Youth Committee Report Archives

Youth Committee 2007 Reports

Youth Committee Spring 2007 Report
By Brandi Tracksell, Youth Committee Chair

On February 1st to 4th, 2007 the Government of Saskatchewan held its first ever Youth Summit.  The local had four delegates in attendance, Jeff Lalonde from Prince Albert Sobeys, Craig Thebaud from Saskatoon Co-op, Jason Hicks from Brewers Distributors in Saskatoon, and Dan Knudsen from Prairie Pride Natural Foods Ltd. in Saskatoon.  The feedback from the participants was very positive and they look forward to seeing their ideas put into action by employers, unions, educational institutions and government officials.

Also in February, the Youth Committee held its very popular Curling Fun-Spiel (pictured below). This year we raised nearly $500 towards leukemia research.  Because this event has been so well received, we will likely hold it again next year, so stay tuned.

Last year, members of the Local 1400 Youth Committee had the opportunity to go into the high schools and present the UFCW Talking Union program, which was very well received by the students and teachers. This program has also resulted in educating young members of ours; quite often we find young workers from Superstore, Co-op and Sobeys who have a lot of questions about their union and once in awhile we end up with an organizing lead as well.  We look forward to providing this program again this year.

The UFCW Youth Internship Program (YIP) is taking place for four weeks this year.  Brandi Tracksell will be facilitating along with Enver Harbins from Ontario.  The program will have a few changes this year, with participants spending two weeks helping with the Ontario provincial election, giving them valuable experience.  This is an excellent program for young members across Canada to learn about their union, labour history, the importance of politics, organizing and bigger picture ideas such as globalization.  

The next event that the local’s Youth Committee is planning will be a Rider-Prider bus trip to Regina.  This event is still in the works so watch for more information on the Youth Committee webpage or call the union office and ask for Brandi for more details.

Youth Committee 2006 Year End Recap
By Brandi Tracksell, Youth Committee Chair

The Youth Committee has had a very busy year. To start the year off, we hosted our annual Curling Fun-Spiel, which was followed by our first ever Steak Night Fundraiser at Uncle Barley’s. The local’s Shop Steward Conference was held on September 22^nd, 23^rd and 24^th, 2006 and the Youth Committee held a Jelly Bean guess, No-Limit Texas Hold ’em Poker Tournament and sold hot dogs, smokies and beverages around the firepit. In addition, the Youth Committee rounded out Saturday night’s entertainment by hosting musical comedian Tom Liske, who kept stewards laughing. Our last fundraiser of the year was another Steak Night, held in conjunction with the Women’s and Aboriginal Committees. The Youth Committee is very proud to announce that through all of the events held in 2006, we have helped raise $2,114.30 towards leukemia research. A big thank you to everyone who has helped make this year so successful.

At the civic election in Saskatoon, held on October 25^th, 2006, I ran as a Public School Board candidate in Ward One and, although I came up just short, I captured 35% of the vote.  My campaign was run almost completely by youth.  A special thank you goes out to Campaign Manager Craig Thebaud (Saskatoon Co-operative Association), Financial Manager Lucia Figueiredo (Local 1400 Staff), Jason Hicks (Brewers Distributor Ltd.), Jackie Houben (New Food Classics), Tammy Lekopoy (Saskatoon Heritage Inn), and Ashlee Delorme and Mark Hennessy from UFCW Local 248P for their many hours of hard work.

At the recent Saskatchewan Federation of Labour Convention held November 1^st to 4^th, 2006, in Regina, UFCW Local 1400 sent three youth delegates, Craig, Jason and myself.  Congratulations to Craig Thebaud on his election as SFL Alternate Youth Vice-President.

On November 16^th to 18^th, 2006, the local sent three youth delegates to the annual NDP Saskatchewan Convention held at TCU Place in Saskatoon. As young working activists in Saskatchewan, we feel it is extremely important to have “our voice” heard in the political spectrum and we thank the local for all of its support.

New for 2007 – The Youth Committee is very pleased to announce that effective for the 2007/2008 school year, the Local 1400 Youth Committee will be offering an annual scholarship of $500 available to young members. All details will be available on the local’s Scholarship web page, under Education on the main menu.

Our next Youth Committee meeting will be held on Sunday, February 11^th, 2007, at 6:30 pm at Local 1400’s Saskatoon office. Please RSVP in advance to Brandi at 306.227.4376 or blt1013@hotmail.com. We will be planning future events, like more Poker Nights and bus trips to Rider games, so come on out and give us your ideas.

Youth Committee 2006 Reports

Youth Committee Fall Report

The Youth Committee has been very active in the last two months preparing for the Shop Steward Conference, the civic election and hosting leukemia fundraisers .

The Local’s Shop Steward Conference that was held on September 22, 23 and 24, 2006, was a huge success, thanks in part to the hard work of the Youth Committee.  The Youth Committee held a Jelly Bean Guess at the registration table and on Saturday evening hosted a social which kicked-off with Tom Liske, a local musical comedian who told jokes, sang and made everyone cry with laughter for a solid hour.  We then played many rounds of No-limit Texas Hold ’em Poker while selling, smokies or hot dogs, beverages around the fire pit.  When all was said and done, the Youth Committee raised over $600 to be donated towards leukemia research.

On October 14, 2006, at Uncle Barley’s in Saskatoon, the Youth Committee co-hosted a steak night fundraiser, held in conjunction with the Women’s and Aboriginal Committees.  In total, just over $670 was raised and donated to leukemia research.

