The City of Weyburn and her citizens will have two excellent opportunities in the coming two years to showcase this community to the province and to all of Canada.

As one of the smaller of Saskatchewan's 13 cities, the spirit of volunteerism and of the community was paramount in having not one, but two very major events secured for this community.

The first one comes up in about half a year from now, as Weyburn plays host to the 2004 Saskatchewan Summer Games; this will be followed up the next year by a national event, as Weyburn will host the 2005 Royal Bank Cup, the national championship for Junior A hockey.

How did Weyburn score such major victories over other communities who were also vying for these honours? In both cases, a committee of community-minded people put together a package of information about Weyburn and presented it in a professional manner that sold our city to the organizers of both the Summer Games, and the Canadian Hockey Association for the RBC Cup.

Now is the time for us to prove that we are indeed worthy of these events. For the Summer Games, donations of all sorts and sizes have been coming in to help stage this provincial event, and one of the biggest and most urgent needs remains for volunteers to sign up. Several already have, but an event of this magnitude needs several hundred people to serve in all sorts of capacities, whether at the Games themselves, or in support of the athletes, coaches and spectators who will be visiting our city next summer.

The same sort of effort is going to be needed for the Royal Bank Cup in 2005, particularly as this is a national event that will bring the best junior hockey teams from across Canada, along with the national sports media, for this championship tournament.

It is fitting Weyburn won this event for that year, as Saskatchewan will be celebrating its 100th year as a province, so this event will not only showcase our city but our province - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The benefits expected from both events will be enormous; for the Games, organizers said Weyburn should expect at least 8,000 visitors, who will spend close to $2 million in our local economy. Other communities that have staged the Summer Games also spent in the order of $3.7 million, and every community made a profit.

Likewise with the Royal Bank Cup; host committee co-chair Bill Rudachyk says organizers are expecting profits of at least $100,000. Before that is realized there will be a huge amount of work required to organize everything and line up the volunteers to ensure the event runs smoothly.

The RBC Cup committee has been careful to say the Summer Games is the first priority so as not to detract from the efforts needed for this event, but nonetheless work will need to begin even now.

There is a lot to be proud of in Weyburn; let's prove to the province and our country that there is a reason both events are coming here, the best small city in Canada. - G.N.