27 April 2006
Teamwork Changes Small Towns' Fortunes
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Wayne Myren, chair of the Ogema Economic Development Committee, and
secretary-treasurer Carol Peterson have overseen the town's steady growth.
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Ogema - While Saskatchewan cities grow and many rural communities fade, some small towns are
refusing to go gently into that good night.
"Our school was dropping. Our last census was 292. We were losing our rail line, our elevator, our SaskPower," says Wayne
Myren, the mayor of Ogema, a small town 80 miles south of Regina. But the dark hours for that small town have passed.
In 1989, residents dug in their pockets to save their dying community. In 2001, the town got together to form a strategic plan. Today,
the town boasts an economic growth that is almost unrivalled in the province.
In the last five years, Ogema has created 90 new jobs, increased its population to about 330 and has created a diversified, stable
economy. Recently, the town received an award from Communities in Bloom for the best sustainable development throughout all of Canada.
How did they do it?
Teamwork, says Myren. "We're blessed to have 20 or 30 individuals here that will not say no. They will all take a leadership role
or champion a project. And, to me, that's the No. 1 key."
Ogema's projects include purchasing the railway track and the local grain elevator, building a motel, restoring a train station,
erecting a 28-building historic village, attracting a hog operation and, most recently, setting up a business for upgrading
railcars to modern standards.
All without a drop of government funding.
Myren, chair of Ogema's economic development committee since 1989 and finishing his second term as mayor, says securing funding
initially wasn't easy, but success breeds success. Attitudes changed as projects evolved. "Now when we do a project... it's
amazing. The last couple of projects, we've had, we've almost had to limit shareholders," says Myren.
Hosting a packed tradeshow on 21-22 Apr 2006, Ogema had a chance to herald its business successes and advertise its
future.
The railcar business is important, says Myren. "We have the potential of 20 or 30 jobs with that. We have another set of barns
that's being permitted as we speak... that'll be another 50 jobs."
One Ogema company is also bidding on an Alberta oilfield project, which could bring another five to 10 jobs to the town.
Dana McCracken, owner of Omega Steel Industries Ltd., says he's happy doing business in Ogema, and has no plans to leave. "There
are opportunities here. We're in the middle of nowhere, but in the middle of everything."
With lower costs than he would face in the city, his company has grown from two employees when it opened in 2000 to 22 in the summer of
2005.
He says a lot of his workers are locals.
"Unfortunately, a lot of farmers need jobs so they can keep farming," McCracken says. "And most farmers, in most areas,
are quite talented in a lot of different ways. They fix their own stuff. They build their own stuff. And a Saturday and a Sunday is the
same as a Tuesday and a Wednesday."
But, when needed, his company also moves families into town. "A lot of people, believe it or not," he says, "want to
live in small-town Saskatchewan in a rural setting and have a job that pays decently, versus living in the city where you
can look out your bathroom window and see your neighbour."
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