At the civic election in Saskatoon, which was held on October 25, 2006, Brandi Tracksell ran as a Public School Board candidate in Ward One and although she came up just short, she captured 35% of the vote.  Her campaign was run almost completely by youth.  A special thank-you goes out to her Campaign Manager Craig Thebaud (Saskatoon Co-operative Association), Financial Manager Lucia Figueiredo (Local 1400 Staff), Jason Hicks (Brewers Distributor Ltd.), Jackie Houben (New Food Classics), Tammy Lekopoy (Saskatoon Heritage Inn), and Ashlee Delorme and Mark Hennessy from UFCW Local 248P for their many hours of hard work.

At the recent Saskatchewan Federation of Labour Convention held November 1^st to 4^th, 2006 in Regina, UFCW Local 1400 sent three youth delegates, Brandi, Craig and Jason.  Congratulations to Craig Thebaud on his election as SFL Alternate Youth Vice-President.

On November 16^th to 18^th, 2006 the local sent three youth delegates to the annual NDP SK Convention held at TCU Place in Saskatoon.  As young working activists in Saskatchewan, we feel it is extremely important to have “our voice” heard in the political spectrum and we thank the local for all of its support.

The Youth Committee will be hosting their 3^rd Annual Curling Fun-spiel on Saturday, February 3^rd, 2007 at the CN Curling Club.  The cost is $15 per person (teams welcome) with all the proceeds going to leukemia research.  Please contact Brandi at 306.384.5787 or 306.227.4376 if you would like to enter a team.

Our next Youth Committee meeting will be held on Sunday, November 19, 2006, at 6:30 pm at the Heritage Inn, Saskatoon.  It is our Christmas meeting, so everyone remember to bring a gift under $15 for the Gift Exchange.

On behalf of the Youth Committee, have a great holiday season and all the best in the New Year.

Youth Committee Summer Report
By Brandi Tracksell, Youth Committee Chair

The Youth Committee is pleased to announce that they will be hosting a social evening at the upcoming Shop Steward Conference in September.

The end of June saw the end of Talking Union for this school term, as Megan Schnitzler and Craig Thebaud gave the final presentation for the school year at Bedford Road Collegiate.

The Local’s Youth Committee met on July 6, 2006, with the Aboriginal and Women’s Committees to share ideas and plan future events.  We also introduced a new Youth Committee Member, Jesse Kurylyk from the Saskatoon Co-op. 

If any other members under the age of 30 are interested in becoming involved, please contact Brandi at the union office or email blt1013@hotmail.com.

Youth Committee Spring Report
By Brandi Tracksell, Youth Committee Chair

The Youth Committee has great plans to make 2006 the best year ever and the Leukemia Fundraising events are well under way.

The Curling Funspiel was held on February 4 at the CN Curling Club. Over $300 was raised towards Leukemia Research with over 40 people in attendance, most of them Local 1400 members. Team Louise, with members from Direct Transport, finished in First place with two wins and two ties.  Lindsey Maderschied won the 50/50 draw; it was a combined total of $82.

Our first-ever Steak Night Leukemia Fundraiser was held on Saturday, March 25 at Uncle Barley’s Restaurant and Pub on Northumberland Avenue in Saskatoon. It was a lot of fun with many new members coming out and some even shared their karaoke skills with us.

The Talking Union Program has continued into the new year and two new schools have asked for presentations. Craig Thebaud and Megan Schnitzler took our presentation (for the first time) to Marion M. Graham Collegiate and talked with students there; Jackie Houben and I went back to Bedford Road Collegiate and were very thrilled to find out that we were invited to come back closer to the end of the school year and do another presentation for students.

Congratulations to Jackie Houben from New Food Classics and Jason Hicks from Brewers Distributor who have been selected to attend this year’s Youth Internship Program.  It is a four week program for young UFCW members across Canada to learn about their union and become more involved in the labour movement. If any young members are interested or want to know more about this program, contact your Rep or me at 384-5787, 227-4376 or email me.

January, 2006 - Year End Recap
The Youth Committee had a very successful year in 2005.  The committee met on December 12th, 2005 to recap on all the events of the past year and to plan new events for this year.  If you have comments or suggestions for the upcoming year, feel free to contact anyone in the Youth Committee.

The first event of the year is the Curling Fun-Spiel that will be held on February 4th at the CN Curling Club at 8:30 pm.  There will be door prizes, a 50/50 raffle and a prize for the best dressed team.  All money raised will be donated towards Leukemia Research, so watch for the posting and call Brandi at 227-4376 or by email at blt1013@hotmail.com for more info.

We held our last Texas Hold’Em Poker Tournament for 2005 on October 28th.  The Youth Committee raised and donated $160 towards Leukemia Research from this event.  The success of our poker nights have been tremendous and we plan on hosting more this year. 

As a Youth Committee, we have been very active with the Talking Union Program.  Dan and Brandi did a presentation of this interactive program at the Open Doors Program, a school for at risk youth, which was very well received.  Craig, Megan and Brandi did a presentation at Holy Cross High School to a group of work education students in grades 11 and 12, where we found out that some of the students were UFCW members!  This presentation is in great demand and we hope to visit all the high schools in the near future.

Congrats to Brandi who has been elected to the position of Labour Director for the National Young New Democrats.  She has also become the successor in the position of the Saskatchewan Liaison to the UFCW Canada National Youth Committee, formerly held by Darren Kurmey.

The Youth Committee is a very dedicated group of members.  Thanks go out to the following members for all their time and energy over the past year:  Jackie Houben (New Foods Classic), Daniel Neault (Masterfeeds), Daniel Wandzura (Superstore), Tammy Lekopoy (Heritage Inn), Craig Thebaud (Saskatoon Co-op), Megan Schnitzler (Saskatoon Co-op), Jason Hicks (BDL), Jerod Pryputniski (Science Centre), and Shandel Telfer (Sobeys) for all of their hard work.  We are always looking for new people so if you’re 29 or under, would like to join our committee and/or have lots of ideas and want to get involved, call the union office or anyone on the Youth Committee.