing it with a skip in her step and a broad repetoire of songs. 
• to Bailey for the conversations that have provided valued insight and perspective, always infused with good humour and laughter. 
• to Linn for the photos; I'm not photogenic but she made me look half-way decent!
• to those of you I've been texting and messaging like mad as election day got closer-  you know who you are and I appreciate your common sense, logic, calm influence and really good and positive vibes!

And thank you to Eve, who hands down walked the most number of steps only after the number I took.  By our last flyer drop, this kid could deliver a street effortlessly and like a pro, spot a 'no flyers' sign on a mail box from the street, navigate a mapped route, and put stakes on a sign with ease. We covered a lot of ground, in steps and in conversation, and it was fun to get to know the youngest member of the 'team' a bit better.

One. More. Sleep. 

Informing your school trustee vote

This is the week when, collectively, voters in school division wards across Manitoba will elect their representation to school boards to serve a four year mandate.  

When we are handed a ballot we will be invited to 'vote for one trustee', OR 'vote for up to two/three/four trustees' depending on how many are elected where we reside.   

Doing some research is important, and mindful that many have voted at advance polls, here is how to inform your vote for school trustee:

• visit the City of Winnipeg election 2022 website to read what candidates have shared in response to an invitation to do so*

• visit Winnipeg Election 2022 for another source of information, again provided by candidates in response to an invitation to do so*

• call candidates or send them an e-mail and ask the questions that are on your mind

• if they are on social media, visit their platforms

• if you live in LRSD, all candidates were invited to a forum, which can be viewed at LRSD.TV 

• many teachers associations sent out candidate questionnaires which were posted on websites and social media platforms.

Visit the Manitoba School Boards election site for more information. 

Three more sleeps until election day!!

*includes mayoral and city councillor candidate responses as well.

Brought to you by the letters LRTA and ATC

Props to the Louis Riel Teachers Association for organizing the first ever (as far as I know) LRSD trustee candidate forum this evening, and to all those that attended in person and remotely.  Students in the ATC Broadcast Media program were set up to live-stream the event, and students in the ATC Cake and Pastry program provided post-forum treats. 

That's it, that's the post; might be my shortest one ever!

9 days until the election.