The Weyburn Wor-Kin Shop had a strong and positive year in 2016, in spite of some challenges posed by the downturn in the local economy over the past year.
The results of the past year were shared at the annual meeting, attended by staff, clients and their families on June 20 in the multi-purpose room at the Wor-Kin Shop.
In her report on the operations, executive director Andria Brady noted the program received 16 new applications, and seven were accepted, plus two were transitioned out of the program.
There were special art sessions held with local artists Heather van der Breggen and her daughter, Rickee-Lee Webster, and around 200 people attended the art show held at the end of that program. In addition, participants took part in a fashion show coordinated by two consultants, and a full room took in the show.
In regard to leadership development, Brady noted she was part of a government conference about this topic, and the Wor-Kin Shop board did a review of strategic planning, which is still ongoing.
For SARCAN operations, Brady said the volume was down slightly, but the depot still put through seven million items in 2016, or 3,850 items per person every day.
The manager, Cory Elmy, took part in leadership training, and the Weyburn SARCAN depot won as Depot of the Year for large depots, for scoring highest in three categories.
In regard to vocational training, Brady said there was an impact from the economic downturn, so the wood shop has been trying to diversify with the products they make. The paper and cardboard recycling service is still going well, with the Wor-Kin Shop getting paper from 50 commercial customers, plus paper shredding has seen about 37,000 pounds of paper shredded last year.
The Harvest Pie Company operated by Wor-Kin Shop is going strong, attending 10 fundraisers in the past year, two in Weyburn and the rest throughout the southeast and one in Montana. Harvest Pie has had a booth at the Open Air Market in Weyburn, and was at Art Farm as well, and they were able to hire their first full-time person this past year.
In his financial report, auditor Rob Stephanson said there were some challenges with reduced revenues, but overall the Wor-Kin Shop is in a strong position financially.
With revenues and expenses, the overall deficit was $123,000, “which may seem off-putting when compared with last year,” said Stephanson, but some of this can be attributed to amortization, and grants from the government to help pay for the new buildings.
While the wood shop and Harvest Pie were down, both are showing signs of a strong turn-around, he said.
Four service awards were presented at the annual meeting, including five-year service awards to staff member Leslie Epp and recycling technician Matthew Madigan, a 15-year award to recycling tech Dennis Whitrow, and a 20-year award to SARCAN manager Cory Elmy.
The board includes chair Lloyd Montgomery, vice-chair Deanne Miller-Jones, secretary-treasurer Denise Guest, and board members Marie Campbell, Candice Porter, Gwen Wright and Norma Buydens.
