News
GDI Teams Participate in Annual Wheelchair Relay
By James Oloo
Oct 3, 2019
Posted in: Community Building, Community Support
On September 21, 2019, several dozen people of different age groups gathered at the Saskatoon Civic Square in downtown Saskatoon on a warm autumn morning for the 20th annual Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan (SCIS) Wheelchair Relay. Gabriel Dumont Institute has been a strong supporter of the SCIS over the years.
The relay race, which featured nine teams of four participants competing to see who would be the first to cross the finish line, started with a celebrity competition involving CTV News Saskatoon/ CTV Morning Live presenters Janella Hamilton and Mike Ciona; Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark; City Councilor Bev Dubois, who is also a member of the Accessibility Committee at the Saskatoon City Hall; and Bill Lehne. Bill is an Employment Services Manager at Gabriel Dumont Institute Training and Employment in Saskatoon, and also serves as the president of the SCIS.
Gabriel Dumont Institute had two teams at the relay: Sassy, Sashy, & Salty comprising Terry Muller (Accounting Clerk), Sarah McCallum (Accounts Payable), Christina Desjarlais (Administrative Assistant, Dumont Technical Institute), and Randi Ross (Employment Counsellor), and The Sashy Wheelers, including Justin Basaraba (Accounting Clerk, Gabriel Dumont Institute Training and Employment), Bill Lehne, James Oloo (Research Coordinator), and David Werner (an instructor in the Adult Basic Education program in Saskatoon).
Team Gabriel Dumont Institute members received medals in recognition of their participation in the 20th Annual SCIS Wheelchair Relay.
This was the third year in a row that the Gabriel Dumont Institute employees participated in the wheelchair relay. In 2017, the Institute was represented by The Sashy Wheelers, whose members included Gary Kichula (Head of Human Resources), Brody Parent (Accounting Administrator), Dwayne Docken (Employment Services Manager, Indigenous Apprenticeship Program), James Oloo, and Bill Lehne. In 2018, Sashy Wheelers team members included Justin Basaraba, Gary Kichula, Bill Lehne, and James Oloo.
The relay is a fundraising event, and as part of its community engagement and social responsibility, Gabriel Dumont Institute was a sponsor of the Relay. The annual event also promotes spinal cord injury awareness.
Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan assists over 1,600 spinal cord injury survivors and those living with other forms of physical disabilities to live more independent and productive lives. For more information, please visit https://scisask.ca/.
