Celebrating 100 years of heart: following is the first of an eight-part series in commemoration of Saskatchewan's 100th anniversary, appearing exclusively in Saskatchewan Business Magazine.

Saskatchewan has many reasons to celebrate. We're home to many inspirational people who have in turn accomplished many remarkable things. We've had scientists, politicians, athletes, educators, business people and agronomists, for example, all go on to achieve things that most of us can only dream about. Heck, thanks to a made-for-TV debate, we can even lay claim to the Greatest Canadian. But now, in 2005, we have even more reason to celebrate, as Saskatchewan commemorates its 100th birthday.

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Entitled '100 Years of Heart,' this celebration is not limited to the lives and achievements of people like Dr. Keith Downey, the father of canola, Tommy Douglas, the Greatest Canadian, or Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, world-class athletes Gordie Howe or Sandra Schmirler, Pere Athol Murray, founder of Notre Dame College, or business patriarch Walter Hill, or world champion wheat grower Seager Wheeler. No, this celebration is for everyone--for all of us--because when we're celebrating Saskatchewan, we're celebrating what makes Saskatchewan special. And what makes Saskatchewan special is its people.

Undoubtedly there will be many celebrations across the province with this message being conveyed in one way, shape or form. There will also be homecomings, parades, street dances, athletic championships, dance festivals ... the list goes on and on. But there is also an innovative, new idea that has taken root with respect to our future.

Indeed one of the many, many things going on throughout this year is a unique and admirable merchandising program with proceeds of this program supporting the Centennial Legacy Trust Fund in support of youth. Saskatchewan Centennial 2005 chair, Glenn Hagel, is extremely proud of this program as it does something tangible to support the future of the province.

He explains there are a number of key criteria to be met regarding the merchandise. Firstly, that it be designated official merchandise, selected by the Saskatchewan Centennial 2005 office. Secondly, as a result of this selection process, all merchandise with be of high quality. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it will all be Saskatchewan-made. There may some minor instances where the particular product does not have a Saskatchewan manufacturer. But according to Hagel, these products will still be sourced through Saskatchewan outlets, who may in fact perform some value-added component upon it.

"This is a Saskatchewan business venture," says Hagel. "Fifteen per cent of the product price will go to develop a Centennial Legacy Trust Fund in support of youth, which will be overseen by the provincial youth advisory committee."

"These are people under 30 years of age and all across the province," he explains of the committee. "It'll be their task then to take these funds, consult with young people and then use those funds to support those young people building their futures in Saskatchewan."

"I think this is a program that is absolutely bang on with business objectives in Saskatchewan and is designed to be Saskatchewan business supportive," Hagel continues, going on to add that companies could customize centennial merchandise by adding their company logo to various merchandise. "This is a win-win-win all the way around."

With no set revenue objectives in place for the merchandising program, centennial organizers are confident that Saskatchewan people, including expatriates who return home for homecomings and the like, will embrace the program and its merchandise, making it a very successful campaign. Communities, homecoming committees and not-for-profit organizations will have the opportunity to purchase merchandise from the Saskatchewan Centennial 2005 line up for resale in their communities as part of their fundraising activities.

The more merchandise that is bought, the more it will benefit Saskatchewan business and Saskatchewan youth, concurs Bryon Burnett, CEO of the Saskatchewan Centennial 2005. "In terms of making our centennial meaningful to our various stakeholders, one of the things from the business community would be the fact that we're buying everything from Saskatchewan suppliers,"

Burnett says. "The economic spinoff by purchasing everything in Saskatchewan means that the dollars will swirl in the province as opposed to swirling outside."

In addition to the centennial merchandise, commemorative centennial front licence plates are also available for sale at participating credit unions throughout the province. Five dollars from the sale of each plate will go toward the Centennial Legacy Trust Fund in support of seniors, which will be administered by the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism. For each plate that they sell, credit unions will redirect two dollars to a charity of their choice.

The fact that such programs are already well underway infers that organizers have been on the ball ready to celebrate Saskatchewan's centennial for some now. In fact the wheels officially began turning at the close of the millennium celebration, when that office unofficially transformed itself into a centennial office. Employing a relatively small, but highly efficient and dedicated staff, the Centennial 2005 office has been busy coordinating tasks, events and requests in unprecedented fashion since its official inception in December of 2003.

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Among the things they've been busy with is establishing and maintaining relationships with each of the 150 centennial committees throughout the province. In addition to and in conjunction with the various centennial celebrations throughout the province, the Centennial 2005 office is administering Centennial Leadership Awards, which supports provincial voluntary organizations. The committee has also appointed an aboriginal liaison to work with First Nations and Metis communities with proposals for celebration initiatives.

"It's a huge task in terms of marketing and communications," says Hagel, "which have been seen in the media forms of television, radio and print. The development of the Web site (www.sask2005.ca) has been a huge undertaking. It's an invaluable tool for the whole centennial--it serves many purposes."

The Centennial 2005 office is "a world of logistics and partnerships," adds Hagel. He emphasizes another large part of their responsibility is the co-ordination and distribution of a free promotional program at the local level. This centennial-themed promotional material would include items such as balloons, place mats and tattoos.

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"Just to put it all in perspective in terms of magnitude," offers Burnett, "we're only into the first month of the year and already have 1,800 events that will receive complimentary promotional items to help build the centennial spirit into their event."

"The recognition of centurions, people over 100 years, is close to 340-some," Burnett continues. "They all get certificates signed by the Lieutenant Governor and Premier. They get medals, they have an event and so on. I think we have 31 babies registered to date of babies that were born on January 1."

"So the logistics of a small office to co-ordinate those kinds of events just amaze me. But we're finding tremendous community support; all want to get involved and take on that look of Centennial."

Although we're in for a year-long celebration, certainly the biggest of the celebrations will come Sept. 4, the actual anniversary date of our inclusion into Confederation. Fifteen regional celebrations throughout the province's major centres--the 13 cities and two northern communities of La Ronge and Meadow Lake--will ensure that virtually all Saskatchewanians will be within a two-hour drive from these events to celebrate our birthday.

The celebrations, in terms of this act of willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work, epitomizes the centennial celebrations themselves, and more so, the people who comprise the fabric of our great province. That's precisely why we're celebrating 100 years of heart.

"We have a proud history and a promising future," Centennial chair Hagel says. "The centennial is about looking both directions--back with a sense of pride and accomplishment and just as importantly, many would argue even more importantly, looking ahead with a sense of confidence and optimism."

"And we need to look both ways in a more visionary kind of way than we typically do," he continues. "As we look back we will marvel at the change that has taken place and how it has helped to make this a better place."

"Doing that makes us a little less frightened about looking ahead and recognizing that change is a part of our future as well."

"In the same way we would imagine there were visionaries in 1904 and 1905 as we were entering into Confederation, so too we have visionaries today. They are our visionaries for our second century and among them are many of the youth of the province; same as it was 100 years ago--some things never change."

Especially when it comes from the heart--Happy Birthday, Saskatchewan.

Written by Keith Moen

Photographs courtesy Saskatchewan Centennial 2005