Leading off.

Again, reiterating the theme from this space in our last issue, we're a little later than expected, but we hope you agree this issue was one worth waiting for.

For those of you unaware of the circumstances, our regular Sask Business publishing rotation was derailed primarily by some 'one-of' publishing contracts. This bumped our Business of the Year feature from its typical December/January time line to help that particular issue hit the streets sooner than it would have, had we proceeded with our original line-up which included our Business of the Year story.

Nevertheless, after much anticipation (and patience) we are pleased and honoured to acknowledge Schulte Group of Companies as our 2005 Saskatchewan Business Magazine Business of the Year.

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Astute readers will likely notice we haven't strayed too far from our pattern of previous winners. Once again we've chosen a homegrown business built from the ground up, which has earned the respect of its peers, suppliers, employees, business associates and virtually anyone who has ever dealt with them--oh yeah, and has an agrarian background to boot.

This now makes four of the five Business of the Year winners as having a largely rural origin, and a perfect five-for-five where it was true entrepreneurial spirit and vision that guided the firm's identity and growth to its elevated status.

Being that this year marks the fifth anniversary of our Business of the Year Award, we thought this commemoration would provide an opportune time to catch up with past Business of the Year winners. Proving respectively that their past success was no flash in the pan, their updates can be found beginning on page 17. Hopefully the message that comes through each of our Business of the Year inductees is inspirational to you.

I marvel particularly at our latest example, Schulte Group of Companies, which by sheer numbers alone, probably provides enough employment for their entire community. With a total population of 265, including children and retirees, it's entirely likely that Schulte's 107-person workforce could well in fact account for every adult in Englefeld.

This of course, is not the case. So it confounds me as to how the company and the community can continue to offer each other their respective necessities for not just sustenance, but for continued growth and development. Yet they do it year after year, all the while considering it just a part of their normal, everyday lives.

Indeed they've been ingenious in dealing with adversity, rural depopulation, and particularly, government agencies. As a business they've gone far beyond their call of duty to be a good corporate citizen and a contributing member to their community overall. Some might even say they saved it.

Their story proves that there's nothing normal about either Schulte or Englefeld. And that's what makes this such a rewarding story to report. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did in preparing it.

Keith Moen, Editor