APAS Rep Update: Recent Episodes
APAS
Good afternoon APAS Reps.
Here are ten short APAS updates.
1. Send us your Rep expense claims – The APAS fiscal year ends on October 31, so send us your expense claim forms as soon as possible.
2. Send in your Rep election nomination forms – The nomination deadline is October 7, so please send in your completed nomination forms.
3. Update materials for Council meetings – Let us know if you need update materials for an RM meeting, or want APAS staff to attend with you.
4. APAS Rural Connectivity Task Force launch – The Task Force members have been confirmed, so a media launch will happen soon.
5. District meetings in November – We’ll be holding in-person District meetings in November after the Rep election.
6. Committee meetings – We’ll start having in-person Committee meetings in late September and October.
7. APAS information sessions – We’re considering APAS information sessions in select cities to teach non-member ratepayers about APAS.
8. Article in SARM’s Rural Councillor – Watch for an article in the next issue of Rural Councillor about the 20thanniversary of APAS.
9. Farewell to Alan Syhlonyk – Alan and Shirley are moving to Kelowna – we’ll really miss his expertise and sense of humour at the APAS office.
10. Next APAS Rep Update email – You’ll receive the next APAS Rep Update on September 17.
As always, just call or email me to discuss any of these items.
Talk to you again soon.
- Curtis Hemming -
Good afternoon APAS Reps.
Here are ten short updates about APAS activities.
If your eyes are feeling tired, you can also listen to this Rep Update by clicking on this link –
1. APAS Rural Connectivity Task Force – We’re creating the APAS Rural Connectivity Task Force. This group will use the expertise of telecommunications experts and academics to create policy recommendations for improving internet and cellular coverage in Saskatchewan. The Task Force will only exist for a short period of time because we want to have the recommendations finalized before the provincial election in October.
2. Meetings with RM Councils – The “$2020 for 2020” transitional membership is still available for non-member RMs, so please tell me about any RMs you think might be interested in joining APAS. We can come out and meet with their Council, or participate in their meetings remotely.
3. 100% of the 2019 transitional members are now full members – 8 RMs joined APAS as transitional members in 2019 and we’ve now received full membership cheques from all 8. It was great when 98% of our full members renewed at the beginning of 2020, but having 100% of the transitional members renew as full members is a huge vote of confidence in the policy and advocacy work APAS is doing for Saskatchewan producers.
4. APAS Rep election nomination forms – We’ve received more Rep election nomination forms over the past two weeks, so please keep sending them in – just a reminder that the nomination deadline is October 7.
5. FCC Q&A – APAS is hosting an exclusive “FCC Q&A” webinar with Darren Howden (Senior Vice President of Operations) from FCC on August 11 at 1:00pm. We’ll be asking Darren questions about FCC’s lending processes, how COVID-19 has affected FCC and farmers, and many other things.
6. Growing Agriculture: 2020 Saskatchewan Provincial Election Forum – The planning for our Provincial Election Forum continues. Shaun Haney from RealAg Radio will be the moderator, Access Communications will provide their studio and crew, and the politicians have been invited. This will be a great event and we’ll also include a post-Forum summary in the fall issue of Farmers’ Voice.
7. CFA’s “Food for Thought” campaign – CFA recently launched a media campaign to educate people in Toronto and Vancouver about where their food comes from. The content is pretty good – you can watch one of their videos at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP09yo0z_Io.
8. Next APAS Rep Update email – You’ll receive the next APAS Rep Update on August 20.
9. Previous prize winner – The winner of $50 worth of bacon from the July 23 Rep Update was Devon Walker. While Devon loves bacon very much, he asked APAS to make a $50 donation to a Saskatchewan food bank instead – we made the donation yesterday, so a big thanks to him.
10. New socks to make your neighbours jealous! – Send me your best farm photo by noon on August 11 and get entered to win a collection of fine work socks from Marks – I’ll be picking the socks, so you can expect the best colours and patterns.
Give me a call or email if you’d like to discuss any of these items.
Stay cool outside.
- Curtis Hemming -